Ando snares three medals in Asian tilt
FILIPINO weightlifter Elreen Ando snared three medals in the Women's 64-kilogram category in the Asian Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on Tuesday evening.
With a combined 213kg lifted, Ando placed second for the silver behind Taiwanese Wen-Huei Chen who took the gold with a total of 228kg.
The 22-year-old Ando, who won a silver in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, also got a silver in the clean and jerk with her 119kg behind Chen's 128kg.
She then copped the bronze in snatch with her 94kg behind Chen’s 100kg and South Korean Han Sojin’s 96kg.
With Ando's three medals, the Philippines has now won a total of six medals in the ongoing tilt, which will end on April 25.
The other three were from Mary Flor Diaz, cousin of soon-to-be four-time Olympian Hidilyn, as she bagged three silvers in the Women's 45kg on Monday.
Hidilyn, meanwhile, finished fourth in the 55kg on Sunday but here mere participation in the competition was enough to seal an Olympic berth.
Diaz competed in her sixth Olympic Qualifying Tournament — the minimum number of competitions a world-ranked weightlifter must join to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in July.
The 30-year-old Diaz is ranked no. 2 in her category.
NIEL VICTOR C. MASOY