Jakarta—Hidilyn Diaz is moving on and moving up.
Two days removed from her gold medal in the 2018 Asian Games here, Diaz is already looking at her next tournament—the World Championships in Turkmenistan, where she is moving up to a new, heavier weight class.
“‹From the -53kgs division she has dominated for so long, Diaz is going up in weight to -55 kgs, which she believes would be her comfort zone.
“The -55 kgs is not actually a choice, but it’s my targeted weight for the gold in Tokyo [2020 Olympics]. It’s a new category in the IWF [International Weightlifting Federation],” she said.
“I feel more comfortable with -55 kgs, it’s less tiring. My opponents in that class are strong, but I would stand my ground.”
She said it’s time to move on from her old division and start fresh.
“In these Asian Games, I was confident of the gold in the -53 kgs, and thank God I got my wish,” she said. “But I have gotten tired in the division.”
Diaz lifted 207 kgs in winning the gold on Tuesday night, beating Turkmenistan’s Kristina Shermetova by a kilo and Thailand’s Khambao Surodchana by 6.
The Tokyo 2020 may be her last competition.
“I’m 27 years old now and I have been a national athlete for 14 years. In other words, I am no longer young and I am now one of the veterans,” said Diaz, a scholar of Business Management courtesy of College of St. Benilde.
She was thrust into the big stage during the Olympics in Beijing 2008, and was already experienced, but still unripe for a medal in London 2012. It was in Rio de Janeiro two years ago when her star finally shone.
Along the way, Diaz won an Olympic silver medal to go with an Asiad gold, achievements she feels will inspire young athletes to work hard in weightlifting and other sports, as well.
“I can see young athletes who have the potential specially in weightlifting. Like myself, they need a program, a personal program like what I have undergone,” she said.
Diaz plans to retire after the Tokyo games. But for the meantime, let’s allow her to savor her Asiad triumph for the next few days.”‹