HANOI. – Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz takes center stage Friday, heavily-favored to rule the 55kg division of weightlifting and lift the sagging spirits of Filipino athletes who were limited to just two gold medals Thursday in the 31st Southeast Asian Games here.
Diaz plunges into action at 1 p.m. (Manila time) at the Hanoi Sports Training Center against six pretenders, one of them Vietnamese Nguyen Thu Hien.
“I will give it my best,” said Diaz, 31, who stayed a few days in Ho Chi Minh City prepping up for battle with coach and trainer Julius Naranjo before flying to the Vietnamese capital.
“Let’s support all Filipino weightlifters,” she said.
Also hoping to pull the rug from under Diaz are Indonesia’s Natasya Beteyob, Thailand’s Tanasan Sanikun, Malaysia’s Cassendra Engelbert Elly and Cambodia’s Tan Poch.
Philippine Olympic Committee President and Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said he expects Diaz to retain her gold medal.
“I’m looking forward to Hidilyn retaining her title, she’s an elite athlete and an Olympic champion,” Tolentino said.
The men’s bowling team of Merwin Tan, Christian Dychangco, Ivan Malig and Patrick Nuqui started the day on an auspicious note, adding the team-of-4 gold to the singles triumph of Tan last Monday.
As the day wore on, however, Pinoy athletes stayed unusually silent, until judoka Rena Furukawa Lanoy edged Chu Myat Noe Wai of Myanmar 1-0 in the finals of the women’s minus 57kg class at the Hoai Duc Gymnasium.
The twin gold raised the haul of Team Philippines, backed by the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee, to 40, counting the victory of the women’s Wild Rift squad late Wednesday, the first esports gold for the country here.
But it was not enough to prevent Indonesia from dislodging the Philippines at third and left the Filipinos, who were limited to four golds last Tuesday and three last Wednesday, battling for fourth against the Singaporeans.
As Vietnam steamed full ahead to the overall title with a harvest of 149-88-80 at press time, Thailand, once jostling with the Philippines for second, improved to 58-65-92, with Indonesia moving up to third with a 41-59-55 harvest.
The Filipinos, aside from 40 gold medals, also had 55 silver and 76 bronze medals, their silver medal production spelling the difference in the fight for fourth. Singapore had a 40-41-52 tally for fifth.
In all, eight silver medals were won by Pinoy athletes for the day, the ones that got away, including the runner-up finish of marathoner Christine Hallasgo, who gamely battled cramps but still lost her crown to Indonesian Odekta Naibaho Elvina, who ruled the lung-busting race in 2:55.280.
Hallasgo, who triumphed back home in 2019, clocked 2:56.07 for second, with Vietnam’s Ngoc Hoa Hoang Thi third in 2:57.350.
While the anticipation is on Diaz, Rosegie Ramos settled for a bronze medal in women’s 49kg class with a 179 kgs total lift built around 81kgs in snatch and 98 kgs in clean and jerk. Thailand’s Surodchana Khambao (195) and hometown bet Dihn Thi Pham (183) bagged the gold and silver medals, respectively.
Diaz’s cousin, Mary Flor Diaz finished fourth in the women’s 45kg class ruled by a Thai, Vietnamese and Indonesian, and so did Fernando Agad Jr. in men’s 55kg that saw weightlifters from Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia occupy the podium.
Also competing on Friday are Rowel Garcia in men’s 61kg, 2016 Rio De Janeiro Olympian Nestor Colonia in men’s 67kg and Margaret Colonia in women’s 59kg.
Seeing action on Saturday are Denmark Tarro (men’s 73kg), Elreen Ann Ando (women’s 64kg) and Vanessa Sarno (women’s 71kg).
On Sunday, it will be the turn of John Kevin Padullo (men’s 89kg), Kristel Macrohon (women’s 71kg and John Dexter Tabique (men’s 89kg).
Aside from Hallasgo, also winning silver medals were Grandmaster Darwin Laylo and International Master Paulo Bersamina in rapid chess; archer Jennifer Chan and Paul Marton dela Cruz in the mixed team competition; judokas Keisei Nakano and John Viron Ferrer, and wrestlers Roni Tubog, Alvin Lobreguito, and Jhonny Morte.
Another judoka, Megui Kurayoshi, settled for the bronze, along with Janella Mae Frayna and Antoinette San Diego in chess, the team of Paul dela Cruz, Flor Matan and Johan Olano in archery’s men’s team competition, taekwondo’s Israel Cesar Cantos, karatedos Ivan Agustin, the kata team of Nicole Dantes, Rebecca Torres, and Sarah Pangilinan, and Ramon Misu.
