Peralta, Lobrido settle for silvers

Jhodie Peralta POC —POOL PHOTO

MANAMA—Weightlifting prodigy Jhodie Peralta settled for a silver and later on a bronze, while boxer Leo Mhar Lobrido finished second on Tuesday in the third Asian Youth Games at Exhibition World Bahrain.

A 16-year-old product of Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz’s weightlifting training center in Zamboanga City, Peralta, actually was in contention for two gold medals in the girls’ 53-kilogram division but fell short in the snatch and clean and jerk.

Peralta’s 87-kg effort in the snatch was just one kilogram behind gold medal winner Pak Hae-yon, a North Korean who also ruled the clean and jerk over Y. Lien of Vietnam.

The Vietnamese also lost the clean and jerk title to Pak, who registered 107kg.

“I just missed winning it,” said Peralta, in Filipino, after her epic battle with Pak. “But it’s OK. I accept what God has given me.”

Still with six golds

The medals hiked the Philippines’ haul to six golds, seven silvers and eight bronzes, although the delegation dropped from as high as fifth overall a few days ago to ninth at press time.

There is still hope for more medals, as the country still has athletes competing in jiujitsu, wrestling, swimming and cycling, while its entries in table tennis and badminton have bowed out.

As for Lobrido, one of the country’s flag bearers, he was overwhelmed by the taller and longer Abdugani Yorkinjonov of Uzbekistan, absorbing a unanimous-decision loss in the boys’ 46-kg class and settling for a bronze—the nation’s lone medal in the sport.

Lobrido, however, felt he had a chance in that match and that the judges saw it differently.

“I think it’s still not yet my time,” Lobrido, also in Filipino, said. “Maybe next time the gold can be mine.”