Hidilyn Diaz made history in the 2016 Rio Olympics as the first Filipino female athlete to win an Olympic medal. Her win was the country's first Olympic medal in two decades, and the first in weightlifting.
Diaz was supposed to make history again this year and grab that much-awaited gold for the Philippines in Tokyo, but the Games have been postponed due to the pandemic.
Hidilyn Diaz, in an interview on Sports Page on Monday, expressed the dismay she felt when they announced the one-year delay of the Olympics.
"Sobrang nakakaiyak. Iniisip ko na parang 16 months na preparasyon na naman 'to. Pano na yung mga nasakripisyo ko na business, yung school, yung family ko, yung time with friends," Diaz said.
"Andami kong what if, pano kung di ulit mangyari. Pano pag wala nang laro, ang dami ko nang sakripisyo sobrang sakit. Sobrang sakit sa akin, kasi napakahabang sakripisyong binigay ko tapos bigla na lang na dahil sa pandemic na-postpone yung Olympics."
She, though, acknowledged that the delay was necessary, and she used the additional time to train more. Diaz, who has been in Malaysia since March, said she has been facing challenges in her training amid the lockdown. "May mga times kasi nagsi-strict sila so we decided not to train for one week, pero nakakastress talaga na walang training syempre alam mo naman as an athlete, parang yung buhay namin kain-training-tulog tapos biglang wala nang training for 7 days to 2 weeks so pano na to?" she recounted.
Fortunately, she has managed to keep in top form, which was evident after winning an online weightlifting tournament. "Yung thrill dito medyo di ko kilala di ko alam kung sino kalaban ko, so hindi ako nagexpect na manalo ako. Naglaro ako sa 59 kilograms, medyo mataas yun sa body weight na nilalaro ko. Sabi ko wala naman akong chance na manalo dito, ang gusto ko lang alam ko kung, malaman ko lang kung san ako magstand. Kung san lakas ko, kung kaya ko pa bang magpursue sa Olympics, So ayun parang goal setting lang siya, di ko inexpect na manalo ako," Hidilyn said.
Diaz only needs to participate in one more Olympic qualifier to officially get her ticket to Tokyo. She is fifth in the rankings for the 55kg category, with all of the top four hailing from China.
One of her worries was where to get funding for one more year, but luckily the MVP Sports Foundation answered that prayer when they gave her P1.5 million to boost her bid.
"Gusto kong magpasalamat sa MVP Sports Foundation, Sir Al and Sir MVP for helping us, for helping me and the Philippines para makuha yung gold medal para sa Olympics," Diaz said.
Diaz said weightlifting is a sport that other Filipinos could excel in.
"Sa tingin ko weightlifting talaga para sa Pilipino. Syempre kasi yung height natin, yung muscle natin, yung katawan natin para talaga sa weightlifting. Para talagang mag-eexcel tayo sa weightlifting. Napatunayan ko na sa Olympics, papatunayan ko pa rin sa Tokyo 2021," she said.
She also acknowledged the steps the government, the Philippine Sports Commission in particular, is taking to help athletes.
"Thankful ako that ngayon naririnig na nila, pinapakinggan na nila kung ano yung kailangan naming mga atleta. Kasi kung kailangan nating manalo, kung gusto nating manalo sa Olympics, kailangan namin to prepare. We cannot just win Olympics without preparing," she said.
"Ang gusto ko lang sabihin understand us, mga atletang Pilipino. We need your support, we need your moral support and please include us in your prayers na sana di kami mag-give up despite na nasa pandemic tayo.
Diaz still plans to compete in more international competitions after the 2021 Olympics, like the Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam. But the 2024 Paris Olympics is a completely different matter, she said.
"Gusto ko na rin magkaroon ng pamilya, gusto ko na makagraduate, magkaroon ng degree, gusto ko na rin magkaroon ng normal na buhay," she said. "Makikita niyo yung sacrifices and yung mga mental health ng ibang atleta, talagang whoo, sabi ko nakakarelate ako dito. Kasi pano na, buong buhay namin binigay sa Olympics for four years tapos after that, what's next? kung manalo sa olympics ng gold, ano nang next sakin di ba? Nakakatakot."
"Di ko malaman kung maglalaro pa uli ako, 2024. Pero alam ko maglalaro ako next year so dun muna ako."