It's a bittersweet situation.
The Philippines' lone Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz may be the undisputed weightlifting queen in the country, but that doesn't mean that everything is handed to her on a silver platter. In fact, Hidilyn's struggles and hard work were what made her historic Olympic victory extra sweet.
It's going to be an interesting back-to-back Olympic gold medal bid for Diaz though, as she is set for a collision course with fellow Filipina weightlifter Elreen Ando. See, both of them moved to the 59 kg category due to the Olympics cutting down the divisions. Only one of them can earn a slot in the quadrennial meet in Paris next year.
Diaz transitioned to a heavier division after etching her name in the 55 kg category. Ando, on the other hand, is moving down after competing in the 64 kg division of the Tokyo Olympics. Instead of looking at the situation as a problem, Ando said she's more inspired to be in the same weight class as the Pinay legend.
"Inspired din ako maglaro kasi sa isang category ko kasama si ate [Hidilyn] po, tsaka isa po na 'yung idol ko nakasama ko sa isang category po," Ando said on Radyo5's Power and Play with Noli Eala.
"Para po sa akin, sports lang po talaga."
The 24-year-old, touted as one of the futures of Philippine weightlifting, also added that she is not training to defeat Diaz. The unique situation may be a win-win situation for Philippine sports.
"Hindi naman sa ganun na talunin. Masaya ako na kung ano man makuha namin ni ate, ganun lang po, support lang po," added Ando.