Competing at Her Own Expense, Young Lifter Luluk Diana Achieves World Achievement

A smile spread across Luluk Diana Tri Wijayana's face after successfully lifting an 81-kilogram barbell at the 2025 World Youth and Junior Championships in Lima, Peru, Friday (2/5/2025). The snatch lift (lifting a weight without a break from the floor to above the head) was heavier than her first attempt of 78 kilograms. It was also Luluk's best lift after her last attempt failed to lift 84 kg.

No one managed to match Luluk's 81 kg lift. With that lift, Luluk also secured the gold medal in the 49 kilogram junior women's snatch. At the World Championships, there are three medals available for each of the three types of lifts, namely snatch, clean and jerk, and total lift.

"Alhamdulillah with the results in Peru. Although in my heart there is a feeling of guilt, great disappointment because the clean and jerk did not work. Should have been able to give the best, but maybe Allah has not given, given one medal," said Luluk, who had returned from Peru, when contacted on Thursday (8/5/2025).

In the clean and jerk lift, Luluk failed to lift the 100 kilogram barbell on three occasions, thus failing to maintain the opportunity for additional medals. As a result, the opportunity for the lifter from Pacitan, East Java, to win a medal in the total lift that must consist of the snatch and clean and jerk lifts was also closed.

In fact, Luluk said, lifting 100 kg is her daily "food" during training. In fact, in training, Luluk has been able to achieve a clean and jerk lift of 105 kg.

However, in Peru, the experience of lifting 100 kg seemed to dissipate just like that. Three attempts to lift, and three times Luluk felt confused. "Honestly, I feel nervous. Because this is my first time competing in the World Championship again after such a long time. If it were at the national or Southeast Asian level, I am used to my lifts being above the others. This is different," said Luluk.

"In the World Championships, the competition is tighter. The lifts are similar. So, the evaluation is more about yourself," he said.

Luluk last appeared at the World Championships in 2022. Three years ago, she emerged as world champion after winning 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.

However, after that, Luluk was absent from world-level events, including in the junior category. She only returned to compete on the international stage when she won a bronze medal at the 2023 Cambodia SEA Games and a gold medal at the 2024 Qatar Arab Championship.

Therefore, it is understandable that Luluk was "shocked" by the competition at the global level. In fact, her target is to complete all types of lifts on six occasions. The 19-year-old lifter aims to surpass her own training record, which presents an opportunity for medal achievement.

However, Luluk's gold medal became a "savior" for Indonesia's image at the junior level. Indonesia sent a total of five junior athletes to compete in Peru. The other four athletes were unable to secure medals, with most finishing outside the top 10 in three weight categories.

Besides Luluk, only Sarah was able to break into the top five rankings. Sarah placed fifth in the 90-kilogram snatch when competing in the women's 59-kilogram class.

Achievements in Peru seem to reward Luluk's struggle, who embarked on this journey independently. Luluk is not an athlete from the national training center. She has been trained since childhood in her region, East Java, by her coach, Samsuri.

To travel to Peru, Luluk also used personal funds. She stated that she utilized the bonus from winning a gold medal in her debut at the Aceh-Sumut PON 2024. In addition, she received assistance from KONI Pacitan and KONI East Java.

Due to limited funds, Luluk had to arrange the trip as effectively as possible. She departed from Pacitan to Jakarta by bus on Saturday (26/5/2025) afternoon and arrived on Sunday morning.

After that, Luluk, accompanied only by Samsuri, embarked on a journey of more than 30 hours to Lima, Peru on Monday morning. During the trip, Luluk had a layover in Doha, Qatar, and Madrid, Spain. Public services in Spain were temporarily halted due to a power outage on Monday evening.

Fortunately, Luluk and Samsuri were not affected. They arrived in Lima on Tuesday evening. Practically, Luluk only had one day of rest before starting training sessions on Wednesday and competing on Thursday.

The national training center athletes have departed since Saturday to allow for a longer rest period. However, for Luluk, this means having to incur additional expenses for accommodation.

"My dream is to compete in the Olympics, hopefully in Los Angeles 2028. Therefore, I want to participate in many international competitions. Especially for the Olympics, there are usually qualifying tournaments to secure a ticket," said Luluk, who idolizes Sri Wahyuni Agustiani, the silver medalist from the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics.

Luluk was actually not never called to the national training camp. Moreover, her achievements at the national level have indeed attracted attention. Her name began to be in the spotlight 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. Two years later, she became the youth world champion. Luluk was also invited several times to join the national training center. However, Luluk expressed her considerations regarding joining the national training center.

To the Secretary General of the Central Board of the Indonesian Weightlifting Association, Djoko Pramono, Luluk admitted that she had expressed her willingness to join the national training center as long as she could be with her coach, Samsuri. The reason is simple, as Samsuri has trained and guided her since childhood, thus knowing how to handle her during practice.

In addition, Luluk no longer needs to adapt or struggle to build trust with a new coach who may not necessarily be suitable for him. "It's not that I see the national training center as bad or anything like that, but in my opinion, perhaps not everyone is suited to such a system. With a coach we trust, when something happens like an injury, there is someone who will strive to find a solution," he stated.

"The main thing is, I also do not want to be like a peanut that forgets its shell," Luluk continued regarding why he remains committed to training with Samsuri.

Meanwhile, Samsuri stated that Peru is actually the last opportunity that Luluk must seize to showcase her talent at the senior level. Luluk, born on August 8, 2005, is currently nearing the age of 19, making her ineligible to compete at the junior level in next year's event. The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) sets an age limit for the junior level for athletes aged 15-20 years.

Actually, after becoming the world champion at the junior level, Luluk could have participated in the Junior World Championship. However, Luluk was absent from the previous two editions due to several obstacles that prevented him from attending. Nevertheless, Samsuri is grateful that Luluk was able to maintain his achievements at the world level in his final year at the junior level.

According to Samsuri, the development of athletes is not merely a technical aspect reflected in the increasing number of lifts. Mental or psychological aspects are also a consideration, especially for young lifters like Luluk.

"If we can still request, it would be permissible to train at the club level, at the regional level, but under the supervision of the central authority. So it would be a kind of decentralized national training center, and we could be targeted. For example, if there is no progress in the next six months, then just eliminate it, that would be fine," said Samsuri.

"That is if you want to be trained nationally. If not, we will just give you a selection opportunity if you want to join a single event or multi event. We will follow what and the mechanism is nationally," said the coach of the Bina Satria club in Pacitan.

From Pacitan to Peru, Luluk continues to showcase her charm as a young lifter who represents a new hope for Indonesia's female weightlifting athletes. Whether at the national or regional level, all Luluk needs is support and opportunity. All of this is in pursuit of her dream to qualify for the 2028 LA Olympics.