Four lifters in contention for tickets to Paris

If the stars align, there’s a strong chance the Philippines will have four weightlifters in the Paris Olympics in July.

“We have around four lifters who will represent us in the Paris Olympics, barring no injuries to all of these four,” said Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas president Monico Puentevella.

Puentevella was referring to Rosegie Ramos, Vanessa Sarno, John Fabuar and one between Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo and fellow Olympian Elreen Ando.

The 20-year-old Ramos has practically planted a foot in Paris by zooming to the top five in the women’s 49-kilogram division after she recently struck a silver and bronze in the Asian Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

The Zamboanga City native would just need another solid effort in another Olympic-qualifying event in Phuket, Thailand next month to join pole-vault star EJ Obiena and Tokyo Olympics boxing bronze winner Eumir Marcial, who have booked tickets to Paris.

Sarno, 20, is also seeing action in Tashkent and if she does well, she too would close in on that glorious slot to the quadrennial Games.

The same goes with Fabuar, who hails from Cebu like Ando.

Ando, who had a couple of silvers in Tashkent, is battling Diaz-Naranjo tooth and nail for that hotly contested spot in the women’s 59kg class. Only one slot is allowed per division per country in the Olympics.

And it will boil down to how Ando, who slightly trails Diaz-Naranjo, will perform in Phuket.

“As of now, Hidilyn leads by a small margin,” said Puentevella.