Diaz claims fourth spot in Asian lift tournament

MANILA, Philippines – Filipina bet Hidilyn Diaz placed fourth in the recent Olympic-qualifying Asian Weightlifting Championships in Pyeongtaek, Korea, an effort Filipino officials hope the International Weightlifting Federation would consider in awarding individual qualification slots for the London Games.

Diaz, 21, lifted 95 kgs in the snatch and 122 kgs in clean and jerk for a total of 217 kgs., a new Philippine record but was only good for No. 4 in the women’s 58 kg class ruled by Thailand’s Pimsiri Siikaew (231 on lifts of 100 and 131).

Also finishing ahead of Diaz were Chinese-Taipei’s Kuo Hsing-Chun (228 kgs on lifts of 98 and 130), and China’s Zhou Jun (220 kgs on lifts of 95 and 125).

The other Phl bet, 20-year-old Nestor Colonia, suffered cramps and failed to make a good lift in the snatch. He hoisted 145 kgs in jerk to finish outside the top 15 in the men’s 56-kg division.

As per IWF guidelines, qualification or quota places were awarded to participating nations based on “team points” earned by their entries. The top six countries in the “team classification” rankings got one quota place each in the women’s division while the top seven nations in the men’s side netted one berth apiece.

But the IWF will also allocate individual places to athletes from countries that have not earned quota places through the main qualification events (2010 and 2011 world championships) and continental qualifiers. Slots will be given to the top 10 in each bodyweight in the IWF’s Olympic Qualification Ranking list.

“We didn’t have a team to back up Hidilyn and earn points and we’re merely banking on individual qualification. Hopefully, the IWF will consider Hidilyn’s performances and grant her a quota place,” coach Tony Agustin told The STAR yesterday in Filipino.

Diaz’s 217-kg effort in Korea was an improvement of three kilos of her total lift in last year’s world championships in Paris, where she finished seventh in her class. It has also placed her at No. 4 in the world among competitors in the women’s 58-kg class.

“She’ll go on with her training while hoping for the best. Hopefully also, our planned training in China will materialize so we can sustain her improvement,” said Agustin.