Pint-sized Kelly Kay Rojas came up with big lifts, winning three gold medals as the Philippines scored a breakthrough in the Asian Youth and Juniors Weightlifting Championships with a fourth place finish overall in Juonju, Korea recently.
Rojas took the gold in snatch, clean and jerk, and total events of the 44-kg category while Beijing Olympics veteran Hidilyn Diaz captured two gold medals in the snatch and total event.
The girls’ team, whose campaign was sanctioned by the Philippine Weightlifting Federation, wound up fourth overall in a field of 41, finishing with five gold, four silver and three bronze medals in the event for 19 years old and below.
“This is the first time we won a medal in the Asian Youth event so we’re happy with this breakthrough win,” said PWF secretary-general Roger Dullano.
The 17-year-old Diaz, who received a wild card berth in the Beijing Olympics and one of the bright prospects for the 2012 London Games, lost the gold in the clean and jerk to a Kazakh foe and settled for a silver medal.
Nestor Colonia, a 16-year-old bet of Cebu, pocketed three silver medals in the 56kg class while Angelica Lado took three bronze medals in the heavyweight class (75kg and above).
Only powerhouse countries Chinese Taipei, Japan and Kazakhstan finished better than the Philippines in the overall race. – Joey Villar