Hidilyn Diaz will be at the helm of the country’s medal bid in the forthcoming 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games where the Philippines is eyeing at least five gold medals.
The multisport event in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, on Sept. 17 to 27 is the first meet that the Filipino weightlifting heroine will participate in since her silver-medal feat in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Deputy chef de mission Raymund Lee I. Reyes said their goal is to send a maximum of 150 athletes to compete in 19 of the 21 sports.
Chef de mission Monsour del Rosario said they will field athletes who won medals in the Southeast Asian level apart from those who competed prominently in the Asian scene and Olympics or world championships.
“The participating NSAs will also be asked to provide an analysis of possible competitors,” said Reyes.
Apart from Diaz, Reyes said medal hopes are high in chess, dancesport, jiu-jitsu, 3-on-3 basketball, billiards, kickboxing, taekwondo and muay. Among the other events are athletics, track cycling, lawn tennis and football.