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KUALA LUMPUR – National weightlifter Muhammad Erry Hidayat aims to be among the world’s top 12 to gain an automatic spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
To achieve that, the 23-year-old plans to compete in several world meets, starting with the World Weightlifting Championships in Bogota, Colombia, in December, to collect qualifying points.
“My target is to be ranked in the top 12, which is the minimum requirement to qualify for the Olympics. I am now ranked 16th in the world.
“My best lift now is the 316-kilogramme (kg) – 173 in the clean & jerk and 143 kg in snatch – that I did at the Hanoi SEA Games in May. Based on that performance, I am confident I can achieve my target of being ranked in the top 12 (in the world),” he said when contacted today.
Erry, who is the son of former national weightlifting legend Muhammad Hidayat Hamidon, made the country proud by winning a silver medal in the 73kg category at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
For the record, Hidayat won one gold and one silver at the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games. – Bernama, November 5, 2022
