ZAMBOANGA CITY — The relatives of Filipino weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz are elated following her gold medal win in the women’s 53-kilogram (kg) category in the ongoing 18th Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia.
Eduardo Diaz Jr., 19, Hidilyn’s younger brother, on Wednesday said her feat serves as an inspiration to the more than a dozen of children undergoing training at her weightlifting gym in Barangay Mampang, this city.
Hidilyn established the weightlifting gym after she won the silver medal in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero, Brazil.
“We are happy she won the gold medal,” said Eduardo, who like Hidilyn, is also a weightlifter.
Eduardo, who is a member of the Philippine weightlifting team, saw action last year in Thailand.
Baby Jean Boton, a teenage niece of Hidilyn, said they are all inspired to diligently train after learning the Rio Olympiad won the gold medal in the Asian Games in Jakarta.
Boton said her ambition is to become like her auntie, an Olympiad medalist. She has already joined a number of local weightlifting competitions.
Hidilyn won the gold medal on Tuesday night after she topped the 53-kg category with a total lift of 207-kg.
The medal was the first gold medal for the Philippine contingent in the 18th Asian Games being held in Palembang and Jakarta, Indonesia. (Teofilo Garcia, Jr/PNA)
