By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Hidilyn Diaz banners a strong Philippine cast as they try to bolster their respective Paris Olympics campaigns when they compete in the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Cup set in Phuket, Thailand starting on Sunday, March 31 to April 11.
Diaz, who won the country’s first Olympic gold medal in the 2020 Tokyo Games, will compete in the women’s 59kg and will be joined by Rosegie Ramos, Kristel Macrohon, Lovely Inan, John Febuar Ceniza, Elreen Ando and Vanessa Sarno.
The tournament serves as a final qualifier for Paris where it offers Olympic ranking points.
Only the top 10 lifters will earn a quota place through the IWF Olympic Qualification Ranking tournaments for the period of Aug. 1, 2022 to April 28 this year.
So far, Diaz and Ando are ranked ninth and 11th, respectively in the women’s 59kg, while Sarno is at sixth in the women’s 71kg. Ramos is at 12th in the women’s 49kg.
Ceniza, for his part, clings at ninth in the men’s 61kg.
Meanwhile, Macrohon tries to improve her ranking when she competes in the women’s 71kg with Inan sees action in women’s 59kg.
This would be the first tournament for Diaz after sustaining a knee injury at the 2023 IWF Grand Prix II in Doha, Qatar last December. She skipped last month’s Asian Championships where the PH team won three silver and one bronze medal courtesy of Ando and Ramos.
Accompanying the team are Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas president Monico Puentevella and coaches Antonio Agustin Jr., Diwa delos Santos, Nicolas Jaluag and Christopher Bureros.
