In 1982, Sarkisyan cemented his place as the best featherweight weightlifter in the world by winning gold medals at both the 1982 European Weightlifting Championships and 1982 World Weightlifting Championships. Sarkisyan repeated the accomplishment to following year at the 1983 European Weightlifting Championships and 1983 World Weightlifting Championships, making him a consecutive two-time European and World Champion. He had also set several world records at this point. He was a clear gold medal favorite for the 1984 Summer Olympics, but was unable to participate at them because of the 1984 Summer Olympics boycott.