Coach Julius Naranjo and spouse, Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Hidylin Diaz-Naranjo, are responsible for making weighlifting a demo sport in the 65th Palarong Pambansa. Mrs. Naranjo is the tournament director and her spouse is the deputy tournament director.
Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo witnessed the sudden rise of weightlifting in the country following her golden breakthrough in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
The sport where the Philippines earned its first Olympic gold medal is destined to grow further by leaps and bounds with its insertion in the Palarong Pambansa calendar.
READ: Palarong Pambansa unfurls in Laoag; Marcos attends opening
“I dreamed of this for many years and it finally came true. The entire weightlifting community wished to be included in the Palarong Pambansa for a long time,’’ said Diaz-Naranjo.
The Filipino weightlifting icon was designated tournament director of the first-ever weightlifting tournament in the national Games for high school and elementary student-athletes from the nation’s 17 regions.
“I won the silver and gold (medals) in the Olympics, so what’s next? How do I leverage this for the next generation to attract more athletes? The Palarong Pambansa gives them the opportunity to excel in weightlifting,’’ said Diaz-Naranjo.
READ: Weightlifting now a demo Palaro sport in Laoag
Over 70 high school lifters from nine regions are set to show up at the Laoag City Elementary School grounds during the week-long Games beginning Monday, including eight from the training center of Diaz-Naranjo and her husband Julius in Jala-Jala, Rizal.
Inserting weightlifting in the Palaro program didn’t come as a breeze after the Naranjos volunteered themselves in spearheading the challenging work load of putting things together.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara opened the doors to the weightlifting hero by endorsing the Naranjos to the officials of the Palaro secretariat, which guided them with the process of turning weightlifting into a Palaro demonstration sport.
“It was really difficult because you have to convince all the regions. Secretary Angara paved the way for this dream to become true,’’ said Diaz-Naranjo.
Starting with the division or local level, young lifters will have to prove themselves worthy up to the national level, giving the national team wider opportunities of discovering talents.
“It’s important to become part of the Palaro. It’s a great process because these lifters from the districts, cities and regions will be discovered,’’ said Diaz-Naranjo, who disclosed that there will be four weight categories in each of the boys and girls secondary divisions.
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.
After late Saturday night’s opening ceremony attended by no less than President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Sunday’s Games were devoted to Filipino ethnic sports before the Palaro goes full blast on Monday starting with athletics at the Ferdinand Edralin Marcos Sr. Memorial Stadium.
