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Rizki Juniansyah from Indonesia was in world record form as he claimed another major victory to add to the Olympic gold and world title he has won in the past 18 months. Rizki won at the South East Asian Games in Chonburi, Thailand, where a high-quality competition featured six world records — five senior and one junior.

Thailand dominated over five days of weightlifting in the multi-sport Games, which end on Saturday. The host nation had nine winners, two of whom – world champion Weeraphon Wichuma at 71kg and Theeraphon Silachai at 60kg – set world records. Both men were silver medallists at the Paris Olympic Games.

Rizki Juniansyah (INA)

Five of the seven women’s events were won by Thailand, which also took five silver or bronze medals. Indonesia won three golds, and Vietnam and the Philippines had one each.

The star performer for the Philippines was a silver medallist, Albert Delos Santos, who bettered his own clean and jerk junior world record in finishing second to Wichuma. Delos Santos was named “the future of Philippines weightlifting” by his team-mate Hidilyn Diaz, the 2020 Olympic champion who competed for the first time in nearly two years but finished out of the medals. Diaz, 34, said she was not retiring yet.

Weeraphon Wichuma (THA)

Rizki, like Wichuma, broke world records in clean and jerk and total. With his final attempt he bettered his own clean and jerk mark by 1kg, finishing 160-205-365. That was 3kg better than the total world record set by Abdelrahman ‘Abdo’ Younes from Egypt at the Islamic Solidarity Games in Saudi Arabia last month.

“I wanted to break the snatch record (166kg) but my coach wouldn’t let me do it,” Rizki said. “So I decided to just land at 160 kg in the snatch so I could relax a bit in the clean and jerk.”

Theeraphon Silachai (THA)

He seemed untroubled in making his 160kg snatch, and also looked more comfortable in clean and jerk than he had done when winning the world title in Norway in early October.

Rizki’s team-mate Rahmat Erwin bulked up to 80.61kg, his heaviest ever, but was still more than 7kg light in the 88kg category. Rahmat won on 160-202-362 and said he was trying to be less stressed in future, having suffered badly when he was knocked out of Paris 2024 by Rizki in the final qualifier.

“I can be more calm, enjoy it, and just relax,” he said. “I don’t want to worry too much or be overwhelmed.”

Asked about weight classes for himself and Rizki next year, when qualifying for Los Angeles 2028 begins, Rahmat said, “We don’t know what it’ll be like yet, or which class we’ll be in. We’ll see.”

Wichuma has won Olympic silver, a world title and now SEA Games gold in his past three competitions. He made 151-196-347 at 71kg, which was 1kg more than his World Championships total in Forde, Norway in October. His 196kg was the 12th world record at this weight since July.

Albert Delos Santos (PHI)

Delos Santos made 138-186-324 in second place. After seeing his team-mates Rosegie Ramos, Jhodie Peralta and Diaz all fail to win a medal in the three lightest women’s events, he became the first Philipppines medallist.

“I wanted to lift the team some way or another,” he said. “I’m not doing this for myself, I want to do this for them. I love my team.”

Silachai was second in Paris and Forde, and won in Chonburi on 131-173-304. By contrast with the 71kg category, his clean and jerk was the first world record at 60kg, where the world standard on total is 307kg.

Surodchana Khambao (THA)

Thailand’s other male winners were Patsaphong Thongsuk at 65kg on 307kg, and Sarat Sumpradit at 94kg on 366kg. Vietnam won the men’s super-heavyweights when Dinh Thang Tran made 366kg.

The women’s champions from Thailand were the Paris bronze medallist Surodchana Khambao at 53kg on 204kg, Suratwadee Yodsarn at 58kg on 224kg, Phattharathida Wongsing at 69kg on 229kg, Chalida Taingdee at 77kg on 214kg, and the super-heavyweight Duangaksorn Chaidee on 258kg.

Elreen Ando won on 229kg for the Philippines at 63kg, while the home favourite Thanaporn Saetia made only two good lifts and finished third. Luluk Wijayana from Indonesia also got the better of a leading Thai lifter when she totalled 184kg to win at 48kg ahead of Thanyathon Sukcharoen, who failed with her final attempt at 102kg.

Elreen Ando (PHI)

Rizki, Wichuma and Silachai led the individual men’s rankings in that order. The top female performer was Yodsarn, whose 224kg was a career best, followed by the 58kg silver medallist Natasya Beteyob from Indonesia, who totalled 218kg, then Khambao.

By Brian Oliver