Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 8) — Hidilyn Diaz is on track with her goal to bag another Olympic gold in Paris next year despite placing fourth in the Asian Weightlifting Championships in Jinju, South Korea on Sunday.
Besting Diaz in the 59-kilogram weight class were China’s Luo Shifang and Pei Xinyi in a 1-2 finish with total lifts of 238 kg and 236 kg, respectively.
Taiwanese weightlifter Kuo Hsing-Chun, who was the gold medalist in the Tokyo Olympics, won bronze with lift of 230 kg.
Diaz, meanwhile, had a total lift of 221 kg through her 99-kg snatch and 122-kg clean and jerk result.
The Filipina weightlifter needed to participate in the heavier category as her pet 55-kg division was cleared out in the Paris Games.
This is the same weight class where Olympian and fellow Filipina Elreen Ando is also competing after her 64-kg event was scrapped, meaning they had a showdown for the country’s solo ticket to the Olympics.
Ando used all her attempts to clear 125 kg but missed.
The Asian Weightlifting Championships is part of the qualification process for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
