With the field featuring Olympic silver medalist, Jadi Setiadi looked  pushed to go for silver, but the Indonesian lifter beat the odds to win his SEA Games third gold medal in Laos.

Chest-bared Jadi dropped on his knees as the Olympic silver medalist Anh Tuan Hoang of Vietnam failed his third attempt to lift the 152-kilogram weight in the clean and jerk in the final of the men's 56-kg division.

The elation brought Jadi up to the stage to celebrate victory while Hoang, whose failure meant he was deprived of a podium spot, laid flat in sheer dejection.

"I dedicate this win as a present for my one-year-old son Kevin Anugrah Wijaya, who celebrates his birthday on December 12," said Jadi, who returned to the lifting scene after five years of absence.

He was struggling to hold back tears when 'Indonesia Raya' was played and the red-and-white flag was hoisted at the Pornsawan Gymnasium in Vientiane.

"This gold is truly a miracle from God, as I had initially set out only for silver," said Jadi, adding that he had gone through intensive preparations for a month for the event.

He was ranked fourth at the World Weightlifting Championship in Goyang, South Korea, a tryout destination for the Indonesian team two weeks before heading to Laos.

Jadi powered to his best lifts of 126-kg in snatch, 148-kg in clean and jerk for an overall 274-kg. The clean and jerk lift was still under his best of 157-kg he made during training.   

It was a victorious return for 24-year-old Jadi, who had won gold in two consecutive SEA Games in Malaysia and Vietnam but was absent in the following two Games.

Jadi said that he had almost felt hopeless with an uncertain future as he had been absent from any international weightlifting events in the past five years, including from the previous two SEA Games.

"I am grateful that Imron Rosadi, my coach in Lampung, continued to lift my spirits during the past years," said Jadi. "Today I have proven that I still can do it." 

(by Agnes Winarti ,  The Jakarta Post)      

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Gaining weight, a pressing concern for many people in modern society, just means more medals for Eko Yuli Irawan.

He won gold in the men's 56-kilogram division during the 2007 Southeast Asian Games in Thailand, but as he grew older and his 20-year-old body filled out, he had to move up to the 62-kilogram division.

Even in uncharted territory, the Indonesian showed he's still the one to beat.

Eko posted a total lift of 300 kilograms at the SEA Games in Vientiane, Laos,  winning the gold medal and breaking the previous Games record of 290 kilograms. Indonesia's Gustar Juniarto set the old mark at the 2001 Games.

After the medal ceremony, the Lampung-born lifter said he was nervous as he did not have much advance intelligence on his opponents.

"I feel much better competing in my new class. It's much more promising, and I also feel better with my bigger posture," Eko said.

"It's a perfect year-ending for me. I achieved more than I did in previous years. It's a good preparation for the Asian Games next year and the Olympic Games in 2012. I'm getting more confident to compete in those two big events."

The son of a bicycle rickshaw driver, Eko was only 11 when he first joined a weightlifting club, receiving an allowance of Rp 7,000 per week. Suffice to say, his gold-medal reward from the Indonesian government will beat that many times over.

The government promised Rp 200 million for each SEA Games gold medalist, with athletes receiving Rp 50 million for silver and Rp 30 million for bronze.

Eko said he had no plans for his new windfall.

"I already spent the 2007 bonus on buying property, such as land and a house in Lampung and a small kiosk for my family," he said. "Now I just want to save it." 

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Lisa Rumbewas turned back the years in the women's 58-kilogram division, winning her first SEA Games gold medal at age 30 after silvers in 2001, 2003 and 2005.

She lifted 210 kilograms, matching the mark that won her a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

"I'm so happy I could bring out my best after being absent from the 2007 Games. This gold is unexpected, but I did it," Lisa said. 

(by Ami Afriatni, Jakarta Globe)

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Triyatno completed a clean sweep of three gold medals for Indonesia in the weightlifting competition at the Southeast Asian Games in Vientiane.
Competing in the men's 69-kilogram division, Triyatno proved too strong for the rest of the field as he totaled 326kg to shatter the meet record set by compatriot Misdan Yunip six years ago by 16kg.
 
Having secured the gold medal, Triyatno attempted to lift 185kg in the clean and jerk, which is his personal best, but to no avail.

"No problem. The most important is I won the competition," Triyatno said of his unsuccessful attempt.

The gold medal will earn Triyatno, as well as other Indonesian gold medalists, Rp 200 million (US$21,200) in cash bonuses. He said he would save the money as a future investment.