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Diaz to formalize Tokyo berth in Tashkent OQT

Sports

Diaz to formalize Tokyo berth in Tashkent OQT

By Waylon Galvez

MB File Photo

Rio Olympics silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz and her "HD Team" left Malaysia for Uzbekistan Friday, April 9, ahead of the Asian Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent next week.

Diaz and her team got the needed requirements, including the negative PCR test results for COVID-19.

The three-time Olympian is eyeing her fourth straight Olympic berth via the Asian Championship, which also serves as the Olympic Qualifying Tournament for the region.

Aside from finishing in the top eight of the world rankings – where she is at No. 5 – she also needs to join her sixth OQT to formalize her entry to the Tokyo Olympics.

“April 19 ang laro ko pero ang start ng tournament is 16. Pero mag-punta kame doon ng maaga mga April 10 (I’ll be competing on April 19 but the tournament will start on 16. We’ll be there early April 10),” said Diaz in a previous message to Manila Bulletin.

Joining the 30-year-old Diaz in the capital of Uzbekistan are Chinese head coach Kaiwen Gao, strength and conditioning coach Julius Naranjo, as well as therapist Belen Banas.

They arrived in Kuala Lumpur in late February last year to prepare for the Asian Weightlifting Championships in Kazakhstan, but the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Like other countries, Malaysia also went on a lockdown that forced Diaz and her team to stay there. Diaz continued to stay in Malaysia to train not only for the OQT but to prepare for the Tokyo Olympics set July 23 to August 8.

She has 3,717.0982 points behind Chinese weightlifters in Jiang Huihua (4,667.8878), Liao Qiuyun (4,288.9622), Zhang Wangqiong (4,212.6639) and Li Yajun (4,099.0223).

The last time she competed was during the 2020 Roma World Cup in Italy where she captured three gold medals back in January. Last July, Diaz won a gold medal in an online Eleiko Email International Lifters tournament.

Related Tags

Hidilyn Diaz Asian Weightlifting Championships Tokyo Olympics

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