Hidilyn Diaz of the Philippines competes in the women’s 55kg weightlifting event during the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in Hanoi on May 20, 2022. (Photo by Tang Chhin Sothy and TANG CHHIN SOTHY / AFP)
MANILA, Philippines–Weightlifting icon Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo will have to step down to defend her title at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games.
This is quite understandable as the Cambodian edition of SEA Games in Phnom Penh on May 5-17 will clash with the 2023 Asian Weightlifting Championships, where much larger prize money is at stake.
In addition to being an Olympic qualifying tournament, the Asian champions scheduled from May 3 to 13 in Jinju, South Korea can put Diaz-Naranjo in the spotlight before the fans. the best not only in the continent but also in the world in the women’s 59kg category.
“We asked Jinju to reschedule, (Asian Championships) but that didn’t come true, so we had to make adjustments,” said Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas president Monico Puentevella.
The reigning Olympic champion Tokyo Kuo Hsing-chun of Chinese Taipei will certainly be present along with the silver medalist Polina Guryeva of Turkmenistan and bronze medalist Mikiko Ando of Japan.
Diaz-Naranjo won the nation’s first Olympic gold medal in Tokyo by topping the women’s 55kg, competition same weight class she dominated in the IWF World Championships in Bogota, Colombia last month.
However, that weight class was scrapped by the Paris organizers in 2024, forcing Diaz-Naranjo to move into a heavier weight class in a daring attempt to win consecutive Olympic gold medals.
Diaz-Naranjo will have to compete with Tokyo Olympic athlete Elreen Ando in the same weight class as both weightlifters compete in the Asian Championships.
“[Hidilyn] will quit the SEA Games because he wants to focus on the 59kg class. Since Ando competes in the same weight class, both will compete in the Asian Championships,” said Puentevella.
The Filipino weightlifting idol must go through five qualifying tournaments before the Paris Olympics with two of them mandatory events—IWF 2023 World Championships in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on 2-17 September 2023 and the IWF World Championship 2024.
Diaz-Naranjo said she already has a tournament in her pocket with world champions in Colombia and looks forward to three more meetings this year, including the Saudi Arabia world.
“I don’t think about just qualifying. My goal is to be the best weightlifter in these (qualifying) tournaments,” said Diaz-Naranjo.
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