HIDILYN Diaz admitted she was overwhelmed by the competition, seeing new faces in the 59kg class in the 2023 IWF World Weightlifting Championship in Riyadh.
See Hidilyn Diaz places seventh, Elreen Ando eighth in world championships
The 55kg weight division, where she won gold in the Tokyo Olympics, has been scrapped and it was the first time Diaz competed in the new weight category in the worlds.
She ended up seventh.
Despite the challenge, the Filipina weightlifter said she still saw improvements that she can use to work even harder as she continues on the road to qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“Nag-improve naman ako ng three kilos,” said Diaz, referring to her performance in last May’s Asian Championship in Jinju, South Korea where she placed fourth in the new weight category, in an online interview. “Pero I can do more.”
“Naging mahirap, na-overwhelm ako makita ‘yung mga bagong mukha sa laro. Hindi ko kilala mga kalaban ko,” said Diaz.
The 32-year-old Diaz said she lifted 224 kilograms in the total after spending time during training in building muscle to move up in weight.
“Mahirap last December, magpe-prepare for Asian Championships dahil I have to build muscle, I have to build strength. Mahirap ‘yung pagbi-build, and now building confidence sa lift and sa sarili,” said Diaz.
Diaz now sets her sights on training again as she competes in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China where she is part of the delegation submitted by the Philippine Olympic Committee to the organizing committee.
“Maraming adjustment to improve. I can do more. More improvement for me,” Diaz said.
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