Three Golds and a World Record, Lifter Rahmat Erwin Abdullah's Farewell Gift to the 73 Kg Class

JIANGSHAN, SUNDAY — It would not be Rahmat Erwin Abdullah if he did not bring home medals and break world records. Although he had briefly "disappeared," the brilliant version of Rahmat has returned. With three gold medals and a sharpened world record, Rahmat has given a beautiful farewell gift to his favored class, 73 kilograms.

Rahmat Erwin Abdullah carved out his latest achievement while competing in the 73 kg Group A class of the 2025 Asian Weightlifting Championships in Jiangshan, China, Sunday (11/5/2025). Rahmat won three gold medals from the snatch (lifting a weight without a break from the floor to above the head) weighing 155 kg, the clean and jerk (lifting a weight in two stages) weighing 205 kg and a total lift of 360 kg.

With the 190 kg clean and jerk he completed in the first lift alone, Rahmat could actually have secured the three gold medals. None of the other nine lifters could surpass Rahmat's lift, either in the clean and jerk, snatch, or total lift.

However, Rahmat wants more than just three medals. Therefore, the world champion lifter of 2021 and 2022 attempted a lift of 205 kg and succeeded. This means he sharpened the world record under his own name, which was set at the 2024 Asian Weightlifting Championship in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, with a lift of 204 kg.

After completing the cohort that sharpened his record, Rahmat saluted. The 24-year-old lifter paid tribute as well as a farewell gift for the 73-kilogram class.

"It is Rahmat's desire to give the most beautiful gift for the farewell on the occasion of the 73 kg class. This is very beautiful as it will become an eternal record and be noted throughout time," said Rahmat's father and coach, Erwin Abdullah.

As of June 2025, the 73 kg class will no longer be contested after the IWF (International Weightlifting Federation) implements new weight categories. In the men's sector, the new weight categories consist of eight classes, including 60 kilograms, 65 kg, 71 kg, 79 kg, 88 kg, 98 kg, 110 kg, and +110 kg.

This number is fewer than the previous category, which consisted of 10 classes. The old classes included 55 kg, 61 kg, 67 kg, 73 kg, 81 kg, 89 kg, 96 kg, 102 kg, 109, and +109 kg.

As Erwin said, the world record will remain forever and will never be broken again.

Meanwhile, in the women's sector, the new categories start from 48kg, 53kg, 58kg, 63kg, 69kg, 77kg, 86kg, and +86 kg. Previously, the 10 classes for female lifters consisted of 46 kg, 49 kg, 55 kg, 59 kg, 64kg, 71 kg, 76 kg, 81 kg, 87 kg, and +87 kg.

The Asian Championships were Rahmat's last chance to compete in the 73 kg class. This weight category is Rahmat's specialty, besides 81 kg. From this category, Rahmat has also made various achievements and broken various records, including the world record for clean and jerk since 2022.

Rahmat won two gold medals at the SEA Games while competing in the 73 kg class. The lifter from Makassar, South Sulawesi, also became the Asian champion at the junior level in this category in 2019 and 2020. He has also been crowned Asian champion twice at the senior level while competing in this category.

At the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games, Rahmat also succeeded in winning a gold medal while competing in the 73 kg category. In addition, Rahmat has collected five gold medals in the 73 kg class at the World Championships. This category is also the weight class in which Rahmat won a bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

It is understandable that Rahmat wishes to mark his final moment in the 73 kg class with his "hobby." This way, as Erwin stated, the world record will remain eternal, never to be broken again.

In fact, Rahmat, with his version of bringing home a medal and breaking the world record, had briefly "disappeared" during the 2024 World Weightlifting Championship in Manama, Bahrain, at the end of last year. There were no medals or record-breaking performances from him in the 81 kg category.

Before departing, Rahmat had indeed stated that he would not push himself too hard in Bahrain. The reason being that the event was merely a year-end tournament following a series of packed agendas, including the qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Rahmat has also stated that he does not particularly aim to pursue world records again. It was only at the Asian Championship, which was the tournament at the beginning of this year, that Rahmat returned to the version that has become associated with him.

"Even though we already know that what we are doing will not receive appreciation, just like the previous records that were made, the most important thing is that as children of the nation, this is our contribution," said Erwin.

"I am proud of my son," he said again.

Rahmat performed quite dominantly in Jiangshan. Only Turkmenistan lifter Bunyad Rashidov managed to match Rahmat's lifts in the snatch. Rashidov lifted 150 kg in his second lift, three kg heavier than his first lift.

However, Rashidov failed to lift the weight of 153 kg on his third attempt. Meanwhile, Rahmat, who was able to lift 150 kg on his first attempt, lifted an additional five kg on his second attempt. He forfeited the third opportunity because even with 155 kg, he had already secured the gold medal.

In the clean and jerk type of lift, Rahmat's dominance was even stronger. The best lift of Chinese lifter, Haifeng Wu, for example, was even one kilogram lighter than the weight lifted by Rahmat in the first attempt of 190 kg.

In this class, there are many new faces participating. Meanwhile, several of the best athletes in the 73 kg category, such as the gold medalist from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Shi Zhiyong (China), the gold medalist from the Paris 2024 Olympics, Rizki Juniansyah (Indonesia), and the silver medalist in Paris 2024, Weeraphon Wichuma (Thailand), are absent or competing in other classes.

With the addition of Rahmat's achievement, Indonesia ranked fourth on the third day's medal standings. In addition to Rahmat's three golds, Indonesia also won a snatch bronze medal from Juliana Klarisa who competed in the 55 kg class.

Meanwhile, Indonesian lifter Ardaraya, who also competed in the 73 kg class, was still far from Rahmat's lift. With a snatch of 130 kg, a clean and jerk of 175 kg, and a total lift of 305 kg, Ardaraya was in ninth place.

Indonesia sent a total of 10 athletes to this Asian Championship, consisting of four male athletes and six female lifters. Only two lifters have yet to compete, namely Rizki Juniansyah (81 kg) and Indah Afriza (71 kg). Rizki will compete on Monday (12/5/2025), while Indah will compete the following day.