She underwent rigid training and captured hard-earned victory in various tournaments in order to reach her goals, but Filipina weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz’s 2020 Tokyo Olympics dream is in limbo now.
This, after Colombia, the host country of weightlifting qualification tournament Ibero American Open, enforced a temporary ban on foreign visitors from Europe and Asia due to coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas President Monico Puentevella said that Colombia’s entry ban decision was part of its measures to protect their citizens.
Diaz, a silver medal winner in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and currently ranked No. 5 in the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) 55kg women’s category, can seal her return mission to the Olympics by competing in the said Colombian tournament.
The IWF requires a minimum of six qualification tournaments to clinch an Olympics seat. Diaz already participated in five.
The other weightlifting qualifying tournaments, mainly in Romania, Mauritius and the Asian Championships in Uzbekistan, which was slated this April, were also cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
“I will give up on Diaz’s Olympics dream. I will write a letter to the IWF, requesting to lower the required qualification tournaments participated to five after the cancellation of several qualifiers. I’m optimistic that the IWF Board will reconsider our plea and resolve this problem at hand in fairness to all Associations worldwide,” Puentevella said in a statement. IMT
