Manila, Philippines, December 2, 2019: Asian Games 2018 weightlifting champion Hidilyn Diaz claimed her first Southeast Asian Games gold medal on Monday, ruling the women’s 55kg event in front of a roaring home crowd at Ninoy Aquino Stadium. The Rio 2016 Olympics silver medallist lifted the heaviest weight in snatch at 91kg and registered 120kg in clean and jerk for a total of 211kg. “This is a huge deal for me because my parents are here and the nation watched me; now they know how intense weightlifting is and, hopefully, they were able to appreciate the sport,” said Diaz. Diaz, a double bronze medal-winner at this year’s World Weightlifting Championships in Thailand, added that her next aim was to qualify for Tokyo 2020 and challenge for the Olympic gold medal. “This year has been so good to me and I’ve made large progress in terms of training and technique,” said Diaz. “We’re on the right track for Tokyo 2020.” Thi Thuy Nguyen of Vietnam won silver and Indonesia’s Juliana Klarisa took bronze. Source: Inquirer.net
Asian Games champ Diaz delights home fans
