Hidilyn Diaz wins online tournament

Rio 2016 Olympics silver medalist and 2019 Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz won the 59 kg category of the 2020 Oceania Weightlifting Federation (OWF) Eleiko Email International Lifters Tournament. The result was announced by OWF Thursday night.

Diaz defeated 50 other athletes in her category, with Australia’s Fatima Yukubu placing second and South Africa’s Johanni Taljaard in third.

On Wednesday, Diaz tweeted a video with the caption about the online competition.

“Dapat maglalaro ako kahapon sa #Tokyo2020. Dahil sa Covid-19 na-postpone ang Olympics, namove next year. Buti na lang may online competition nakabuhat ako ng 95 kgs sa snatch 121kgs sa clean and jerk,” Diaz wrote.

Despite being caught by the lockdown in Malaysia due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Diaz makes sure she keeps her focus on qualifying for a slot in the Tokyo games.

OWF said through the tournament, they “provided the opportunity to all lifters from around the world who are experiencing the challenges of training properly on their own due to restrictions as a result of the COVID-19 Virus.”

Congratulations, Hidilyn! – Justin Kenneth Carandang/RC, GMA News