Hidilyn Diaz of Philippines competes in the women’s 53kg weightlifting event during the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia. AFP
Hidilyn Diaz tops weightlifting 53kg to hand PHL first gold medal in ongoing Asian Games
JAKARTA—Like she did two years ago, Hidilyn Diaz carried Philippine pride and perked up the Filipino spirit.
With all eyes on the Olympian, Diaz ruled the 53-kg division of weightlifting’s snatch and clean and jerk events to gift the struggling Philippine contingent in the 18th Asian Games its first gold medal and hopefully spark a deluge.
The 27-year-old Zamboanga native had a total of 207 kilograms to nose out Turkmenistan’s Kristina Shermitova by a kilo with Thailand’s Surodchana Khambao settling for the bronze with a 201- kg effort.
Diaz’ golden performance enabled the Philippines to finally clear the hump, so to speak, after jin Pauline Louise Lopez exited in the semifinals of taekwondo just hours before Gilas Pilipinas—hastily-assembled and all—almost shocked the world.
The difference for Diaz came in the clean and jerk, where she managed an effort of 115, with Shermitova failing to clear the same weight after beating the Filipino by a kilo in the snatch with an effort of 93 kilos.
This gold will be worth more than the silver medal she won in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016, after pledges kept pouring in that raised the ante to P6 million.