Hidilyn Diaz strikes gold for Philippines in Asiad women's weighlifting

MANILA, Philippines — Hidilyn Diaz completed a storybook turnaround to her Asian Games arc after delivering the first gold medal for the Philippines in the 2018 Asian Games at the Jakarta International Expo, Tuesday night.

Diaz, who was unable to make the cut in the 2014 iteration of the meet in Incheon, South Korea, struck the top honors of the women’s 53kg division in weightlifting, edging Turkmenistan’s Kristina Shermetova.

One of the country’s top bets to take home a medal, Diaz lifted a total of 207 kilograms, just a hairline above Shermetova’s 206.

Diaz registered 92 kgs in the snatch, and then went for the 115 kgs in the clean and jerk for the victory.

The Philippines has now won a total of five medals in the quadrennial meet, four of which came in the form of bronze medals from Pauline Lopez in Tae Kwon Do, Agatha Wong in Wushu, and the men’s and women’s teams in the Tae Kwon Do poomsae events.

Diaz’s latest gold ties the National delegation’s total medal haul in the previous Asiad.

The 27-year-old Mindanaoan was also the harbinger of the country’s lone medal in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, arresting the Philippines’ 20-year drought in the global event.

Aside from the hardware to flaunt, Diaz takes home P6 million in cash incentives.