MANILA – Filipina weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz is setting her sights on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after bagging gold in the 2018 Asian Games on Tuesday in Jakarta, Indonesia.
A silver medal winner in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, the Zamboanga City native is determined to nail the elusive Olympic gold in her possibly fourth and final Olympic stint next year.
“I think this is my stepping stone for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. We once again showed that we can be champions in weightlifting,” she said after the Asian Games. “This only proves the Olympic gold medal is possible.”
Diaz topped the -53kg category after tallying 207 points – 92 points in snatch and 115 in clean and jerk.
“I am grateful to God that I finally won the gold medal in Asian Games. This is a dream of all Filipino athletes,” Diaz said.
Diaz finished 10th in her first Asiad stint in 2006 and sixth in her second appearance in 2010.
“It’s not easy. In my first Asian Games, I just joined for the experience. In my second I was sixth of 12. This shows it takes years to be a champion,” said the College of St. Benilde student.
Diaz admitted she had sleepless nights heading to the competition, with high expectations from her to win the gold after placing second in the 2016 Rio Olympics.
“In the Olympics, no one expected me to win a medal. Here at the Asian Games, everyone expected me to win,” she said. “For two to three months, I was on the edge. I hardly got enough sleep. But I just kept on training and gave my fate to God.”
With the Asian Games finally done and Diaz now P6 million richer as part of incentives of her gold medal, she now begins her preparations for Olympic qualifying tournaments scheduled later this year.
“I will do my best in the (2020 Tokyo) Olympic qualifiers,” she said. “I will push myself to the limits because that could be my final Olympics.”/PN
