FILIPINO weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz began her quest for a spot in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo on the right foot by bagging three silver medals in the recent Asian Weightlifting Championships, which served as a qualifier for the Games.

Ms. Diaz, the 2016 Olympic silver medallist, bagged silver medals separately by lifting 94 kilograms in the snatch and 115 kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 209 kg in the women’s 55-kg event of the competition held in Ningbo, China, on Monday night.

The Olympic medallist said that she is happy with the result as it gave her valuable Olympic qualifying points but recognizes that work for her still continues.

“… It was still far from my target, still a lot to improve on,” said Ms. Diaz in Filipino on her official Facebook page after the competition.

Ms. Diaz, 28, who also won gold in the Asian Games last year, is set to compete in the next Olympic qualifier in September in Thailand as well as in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games in November to December which the country is hosting. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

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