WITH Tokyo Olympic gold medalist and national teammate Hidylin Diaz-Naranjo out of the picture, Elreen Ann Ando hopes to boost her Olympics bid further when she competes in the Asian Weightlifting Championships opening on Feb. 3 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
“Kung wala man o hindi si ate Hidy (Diaz’s nickname), focus lang po ako sa laro ko at pag-igigihan muli sa Asian championship. ‘Yung lang ang ginagawa ko sa ensayo,” said Ando during a break in practice at the Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas gym inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex yesterday.
After their stints in the IWF Grand Prix 2 in Doha, Qatar last December, the rivalry between Diaz-Naranjo and Ando became even keener for the lone women’s 59kg slot for the country in the Paris Olympics in July.
The four-time Olympics veteran was unable to finish the competition due to cramps while her Cebuana rival finished 11th overall with a total lift of 215 kilograms.
This left Diaz-Naranjo at No. 9 in the International Weightlifting Federation women’s qualifying ratings with a season best of 224 kilos while Ando was two rungs below at No. 11 in a tie with Venezuelan Anyelin Maria Venela at 222 kilos.
Should Ando, who has a personal best total of 230 kilos in practice, lift 225 kilos or better, she would be able to overhaul her illustrious teammate, paving the way for a showdown for one of the 10 Olympic tickets in the weight class in the last Olympic qualifying meet — the IWF World Cup set March 31 to April 11 in Phuket, Thailand.
Ando stressed she has a friendly rivalry with Diaz-Naranjo but added that making a straight trip to the Olympic Games after her debut in Tokyo three years ago would be special.
“Mahalaga sa isang atleta na makalaro sa Olympics. Sino ba naman ang hindi gustong mag-qualify dun?” said the athlete, who finished seventh in the women’s 64kg category in the Japanese capital. “Kung sino na lang ang mag-qualify sa amin ni Ate Hidy, suportahan na lang.”
