Compete in Phuket is Diaz's final Olympic ticket for second gold in Paris

The final chapter of Hidilyn Diaz, the fifth and last Olympic appearance since 2000 in Sydney will be known in Thailand when the 32 years old Tokyo gold medalist and World Weightlifting queen from Zamboanga compete in the fifth and last qualifying World Cup which unwraps on April 2 in tourist paradise Phukett before she bids farewell to her glittering weightlifting career spanning for almost two decades.

Thailand, known as the “Land of the Free”, where Diaz won the Asian Weightlifting and ASEAN Weightlifting tilts.

“My goal is to win ,qualify to compete in Paris and win the gold. God’s will, sir,” said Diaz in an exclusive interview standing beside her Guamenian husband coach and fellow lifter Julius Naranjo.

“The competition in Thailand is my swansong and last hurrah win or lose. The die is cast. Whatever happen I will fight to the last and best of my ability because my international credential and honor and my ambition to compete in Paris is at stake,” stressed Diaz graduate of business management at College of St. Benilde.

“I did not compete the qualification Asian Weightlifting in Uzbekistan and I prepared for the World Cup. Competing in the World Cup is mandatory because it is the final phase of the qualifying,” said the former daughter of a tricycle driver turned millionaire.

Diaz candidly admitted the time has come to quit and focus her attention taking care of her family and the Hidilyn Diaz Weightlifting Academy in Jala Jala, Rizal.

“I’m no longer young. I’m 37 years old in 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. It’s quite difficult for me to win against younger rivals,” candidly admitted Diaz.

Since the World Cup in Thailand her farewell appearance and the Paris Summer Games is her final in five Olympic stint since 2000 in Sydney, Diaz promised she will play her best out there in Thailand to pass the qualifying and play in Paris where she trained in preparation for the World Weightlifting in Bogota, Colombia she successfully won with flying colors

“Gagawin at gagamitin ko ang lahat nalalaman at malawak na karanasan ko sa weightlifting magtagumpay sa fifth and final stint ko sa Paris,” said the most bemedalled and Hall of Famer and provincemate of Paris-bound boxer and Tokyo bronze medalist Felix Eumir Marcial.

Diaz confided to this writer her quest for another weightlifting glory is difficult like scaling the world’s highest mountain in Nepal Mount Everest because she is competing in heavier division 59 kilograms.

“Well, I must admit winning in heavier division not in my ideal weight 55 kg. indeed tough and difficult because I am range against lifters heavier than my weight,” stressed the stoic face Diaz.

Diaz was forced to compete in 59kg because her ideal weight 55kg is not included in the 11 weight categories in the women bracket.

“Ok lang. Wala akong magagawa. That is the discretion of the host country,” remarked Diaz, two times PSA Athlete of the Year who popularized her battle slogan “walang imposible,”

Diaz won the silver in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and collared the coveted gold in 2020 in Tokyo. Her golden medallion finally ended 97 years of fruitless campaign since the Philippines first competed in the world’s most glamorous and popular sports extravaganza organized by the International Olympic Committee currently headed by Thomas Bach of Germany.

“I had nothing to prove. I won many world class competitions like the Olympics Games, World Weightlifting, Asian Games, Southeast Asian Games, Southeast Asian Weightlifting at ASEAN Weightlifting. In other words, my career in weightlifting is complete,” stressed Diaz.

Though she’s finally out after Paris, Diaz said she’s still around. Coaching and developing young lifters to follow her footsteps is in her mind.

“Nandiyan pa rin ako. I’m still around and visible. Hindi ko basta-basta i-iwan ang sport malapit sa akin puso at nagpatanyag sa akin sa mundo. I cannot turned my back to the sport gave me countless honors,” added Diaz.

Diaz placed fourth three times in Jiju, Korea, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, at 19th Asian Games sa China. The 11 weight divisions in women are 45kg, 49kg, 59kg., 69kg., 64kg., 71kg., 76kg., 81kg, plus 81kg, 87kg, at plus 87kg .