Rizki Juniansyah once again reaffirmed his status as a world-class weightlifter. Indonesia’s leading lifter delivered a dominant performance at the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand, winning the gold medal while also breaking world records.
Competing in the men’s 79 kg category, Rizki faced virtually no serious challenge and delivered a performance that further extended his impressive gold-medal record at the international level.
Total Dominance at the 2025 SEA Games
Rizki competed in the men’s 79 kg event at the 2025 SEA Games, held at Chonburi Sports School, Thailand, on Monday (15 December). The Paris 2024 Olympic gold medalist immediately asserted his superiority from the opening lifts.
In the snatch, Rizki successfully lifted 160 kilograms with ease. His advantage became insurmountable when he followed it up with an outstanding clean & jerk of 205 kilograms.
With a combined total of 365 kilograms, Rizki secured the gold medal and etched his name into the record books.
His total far exceeded that of his closest rivals. Malaysia’s Muhammad Erry Hidayat settled for silver with a total lift of 336 kilograms, while Thailand’s Natthawut Suepsuan claimed the bronze medal with a total of 335 kilograms.
Breaking World and Asian Records
In addition to winning gold, Rizki shattered both world and Asian records. His clean & jerk lift of 205 kilograms surpassed the previous world record of 204 kilograms, a record that Rizki himself had set at the 2025 World Championships in October.
Furthermore, his total lift of 365 kilograms also established new world and Asian records in the men’s 79 kg category, surpassing the previous mark of 364 kilograms.
A Gold for Indonesia
Rizki’s gold medal marked a significant milestone for the Indonesian contingent. It was Indonesia’s 50th gold medal at the 2025 SEA Games and the country’s second gold in weightlifting.
Earlier, women’s lifter Luluk Diana Tri Wijayana had contributed Indonesia’s first weightlifting gold by winning the women’s 48 kg event on Saturday (13 December).
Rizki’s success at the 2025 SEA Games also extends his strong record in Southeast Asian competition. At the 2023 SEA Games, he also claimed gold, although he competed in the men’s 73 kg category at the time.
A Long Road to the Paris Olympics
To qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics, Rizki competed in a series of major qualification events, including the 2023 IWF World Championships in Riyadh and the 2024 IWF World Cup in Phuket. His journey was far from easy.
In late August 2023, Rizki underwent appendicitis surgery, which forced him to stop training for nearly half a year. He only returned to full training in January 2024.
After completing his recovery, Rizki immediately demonstrated his exceptional form. He competed at the 2024 IWF World Cup and emerged as the champion.
At that competition, Rizki set a world record with a total lift of 365 kilograms in the men’s 73 kg category, breaking the previous record held by Chinese lifter Shi Zhiyong. This achievement secured his qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
At the Paris 2024 Olympics, held on 8 August 2024, Rizki brought pride to Indonesia by winning the gold medal. He also set an Olympic record in the clean & jerk with a lift of 199 kilograms.
At the age of 21 years and 52 days, Rizki became the youngest Indonesian athlete to win an Olympic gold medal, breaking a long-standing record previously held by Susi Susanti since the 1992 Olympics.
Born into a Weightlifting Family
Rizki Juniansyah was born in Serang, Banten, on 17 June 2003. He is the son of Yasin and Yeni Rohaeni and comes from a family deeply rooted in weightlifting.
His father is a former weightlifter who won bronze medals at the 1985 and 1987 SEA Games, while his mother was also a former athlete.
The athletic lineage in the family runs even deeper. Rizki’s brother-in-law, Triyatno, is a bronze medalist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and a silver medalist at the 2012 London Olympics.
Rizki was introduced to weightlifting at the age of nine. His career has been marked by consistent success since his teenage years, including back-to-back national championship titles in 2017 and 2018. He also won gold medals at the 2018 Youth National Sports Week, the 2018 Provincial Sports Week, and the 2021 National Sports Week.
At the international level, Rizki achieved major success by winning gold medals at the Junior World Championships in both 2021 and 2022.
These achievements earned Rizki a place on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2025 list in the Entertainment and Sports category. His performance at the 2025 SEA Games stands as the latest proof that Rizki Juniansyah is not merely a champion, but a central figure in the new generation of Indonesian weightlifting.
