INDONESIA SOARS AT THE OLYMPICS
(Source : cdn.rri.co.id)
LPM Campus – The right word to mention that Indonesia is on the rise is when the success of the Indonesian contingent secured two gold medals ahead of the Grand Closing Ceremony in Paris. Indonesia was in the spotlight because in the last seconds of the world’s largest sports party, the Indonesian contingent soar leaving other ASEAN participants such as Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam. 2 gold medals won by Indonesia were obtained in the sports of Sport Climbing and Weightlifting. The actors behind Indonesia’s success in getting these 2 golds are Veddriq Leonardo and Rizki Juniansyah.
Indonesia is in a festive euphoria in the thick of the success of the Indonesian contingent to win the podium before the closing of the 2024 Olympics. The massive role of various parties supporting the success of athletes to achieve their best performance is shown from various portraits of team happiness after being declared victorious. It seems that the kinship and thirst for medals are truly shown by the athletes. Even though they lost, the tears of sadness were reciprocated by the community which was considered a positive ion for Indonesian athletes who were competing for the podium. Sometimes it does not match expectations or training before competing, but the thirst for medals is really shown persistently by athletes. That perspective is aptly said for Veddriq and Rizki.
(Source : detik.com)
Veddriq Leonardo is a fast-class long cliff athlete from West Kalimantan. Veddriq began to recognize the length of the cliff from his youth. This 27-year-old man, indeed likes free nature activities. With the lack of facilities in Pontianak, Veddriq with hard work and burning enthusiasm fought for the podium at the national championship. His name began to be blown up by the media since the 2014 and 2016 National Championships. 10 years later, he began to spread his wings internationally. His journey was not an easy one. The match was fierce. “0.02 seconds adrift” will be a hot hashtag for the people of Indonesia. The reason is, Veddriq managed to crush Wu Peng with 0.02 seconds faster (4.75 seconds to be precise). Finally, the “gold medal bite” was shown with excitement by Veddriq for his success.
(Source : akcdn.detik.net.id)
Rizki Juniansyah is a young man who made it to Paris to compete in weightlifting in the men’s 73kg class. To compete in Paris, the 21-year-old had to win the IWF World Cup 2024 held in Phuket, Thailand. The journey had its difficulties. Rizki had to undergo surgery on his appendix last year. Then on August 8, 2024, almost one year after the appendectomy, Rizki was confirmed to climb to the podium and raise the pride of the Indonesian people, the Red and White flag to the world audience. Rizki defeated other representatives such as Wichuma from Thailand and Andreev from Bulgaria with a total force of 354kg. A myriad of records were immediately given to Rizki such as the highest Clean and Jerk force defeating Chinese representative Shi Zhiyong, the youngest gold medalist defeating ace and badminton legend Susi Susanti at the age of 21 years and 52 days and the first Olympic gold medalist in the Weightlifter branch. Rizki expressed his gratitude to the people of Indonesia who have supported him during the sporting event, including his parents and his team.
Both young men represented one of the many generations that were predicted to be the golden generation for Indonesia. They have succeeded in realizing their respective dreams. Hard work, tireless despite obstacles, always practicing and praying for blessings to parents are the keys behind their success in feeling the sensation of ‘biting the 2024 Olympic gold medal’. Their names will always be remembered by the people of Indonesia.
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Writer: Naufal Akiela Darmakusala (Accounting ’21)
Editor: Shafira Ayyu Listia Azizah (Communication Studies ’22)
