HIDILYN Diaz-Naranjo’s reign as the country’s undisputed weightlifting queen virtually ended with a whimper at the International Weightlifting Federation World Cup in Phuket, Thailand late Wednesday night.
There will be no fifth straight Olympic appearance for the Tokyo Olympic gold medalist, who was finally outshone by national teammate Elreen Ann Ando and clinched the coveted ticket to the Paris Summer Games after finishing seventh, ahead of her renowned compatriot in the women’s 59kg division.
The turning point came in the clean-and-jerk, usually Diaz-Naranjo’s strong suit, after Ando edged her illustrious rival in the snatch by a kilo with a lift of 100 kilos to the former’s 99 in the last Olympic qualifying meet.
Ando, who crashed out in two of her head-to-head clashes with Diaz-Naranjo in five compulsory Olympic qualifying competitions, put more pressure by hoisting 125 kilos in the clean-and-jerk on her second try after fouling in her opening attempt.
Performing ahead of her Cebuana rival, Diaz-Naranjo, the pride of Zamboanga City, cleared 123 in her initial attempt but was forced to raise the weight to 127 kilos in an attempt to overtake Ando and salvage her Olympic bid.
It all came to naught as she flubbed her tries in rapid succession, shrugging her shoulders and leaving the stage with a wan smile after her dismal performance.
Bristling with confidence and adrenaline, Ando delivered the coup de grace, hoisting 128 kilos effortlessly on her initial try at the weight then smiled, pumping her fists in joy after beating Diaz-Naranjo for the first time and winding up in seventh with a total lift of 228 kilos.
Diaz-Naranjo, who also won a silver medal in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, ended in 11th place with a combined tally of 222 kilos.
The outcome signaled a changing of the guard and an end of an era for the revered weightlifter who saw action in four straight Olympics starting with the 2008 Beijing edition when she debuted as a wild card bet at 18.
Reigning world champion Luo Shifang of China stamped her class as the woman to beat in Paris with a total lift of 248 (108-140) for a new world record, eclipsing the 247 set by Taiwanese Olympic champion Kuo Ching-sun three years ago in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
North Korean Kim Il-Gyong finished a distant second at 240 (108-132) while Canadian Maude Charron, who ruled the women’s 64kg class in the Tokyo Summer Games, was third with a total lift of 236 kilos (106-130).
“I love this sport and I don’t want to stop,” Diaz said in her post-match interview that was posted on the IWF website. “But what I have to do now is take a good rest and think about the priorities in my life. Today wasn’t my day; Paris was not to be.
“But overall, I’m happy. I’ve given a lot to this sport, and it’s given a lot to me.”
In the same article, her husband-coach Julius Naranjo also expressed his disappointment, saying: “We gave it our best. Hidylin is still a legend.”
Ando is poised for a second straight Olympic outing after her debut in Tokyo three years ago in the women’s 64kg category since she will be well within the top 10 of IWF in Olympic qualifying ranking list in the weight class.
Another product of the Cebu City grassroots sports program, she was running 11th to Diaz Naranjo’s 9th in the IWF Olympic qualification rankings entering the Phuket competition.
The world weightlifting body will formally release the 10 qualifiers in all the Olympic weight divisions in the men’s and women’s classes on April 28.
Ando will be the third weightlifter poised to qualify after Rosegie Ramos and Jose Febuar Ceniza made the cut in the women’s 49kg and men’s 61kg categories, respectively, with Vanessa Sarno expected to join their ranks when she competes in the women’s 71kg on Sunday.
“Even with the loss of our Tokyo gold medalist Hidylin last night, don’t forget that she inspired a new generation of Filipino weightlifters. She did her best and we all thank her for her great contribution to our Olympic sport,” said weightlifting chief Monico Puentevella, who witnessed the battle at ringside.
“By God’s grace, we shall now have three or possibly four weightlifters in Paris, which will be confirmed by the IWF in a month’s time,” added Puentevella.
