SEPT. 8 will be a red-letter day for Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz and Elreen Ann Ando, who renew their battle for the coveted Olympic slot in the women’s 59kg division of the World Weightlifting Championships starting on Sept. 4 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
With Ando all pumped up after bagging the gold medal in record-breaking fashion in the 32nd Cambodia Southeast Asian Games last May, the Cebuana is expected to give her compatriot stiff competition in the meet serving as one of the compulsory Olympic qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
“For sure, the clash between Diaz and Ando in the 59-kilogram contest promises to be an exciting one since this will likely decide Elreen’s chances of qualifying in the weight class in the Paris Olympics,” noted weightlifting chief Monico Puentevella.
Diaz has a leg up over Ando, having racked up Olympic ranking points by ruling the women’s 55kg class in last year’s World Championships in Bogota, Colombia and finishing fourth in the 59kg category in the last Asian meet last May in Jinju, South Korea.
There will be a sense of urgency on the part of Ando, a product of the grassroots program of PSC commissioner Ed Hayco during his term as Cebu City Sports Commission chairman, to keep her Olympic hopes alive.
She bombed out in the Colombia edition of the world meet as well as in the last Asian competition in Jinju. A similar fate will likely pave the way for Diaz getting a crack at her fifth straight Olympics since there will be only one lifter per country per each weight class in the Paris Games.
Ando made her Olympic debut in the Tokyo Summer Games in 2021, finishing seventh in the women’s 64kg class, an event that has been scrapped from next year’s quadrennial global showcase in the French capital.
To acclimatize to the anticipated warm weather in Riyadh, Diaz, husband-coach Juilus Naranjo, nutritionist Jeaneth Aro and sports psychologist Karen Trinidad set up a training camp in Manama, Bahrain last week before heading to the worlds.
Ando, who has been training in Manila, will leave with fellow national team members Vanessa Sarno, John Febuar Ceniza, Rosegie Ramos, Lovely Inan and Kristel Macrohon within the week, according to Puentevella.
A triple silver medalist in the Asian meet and the last World Youth competition last July in New Delhi, India, Sarno hopes to fortify her own Olympic bid as she competes with Macrohon in the women’s 71kg division on Sept. 13.
Perennial rivals Inan and Ramos will compete in the 49kg class on Sept. 5 while Ceniza is plunging into action in the men’s 61kg class the next day.
