ROOKIES Ellen Perez and Mary Flor Diaz were never in contention as Filipino bets continued to struggle in the face of superior opposition in the world weightlifting championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan last Wednesday night.
Perez wound up eighth overall in the women’s 49-kilogram division with a total lift of 166 kilos, counting 73 kilos in the snatch and 93 kilos in the clean-and-jerk, in the event topped by Thailand’s Surodchana Khambao, who swept all three golds in the event.
Khambao had 86 kilos in the snatch, 105 kilos in the clean-and-jerk, hoisting a total of 191 kilos, while Japan’s Rira Suzuki was a far second with lifts of 78, 101 and 179, respectively.
Compatriot Ibuki Takahasi (71-101-72) was third overall in the event.
Apparently suffering jitters in her world meet debut, Diaz, the cousin of Tokyo Olympic Games gold medalist Hidylin Diaz, scratched her lifts in the snatch while completing 77 and 80 kilos, respectively, in the clean-and-jerk.
Last Tuesday, Fernando Agad finished eighth overall in the men’s 55-kilogram division in lifting 108 kg. in the snatch, 131 in the clean-and-jerk and 239 in the combined lifts.
“Diaz, Perez and Agad are young and are all newcomers to the world championships so they might have suffered stage fright,” noted weightlifting chief Monico Puentevella.
But Puentevella was hopeful that Elreen Ann Ando would perform better in the women’s 59-kilogram class tomorrow after finishing seventh overall in her debut in the Tokyo Olympic Games last July.
