ZAMBOANGA CITY — First district Rep. Celso Lobregat has congratulated city pride Hidilyn Diaz, who garnered the first gold medal for the Philippines in the 18th Asian Games in Palembang, Jakarta.
Diaz, a silver medalist in the 2016 Rio Olympics, captured the gold medal on Tuesday night in the women’s 53-kilogram (kg) category event, making her the first Filipino weightlifter to win gold in Asian Games. She topped the event with a total lift of 207-kg.
“Hidilyn’s perseverance and triumph will definitely inspire our young Filipino athletes to also excel in international competitions,” Lobregat said on Thursday.
Lobregat said Diaz has shown not only to Asia “but to the whole world what a powerful and dedicated self-determination and will to win can do to achieve what is being aspired by an athlete.”
“I admire the courage and determination of Hidilyn in her chosen career. I still recall during her younger years in that sport, I was the city mayor then when I supported and believed in her dreams,now she is in the glory of it,” Lobregat added.
He said that winning the gold medal in the 53-kg category weightlifting in the 18th Asian Games “is an honor not only to our city but also to the country which she represents.”
“Zamboanga is proud of you Hidilyn. Rest assured I will be here to support your advocacy in sports for the younger generations,” the lawmaker said.
After winning the silver medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics, Hidilyn established a weightlifting gym in her native place in Barangay Mampang, this city. The gym now serves as a training center for aspiring weightlifters. Among them is Hidilyn’s younger brother, Eduardo Jr, and niece, Baby Jean Boton.
Meanwhile, the construction of the PHP30 million Zamboanga Weightlifting Training Center is now on its final stage. The training center’s establishment is being pushed by Lobregat, the House Committee on Public Works and Highways chairperson. (Teofilo Garcia, Jr/PNA)
