by Waylon Galvez
Olympian Hidilyn Diaz is looking forward to a longer training time in China and Taiwan as part of her buildup for this year’s World Championship in Pattaya, Thailand.
Diaz said that she is still awaiting approval from the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), the government’s financing arm for training of Filipino athletes for various international competitions.
“Hopefully ma-approve ng PSC,” said Diaz.
“Napaka-importante nitong training na ‘to sa China at sa Taiwan kasi malapit na din yung World Championship, so sana ma-approve, sana matuloy,” added Diaz.
If plans push through, Diaz will be leaving June 24 for a two-month training in the province of Jilin, which is near the border of North Korea and Russia.
The 28-year-old Diaz will be accompanied in China by Chinese coach Kaiwen Gao, as well as strengthening and conditioning coach Julius Irvin Naranjo.
After training in China, Diaz will spend three weeks in Kaouskhing, Taiwan for another camp before proceeding to the World Championship.
“I know the mechanics on how to qualify for the Olympics,” said Diaz. “Joining the World Championship is very crucial because this is also an Olympic qualifier. We are required to join six Olympic qualifiers aside of course from earning the needed points.”
Diaz already undergone a two-month training in China prior to the 2019 Asian Championship in Ningbo, China where she went home with a silver medal.
The format for qualifying is now different for the 2020 Olympics.
