HIDILYN Diaz-Naranjo is glad that her team’s efforts to discover and develop new talents is starting to pay off as shown on the first day of the 2023 Batang Pinoy-Philippine National Games on Monday.
Hidilyn’s nephew Matthew Diaz won a gold medal in the 12-under boys 37kg division with a lift of 41 kilograms in the snatch and 55kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 96kg at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.
HD nephews also shine
The 12-year-old Diaz is under the care of the HD Weightlifting Academy that her team built in Jala-Jala, Rizal.
“Masaya ako sa performance ng mga bata na nagte-training sa HD Weightlifting Academy,” said Diaz-Naranjo, who is in the middle of the qualifying process for the Paris Olympics where she will compete in the 59-kilogram category.
“‘Yung head coach ‘yung asawa ko, si Julius, together with the other athletes. Ako, tumutulong din naman, nagsu-supervise and masaya ako sa kanila.”
“Actually, 10 athletes ang galing sa Jala-Jala, and then sa Rizal, marami ring atleta. Masaya ako para sa mga bata,” said Diaz-Naranjo, who estimates that they have around 30 weightlifters training under their supervision.
Diaz-Naranjo is happy that the turnout of weightlifting competitions in the grassroots level is increasing, unlike in her first Batang Pinoy in 2002 where she recalled that she was the lone competitor.
“Nung laro ko dati sa Batang Pinoy, ako lang ‘yung mag-isa sa body weight ko kaya gold na ako. Ngayon, kailangan mong ipaglaban ‘yung gold mo,” Diaz-Naranjo recalled.
“Masaya ako na ‘yung weightlifting ngayon ay medyo kilala na. Marami ng batang pumapasok at sana maipasok din ito sa Palarong Pambansa para mas marami pa tayong ma-produce na world champion at Olympic champion,” said Diaz-Naranjo.
Another nephew of Hidilyn in Christian Emmanuel Diaz claimed the men’s 43kg 16 to 17 year old division after lifting a total of 150kg.
The 16-year-old Diaz is training in Hidilyn’s gym in Zamboanga City which was built shortly after winning the Tokyo Olympic gold medal.
The Grade 9 student out of Mampang National High School shed tears of joy when interviewed by reporters as it was the first time that he won a major title.
“May pressure din kasi meron pang eskwela at training,” said Christian in the Chavacano dialect.
Meanwhile, Miguel Barreto of Bulacan snared two gold medals in PNG swimming by ruling the 200m individual medley and the 100m freestyle in the event organized by the Philippine Sports Commission and supported by Department of Education, PBA, Pocari Sweat, Milo, PLDT and Smart, Grab, Chooks to Go and Shakey’s.
Aerice Aricela Ardice Villate Dormitorio is on pace to follow the path of her national team rider sister.
The younger sister of MTB cyclist Ariana Evangelista bagged the Batang Pinoy 13-under girls criterium gold in Tagaytay City with a time of 45:48.4, beating Yvaine Osias (46:00.8), and Ysabel Nicole Jamero of Iloilo (46:28.3).
The 12-year-old Dormitorio from Quezon City ruled the 2.1-kilometer rectangular course in the race supervised by Philcycling even though their family is predominantly known as MTB riders.
In PNG athletics, Lyka Labrica Catubig of Davao City won the first gold by taking the 20-under three-kilometer walk with a time of 16 minutes, 44.45 seconds.
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