The Philippines has another world champion who will fly to Tokyo on the wings of momentum.
Hidilyn Diaz won three gold medals in the recent Weightlifting World Cup in Rome in the women’s 55 kilogram class, making her among the favorites for the gold in the Tokyo Olympics.
She hasn’t booked a slot just yet — but it looks as if everything is mere formality.
Qualification for the Olympics requires a minimum number of International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) qualifiers and Diaz is only one short of that target.
She is scheduled to campaign in another IWF event on April in Kazakhstan, where she can claim her Olympic slot.
Diaz bagged golds in snatch (93 kg), clean and jerk (119 kg) and aggregate (212 kg).
She also handily won the silver in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, the gold in the 2018 Asian Games and the gold in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.
Diaz appears to be in good company: gymnastics world champion Carlos Yulo has already booked a Tokyo ticket while another world champion, boxer Nesthy Petecio, is tipped to earn her berth in the March qualifiers.