Luluk and Alyamaulida Win Medals at World Championships, Women's Lifting Regeneration Turns Back

After the female Olympic lifters no longer reside in the national training center and have even decided to retire, questions regarding regeneration have emerged. Will there be female lifters who excel and maintain Indonesia's tradition in the Olympics? Hopes then arise as young lifters are able to showcase their talents on the world stage.

Indonesian female lifter, Luluk Diana Tri Wijayana, raised that hope after winning a gold medal at the 2025 World Youth and Junior Championships in Lima, Peru. Appearing in the 49 kilogram class of Group A junior women, Friday (2/5/2025) night, Luluk became the lifter with the best snatch lift in that weight category. She managed to lift 81 kilograms.

Luluk excelled by one kilogram over the Spanish lifter, Lucia Gonzalez Borrega, and two kilograms over the Chinese athlete, Qihui Yan. Luluk lifted the weight of 81 kilograms on the second attempt. Previously, in the first attempt, the 19-year-old lifter had lifted 78 kilograms.

That lift could be matched by Borrego on her second attempt. Luluk then increased her lift to 81 kilograms and subsequently to 84 kilograms. However, on her third attempt, Luluk failed to lift the weight, making her best lift 81 kilograms. Nevertheless, the figure of 81 kilograms could not be matched or surpassed by other lifters.

Meanwhile, in the clean and jerk lift, Luluk failed to win a medal after failing to lift 100 kilograms on three occasions. As a result, the lifter from Pacitan, East Java, also lost the opportunity to win a medal in the total lift which must consist of the snatch and clean and jerk.

Before Luluk's departure to Peru, the Head of the Achievement Development Division of the Indonesian Weightlifting Association (PB PABSI), Hadi Wihardja, spoke about the young lifter. According to Hadi, Luluk is one of the athletes with the potential to achieve success.

According to Hadi, the lifter training in the area has been able to demonstrate consistency in performance. He also tends to show improvement in ability from year to year. "He is one of the potential lifters," he stated.

Luluk proved this in Peru by being the only athlete among a total of five junior athletes from Indonesia competing there. The other four athletes did not manage to win any medals, even finishing outside the top 10 in three categories.

In addition to Luluk, only Sarah was able to break into the top five rankings. Sarah secured the fifth position in the 90-kilogram snatch category while competing in the women's 59-kilogram class.

Luluk and Sarah, both 19 years old, still have at least one more year to compete at the junior level. The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) divides age groups into four categories: youth (13-17 years), junior (15-20 years), senior (over 20 years), and masters (over 35 years).

At the youth level, Indonesia also brought home achievements from Peru. New lifter at the national training camp, Alyamaulida Kartika Pertiwi, won three bronze medals while competing in the 81 kg class. The three bronze medals were for the snatch, clean and jerk, and total lifts.

Competing on Monday (5/5/2025) morning, Alya recorded a snatch lift of 96 kg, a clean and jerk of 120 kg, and a total lift of 216 kg. Alya became the only Indonesian athlete at the youth level to bring home a medal. Five other Indonesian youth lifters failed to make it to the podium.

As a result, the achievements of the "Red-White" contingent were limited to only two medals from Luluk and Alya. Although minimal, the accomplishments of Luluk and Alya have sparked hope for regeneration in the women's sector.

Luluk is actually not a new name in the world of Indonesian weightlifting. Her name began to be in the spotlight at the national level when she won three golds from the snatch, clean and jerk, and total lift of the 45 kg class at the 2019 East Java Provincial Sports Week VI.

Furthermore, Luluk ranked sixth in the 49 kg class at the 2020 Youth Weightlifting World Cup. She was also called to the national training center in Jakarta for two weeks to participate in the 2020 Online Youth World Championship.

Her name began to soar when she won the women's 49 kg gold at the 2022 World Youth Championships in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico. At that time, she recorded a snatch of 75 kg, a clean and jerk of 95 kg, and a total lift of 170 kg.

If we look at Luluk's achievements in Peru, her performance is still below that of Windy Cantika Aisah, a lifter who has won two junior world championship titles in Tashkent, Uzbekistan in 2021 and Heraklion, Greece in 2022.

Windy also still holds the national and world records in the women's 49 kg class in the youth category. Windy's records are 86 kg in snatch, 104 kg in clean and jerk, and 190 kg in total lift.

However, when Windy did not participate in the 2023 Cambodia SEA Games for the Paris 2024 Olympic qualification, Luluk was able to effectively fill her position. Although it was not a gold medal, Luluk achieved a notable accomplishment by securing a bronze medal in the 49 kg category.

Alya is a new face that has begun to attract attention since the Aceh-Sumut PON 2024. Making her debut in the women's 81 kg category to represent Banten, Alya won a gold medal, breaking both national and PON records.

"The results are quite satisfying, but there are still many other targets I want to achieve, one of which is success at the SEA Games," said the 17-year-old lifter after achieving success at the PON.

The 2025 World Junior and Youth Championships, held from April 30 to May 5, is the first international event for Alya, who just joined the national training camp at the beginning of this year. According to the Secretary General of PB PABSI, Djoko Pramono, most of the youth athletes sent to Peru have never competed in international events before.

However, PABSI has chosen to send them directly to the world stage to gain competition experience in preparation for the 2025 Asian Youth Games and the 2026 Olympic Youth Games. According to Djoko, the youth and junior athletes demonstrate that the regeneration of Indonesia's weightlifting continues.

When asked about the development of female weightlifters, especially after several athletes are no longer in the national training center, Djoko responded, "There is no need to worry, there are many new faces with potential," he stated.

One of the potentials, said Djoko, is Alya. At a young age, Alya is projected to continue the legacy of Nurul Akmal in the heavyweight category. Nurul, the only Indonesian lifter who was able to compete in the heavyweight class at the Olympics, is no longer part of the national training center.

Djoko stated that Nurul has indeed made history by becoming the first Indonesian weightlifter to compete in the heavyweight category at the Olympics. The athlete, commonly referred to as Amel, has even appeared on that world stage twice, namely at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024.

Not only that, Amel also upholds the tradition of female lifters who have never missed representing Indonesia since the women's event was first contested at the Sydney 2000 Olympics. However, according to Djoko, Amel could potentially qualify for the Olympics again, but would face difficulties in achieving success given her declining performance and age, which is no longer young, at 32 years.

Meanwhile, the stagnation of achievements was the reason expressed by Djoko when asked about Windy's departure from the national training center. Windy, who has not been part of the national training center since April 2024 or after the ticket hunt to Paris concluded, was also mentioned as being unable to focus on training due to numerous external distractions.

In November of last year, Windy announced her early retirement. In fact, Windy is a phenomenal athlete. At the age of 19, she won a bronze medal in the women's 49 kg category at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

This achievement complements a series of his accomplishments, including breaking five junior world records in nine months and winning the junior world championship title. However, after Tokyo, this lifter from Bandung, West Java, has yet to regain his best performance.

Windy is haunted by injuries that come in succession. After the 2021 SEA Games held in 2022, Windy suffered a back injury. This injury added to the pain that had previously settled in Windy's body, specifically in the shin area of her leg.

Hadi Wihardja stated that athletes who are no longer in the national training center could potentially return, including Windy. If she can still compete and demonstrate her abilities, it is possible for Windy to rejoin the national training center.

On the other hand, with the presence of new faces, the competition among lifters in the same weight category at the national training center has become increasingly intense. This competition is expected to enhance the motivation of athletes to strive to showcase their best abilities, including female lifters.