Jakarta. Indonesia’s last chance to add to its medal count at the Paris 2024 Olympics rests on weightlifter Nurul Akmal, who will compete in the +81 kg category on Sunday.

Nurul, born in Aceh, will take the stage at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, representing Indonesia in a bid to increase the country’s medal tally.

To date, Indonesia has won two gold medals and one bronze. The golds were claimed by Veddriq Leonardo in men’s speed climbing and Rizki Juniansyah in men’s 73 kg weightlifting. Gregoria Mariska Tunjung secured a bronze in women’s singles badminton. These victories have placed Indonesia 32nd in the medal standings, tied with the Czech Republic.

Among Southeast Asian nations, Indonesia ranks second in the medal standings, behind the Philippines, which has won two golds and two bronzes. The Philippines is currently in 29th place, tied with Austria and Hong Kong.

Nurul Akmal, born on February 12, 1993, in North Aceh, has a notable history in weightlifting. She earned a silver medal in the women’s +90 kg category at the 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games in Baku, Azerbaijan. That same year, she placed sixth at the 2017 Summer Universiade in Taipei, Taiwan. In 2018, she competed in the +75 kg category at the Asian Games in Jakarta, finishing sixth.

In 2019, she won a bronze medal in the women’s +87 kg event at the 6th Qatar International Cup in Doha.

Although Nurul initially ranked 11th among the world’s top 10 athletes in the +81 kg category who qualified for Paris 2024, she secured her Olympic spot after receiving a reallocated ticket from the Asian continental zone.

This will be Nurul’s second Olympic appearance, following her debut at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where she competed in the +87 kg category and finished fifth.