Hidilyn Diaz strikes gold

JAKARTA—Like she did two years ago in the Olympics, Hidilyn Diaz lifted the Philippines to glory. Literally.

With all eyes on the Rio de Janeiro Olympian, Diaz ruled the 53-kg division of weightlifting’s snatch and clean and jerk events to gift the struggling Philippine contingent in the 18th Asian Games its first gold medal Tuesday night.

“I’m grateful to God,” Diaz said in Filipino. “We were able to take home the gold that Filipinos were hoping for and we proved that we can win in the Asian Games.”

“In the Olympics, no one expected me to win but here, everyone was expecting me to win,” she added.

The 27-year-old Zamboanga native tallied a total of 207 kilograms to nose out Turkmenistan’s Kristina Shermitova by a mere kilo with Thailand’s Surodchana Khambao settling for the bronze with a 201-kg effort.

Diaz’s latest victory will be worth more than the silver medal she won in Brazil in 2016, after pledges kept pouring in to raise the gold medal pot to P6 million.

Hidilyn Diaz of Philippines competes in the women’s 53kg weightlifting event during the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta on August 21, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / MONEY SHARMA

Diaz’s feat also enabled the Philippines to finally jump into the gold tally after jin Pauline Louise Lopez made a tearful exit in the semifinals of taekwondo just hours before Gilas Pilipinas almost shocked the continent.

In Cebu City, President Duterte took note of Diaz’s gold: “In Jakarta, we won the first [Philippine] gold medal, weightlifting.

“Hidilyn Diaz, this is the soldier. This is a soldier of the Philippine Army. Wow. That’s the message,” added Mr. Duterte.

The difference for Diaz came in the clean and jerk, where she managed an effort of 115, with Shermitova failing to clear the same weight after beating the Filipino by a kilo in the snatch with an effort of 93kg.

Lopez, a 22-year-old Psychology major at Ateneo, yielded to Luo Zhongshi of China, 11-4, to see an impressive run of performances in the -57-kilogram division halted at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium’s taekwondo hall.

“It was really painful because it could have been different,” a weeping Lopez said, her frustrations stemming from losing four points to penalties in the third round. “I’m still happy with what I came up with, [a] bronze [medal] is still a big honor.”

Gilas Pilipinas squad was impressive despite losing, 82-80, to title favorite China, while the Blu Girls got into prime position for a medal.

Meanwhile, cycling’s brightest medal hope, Ariana Patrice Dormitorio, crashed out in the second lap of mountain bike’s cross-country, failing to finish the 22.5-kilometer race before her father later sent select members of the Philippine media a letter expressing their resignation from the national team.

In their resignation statement, Donjie Dormitorio said that the Philippine Cycling Federation’s refusal to include him on this trip despite his willingness to pay for all expenses told on the performance of his daughter.

The Blu Girls turned back China, 1-0, on Monday night then lost, 11-1, to Japan Tuesday but will still come into Wednesday’s doubleheader with a chance to seal a place in the page playoff format Final Four.

It was the first loss in four games here for the Blu Girls, who battle host Indonesia at noon on Wednesday and title favorite Chinese Taipei at 10 p.m.

Gilas played its hearts out yet again and regaled a sold-out gallery at GBK’s Basketball Hall, with coach Yeng Guiao refusing to call the setback a loss.

“What more can you ask for?” he told scribes as the Filipinos have turned from underdogs to bright medal hopes.