Manila, Philippines, March 18, 2021: Asian Games weightlifting champion and Rio 2016 Olympic silver medallist Hidilyn Diaz will be among the athletes to receive citations at the annual Philippine National Sports Awards to be held virtually on March 27.
Diaz, who won gold at the 18th Asian Games in 2018 and followed up with her first gold medal in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in her home country in 2019, will receive official recognition for her efforts in 2020.
The 30-year-old pride of Zamboanga City completed a three-gold sweep in the women’s 55 kg division of the IWF Roma Weightlifting World Cup in Italy last year just before the pandemic to virtually assure herself of a berth in the Tokyo Olympics, although official qualification is still pending.
Diaz, who ended the country’s 20-year medal drought at Rio 2016, and 19 others are going to be cited by the country’s oldest media organisation, the Philippine Sportswriters’ Association, along with awards co-host the Philippine Sports Commission.
The list of 20 athletes and organisations that will receive a citation includes Tokyo 2020 qualifiers Eumir Felix Marcial and Irish Magno of boxing and pole vaulter EJ Obiena, along with Asian Games skateboarding street champion Margielyn Didal. (Phil Star)