Filipina weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz's journey to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics hit a speed bump on Sunday after Colombia, which is the host of the Ibero American Open -- the competition she was going to participate in, decided to temporarily ban the entry of foreign visitors traveling from Europe and Asia starting Monday.
Prior to the ban, which is part of Colombia's measures to curb the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Diaz was confirmed last week by Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas Pres. Monico Puentevella to be the country's representative.
Diaz, who is a 2016 Olympic silver medalist, is currently ranked 5th in the world and would secure a berth in the upcoming Summer Games if she participates in the Ibero American Open, which would be her sixth qualification competition.
The International Weightlifting Federation's (IWF) standard for qualifying for the Olympics is a minimum of six events. Puentevella has requested the IWF to trim the minimum to five, which the federation will discuss in a meeting on Monday.
The Asian Championships this April in Uzbekistan have already been cancelled, together with Romania last week and the event next month in Mauritius.
"I'm optimistic that the IWF Board will reconsider our plea and resolve this problem at hand in fairness to all Associations worldwide," Puentevella said in a statement.
While waiting, Diaz, along with other Filipino Olympic hopefuls will continue to continue their training in Malaysia. Included in the group are Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Kristel Macrohon, fellow Rio Olympian Nestor Colonia, Eileen Ando, John Ceniza, and Mary Flor Diaz.
"We are thankful to the [Philippine Sports Commission] under Chairman [Butch Ramirez] for all the support," closed the NSA head.