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Philippine Showbiz Today
May 22 - June 8, 2017
Diaz eyed as flag-bearer of PH team
RIO Olympics silver medalist
Hidylin Diaz is being considered
as the flag-bearer of the national
team that will compete in the
5th Asian Indoor and Martial
Arts Games set Sept. 17 to 27
in
Ashgabat,
Turkmenistan,
according to national team chief
of mission Monsour del Rosario.
“We are offering Hidylin
that honor because she is our
Rio Olympic silver medalist and
it will add more prestige to our
contingent,” Del Rosario said
yesterday.
Aside from being the national
team’s flag-bearer, Diaz may also
compete in the event that has
attracted a record 62 nations,
including participants from the
Asia-Oceania region.
In the event that she
competes, Diaz cautioned Filipino
sports fans from expecting her
to win the gold, considering that
world-class lifters from North
Korea, Thailand and China are
also set to compete.
Diaz is also committed to see
action in the world weightlifting
championships in Anaheim,
California on Nov. 28 to Dec. 5,
an event where she took three
bronze medals in the Houston
edition two years ago that paved
the way for her participation in the
Rio Games.
Weightlifting Association of
the Philippines vice president
Elbert Atilano Jr., who discovered
Basketball
Diaz in Zamboanga City and
has been her mentor ever since,
revealed that his prized ward has
put weight and now tips the scales
at 60 kilograms (132.27 pounds).
We are actually priming her
for next year’s Asian Games,
which kicks off the qualifying
competitions for the 2020 Tokyo
Olympics,” he added.●
- Bong Pedralvez, Malaya
National Team Chief of Mission
Monsour del Rosario
UPDATE: Hidilyn Diaz is
unsure whether she would be able
to assume the role of flagbearer for
the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts
(AIMA) Games which starts Sept.
17 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.
Diaz said that carrying the
flag for the opening ceremony
would depend on the schedule
of the weightlifting competition
for the AIMA which has yet to be
finalized.
“Hindi ko pa masabi kasi
hindi ko alam kung kelan ang
competition e,” said Diaz. “Of
course it’s an honor kung ako nga
ang na-name na flag-bearer.”
“Kung makaka-sama ko
naman yung coach and trainer
ko ng maaga if ever na late
magsisimula yung competition,
pwede siguro akong flag-bearer
during the opening of the Games,”
added Diaz.
The role is not actually new
to Diaz as she proudly carried the
Philippine flag during the opening
ceremony of the 2012 London
Olympics.
Monsour del Rosario, a
former taekwondo champion and
Olympian who now represents
Makati City at the House of
Representatives,
announced
the other day at the Philippine
Sportswriters Association (PSA)
Forum of Diaz’s appointment as
flag-bearer.
Del Rosario, the Chef de
Mission of the Philippine Team
to the AIMA Games, said Diaz is
the perfect flag-bearer since she
is fresh from her memorable stint
during the Rio Games.
The 26-year-old Diaz, a native
of Zamboanga City, bagged the
silver medal in