BANDUNG - PT Pupuk Indonesia (Persero) once again supported the holding of the 2023 Senior Weightlifting National Championship (Kejurnas) which took place at Saparua Sports Hall, Bandung, West Java (West Java). The championship which took place from 18 to 23 July 2023 presented national lifters representing their respective regions.

The national athletes participating in the 2023 Senior Weightlifting National Championship include Eko Yuli Irawan (East Java), Rizky Juniansyah (Banten), Rahmat Erwin Abdullah (South Sulawesi), Riko Saputra (Papua), Muhammad Zul Ilmi (Aceh), in the men's division. In the women's section, Windy Cantika Aisyah (West Java), Natasha Beteyob (Papua), Restu Anggi (West Kalimantan), and Nurul Akmal (Aceh). In total there were around 315 participants consisting of 169 weightlifters from 22 provinces who were members of the Executive Board of the Indonesia Weightlifting Federation (PB PABSI).

Director of HR of PT Pupuk Indonesia (Persero), Tina T. Kemala Intan expressed her gratitude to PB PABSI for giving the Pupuk Indonesia Group the opportunity to support the 2023 Senior Weightlifting National Championship. "Hopefully our support can provide maximum results by giving birth to young talents who have a winning spirit from various provinces in Indonesia. So that the regeneration of weightlifting athletes or lifters in Indonesia goes well, and this support is also a form of Pupuk Indonesia's contribution to the country," said Tina at the opening of the 2023 Senior Weightlifting National Championship at GOR Saparua, Bandung, West Java, Tuesday (18/7/2-23).

Pupuk Indonesia together with three of its subsidiaries, namely PT Petrokimia Gresik, PT Pupuk Kalimantan Timur, and PT Pupuk Sriwidjaja Palembang have started to provide support to PB PABSI in order to develop and train weightlifters starting in 2022. Pupuk Indonesia's support for this group has paid off well because it has produced talented lifters who have won bronze medals at the 2023 Cambodian Sea Games, they are Luluk Tri Wijayana and Muhammad Husni.

The Secretary General (Secretary General) of PB PABSI, Djoko Pramono hopes that the 2023 Senior Weightlifting National Championship can give birth to new athletes who can later represent Indonesia in international championships. He revealed that the support provided by Pupuk Indonesia and its subsidiaries greatly contributed to the national lifter regeneration process.

"We would like to thank Pupuk Indonesia and its three subsidiaries for supporting the Junior and Senior Weightlifting National Championships in 2023. With support from Pupuk Indonesia we can explore even more the potential of athletes who have not yet been honed," said Djoko.

Djoko further said that the Junior and Senior National Weightlifting Championships supported by the Pupuk Indonesia Group this year are also an effort to prepare lifters to compete in the Paris Olympics in 2024, and several domestic championships such as the Aceh PON.

Chairman of the Organizing Committee for the 2023 Senior Weightlifting National Championship, Hadi Wihardja, ensured that this championship was very special. This is because regional lifters are able to feel the competitive atmosphere which is quite tight when competing with Pelatnas lifters who are the mainstay of the Indonesian Weightlifting Team at the international level.

"They were able to test the capabilities of the Pelatnas lifters and compete fiercely to become champions. In this way, it is hoped to produce senior lifters from various regions who will later become the mainstay of the Indonesian Weightlifting Team in the international arena," said Hadi.

The 2023 Senior Weightlifting National Championship will compete in several classes that male and female lifters will participate in. The classes that will be contested in the men's section are 45 kg class, 55 kg class, 61 kg class, 67 kg class, 73 kg class, 81 kg class, 89 kg class, 96 kg class, 102 kg class, 108 kg class, and +190 kg. While in the women's section, class 49 kg, class 55 kg, class 59 kg, class 64 kg, class 71 kg, class 76 kg, class 81 kg, class 87 kg, and +87 kg.