SHE may have won a silver medal in the Olympics but her Asian Games finish in China has always been something that has haunted the country’s prized weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz. But yesterday, she erased that memory by winning the Philippines’ first gold medal in the quadrennial meet in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The victory made Diaz emotional, and she cried as she saluted the flag as the Philippine national anthem played in the stadium during the awarding ceremony.
“Umiiyak ako kasi pangarap ko na matugtug ang Lupang Hinirang at ma-itaas ang bandila ng Pilipinas sa Asian Games,” said Diaz.
Diaz won the gold in the women’s 53kg division to make up for her sixth place finish in the 2010 Asian Games in China. She competed in the 58kg division then. In 2006, she finished 10th in the Doha, Qatar Asiad.
She finished with a total lift of 207 kilograms, winning by a hairline over Turkmenistan’s Kristina Shermetova, who finished with a total lift of 206 kg.
Thailand’s Surodchana Khambao finished with the bronze with a total lift of 201 kg.
It was a close call for Diaz, who trailed Shermetova by a kilo after the snatch event. Diaz made up for it after a 115-kg lift in her second attempt of the clean and jerk to Shermetova’s 113. Shermatova tried to make up for it by trying to lift 116 in the final attempt but failed.
Hidilyn’s best lift in snatch is in her final attempt, where she cleared 92 kilograms.
Her best lift in the clean and jerk is 115 kg.
Her total lift was an improvement to her Olympic performance in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where she had a total lift of 200kgs. for her silver finish.
Before her game, the 27-year-old from Zamboanga was feeling anxious about her chances. “This is not an easy fight, hingi ko po sana prayers talaga.
Yesterday, she said she was focused on her game and did not think of anything else other than the things she learned from training.
“In that moment, I can’t do anything na. Basta iniisip ko na lang ang technique ko,” said Diaz.
Diaz had been preparing for the quadriennial Games after women’s weightlifting was scrapped from the 29th Southeast Asian Games held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Meanwhile, in taekwondo, Pauline Lopez delivered the country’s fourth bronze medal in the women’s -57-kilogram weight class.
Lopez, a 2015 Southeast Asian Games gold medalist, made it to the semifinals but fell to Lou Zhongsi of China, 11-4, to settle for bronze medal, which is the fourth overall bronze medal for the Philippines and the third coming from taekwondo.
Lopez improved her performance in this year’s Asiad after getting eliminated in 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.
In cycling, Cebuano elite MTB rider Niño Surban finished No.16 in the men’s cross-country race and bid his chances goodbye.
Meanwhile, Lee Hiong Wee, the Philippines Ambassador to Indonesia, promised a P1-million cash incentive for the athlete who will produce a gold medal in the sporting medal joined by 45 countries. This is on top of the incentive under Republic Act 10699 or the National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act, where gold medal winners are set to to receive P2 million. (MCB, RSC, with Marianne S. Abalayan of SunStar Davao)