In 1991, Sarkisyan continued weightlifting again. He had soon started competing for his native Armenia, which gained its independence from the Soviet Union that same year. Yurik Sarkisyan was named the national team leader for the 1993 World Weightlifting Championships in Melbourne. He became the bronze medalist of the tournament. Afterward, Sarkisyan was invited to stay in Australia by the Australian weightlifting officials and later was offered an Australian citizenship. He signed a contract with the Australian Weightlifting Federation and later competed for Australia. Sarkisyan represented this country at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, coming in seventh and ninth place, respectively. Sarkisyan also competed at the Commonwealth Games in 1998 and 2002. He won silver in 1998 and, at the age of 41, won the gold medal in 2002.