Rio Olympics silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz and her team left for Italy yesterday with the weightlifting ace looking confident of finally securing a berth in this year’s Tokyo Games when she competes in the 2020 World Cup in Rome.
Accompanying the well-decorated lifter are Chinese mentor Kaiwen Gao, conditioning/strengthening mentor Julius Irvin Naranjo and massage therapist Belen Bañas.
Team HD left for Rome well ahead of the Jan. 27-31 schedule since the pride of Zamboanga still needs to adjust to the climate condition.
Diaz had little break since winning her first SEA Games gold as she is focused on earning a Tokyo berth where she will compete in the 53kg.
The World Cup is also an Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) for the Tokyo Olympics.
“Talagang inagahan namin ang alis para makapag-training pa ako, kung may kailangang adjustment. Pero more on mental kasi physically andun na naman yun lakas ko,” said Diaz, who is scheduled to compete January 28. (Waylon Galvez)
