Diaz on her way to third Olympics bid

MANILA, Philippines – Top Filipina weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz is well on her way to booking a third consecutive trip to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Based on an update from the International Weightlifting Federation, the Philippines has earned a quota place in the women’s division after the recent Asian Championships in Uzbekistan, a competition designated as a Continental Qualification Event for the Rio Games.

The 25-year-old Diaz captured one silver and two bronze medals in the women’s 53-kg category to lead the Pinays to fifth in the Team Classification of the tourney, good enough for one quota place.

Diaz, winner of three bronzes in the 2015 IWF World Championships in Houston, Texas, is currently ranked No. 4 in the IWF’s 2016 Olympic Qualification Ranking List in her weight class.

Vietnam, Uzbekistan, India, Mongolia and Turkmenistan also grabbed a quota each in the women’s division during the Asian meet, IWF posted on its website.

Pinoy Olympic-aspirant Nestor Colonia netted a bronze in the clean and jerk of the 56-kg category but Phl’s men’s crew failed to get a quota place, which went to Japan, Iraq, Malaysia, Kyrgyzstan, Syria, India and Turkmenistan.

Colonia, who stands fifth in the Olympic ranking of his weight class with a 282 kgs best lift, could still make it via Individual Qualification.  Eight places for men’s and seven for women’s will be allocated in this process to high-ranking lifters from countries that didn’t get quota in the Main and Continental Qualification.

Per IWF timetable, the final Olympic Qualification List for Individual Qualification will be published on June 20, the same day the IWF will inform the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and National Federations (NFs) of their allocated quota places.