By Waylon Galvez
Hidilyn Diaz is already a silver medalist in the Olympics and a gold medal winner in the previous Asian Games, but if you think those are enough then you’re wrong.
The bemedalled weightlifter is still dreaming of one thing – winning a SEA Games gold in front of Filipinos.
And she hopes to do it this November when the country will be hosting the biennial event.
“It’s my dream to win the gold medal in the Southeast Asian Games,” said Diaz in a message from her training camp in China.
“I’ll definitely compete in the SEA Games,” added Diaz.
The 28-year-old Diaz captured the silver medal in the Rio Olympics in 2016 in Brazil, and then she delivered the country’s first of four gold medals in last year’s Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia.
In the SEA Games, however, she has yet to leave a mark.
She went home with a bronze medal when she first competed in the SEA Games during the 2007 edition in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, and then took the silver twice, first in 2011 in Indonesia and in 2013 in Myanmar.
Diaz said that aside from aiming for the gold medal in the SEA Games, the event likewise serves as an Olympic qualifying competition and she is required to join in six Olympic qualifying tournaments as an aspirant for Tokyo Games.
