Rise of a heroine

HIDILYN Diaz is now trying to pump up the spirits of the remaining Olympians. Diaz continues to receive praises and prizes for her silver-medal feat. TED S. MELENDRES

RIO DE JANEIRO—Newly minted Olympic heroine Hidilyn Diaz on Tuesday rallied her remaining teammates in the Summer Games here to press the fight and to draw inspiration from their countrymen.

Besieged all day by interviews from TV and radio stations back home, the weightlifting silver medalist also confirmed that President Duterte has sent his congratulations but has not talked to her.

“Continue the fight and don’t give up,” she exhorted her seven teammates who have yet to see action in this carnival city. “Give your best.

“It’s not important whether this is your first time or second time in the Olympics. As long as you’re in the competition, give it your best shot.”

Diaz laughed at suggestions she might be offered to star in a movie because of her new popularity and said she still has a role to play in promoting her sport so that the lifting federation could have a deeper pool of talents.

“I sincerely hope that we could still win a medal,” she said. “We need the prayers of our countrymen.”

A new house and lot courtesy of 8990 Deca Homes and P5 million in government incentives await the ebullient young woman from Zamboanga City when she returns to a heroine’s welcome in Manila on Aug. 12 or 13.

Chief of mission Joey Romasanta and other delegation officials had asked Diaz to remain in Rio to “enjoy the rest of the Olympics.” But she excused herself, saying she wanted to be in her village in Mampang when it celebrates the feast of its patron saint on Aug. 16.

Diaz’s sunny mood contrasted with that of boxer Rogen Ladon, who spent the rest of Tuesday licking his wounds in the Athletes Village after losing his focus and bowing to Colombia’s Herney Yurbergen Martinez, 3-0, in their light flyweight bout (See related story on this page).

National boxing head coach Nolito Velasco said Ladon could not be bothered after his defeat sank in.

“He’s sulking, he could not believe what happened,” said Velasco.

Meanwhile, Kodo Nakano ran into the much-superior grappling of Italy’s Matteo Marconcini Tuesday morning and was eliminated from the judo event at Carioca Arena 3.

The 25-year-old Filipino-Japanese was simply not up to it, losing by a lopsided 100-0 score in just over 3 minutes on the mat in their 81-kilogram contest.

Jasmine Alkhaldi plunges into action here on Wednesday in the second of six heats of the 100-meter freestyle at the Olympic Swimming Stadium.