Philippines’ Hidilyn Diaz reacts after placing first in the women’s 55kg weightlifting competition during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Tokyo International Forum in Tokyo July 26, 2021. — AFP pic
JASIN, Nov 1 — Filipino weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz plans to upgrade the training centre in Kampung Kesang Tua here which propelled her to Olympic glory, as a gesture of appreciation to Melaka.
Malaysian Weightlifting Federation vice-president Ahmad Janius Abdullah said Hidilyn, who won the Philippines’ first ever Olympic gold in Tokyo recently, is willing to pump in RM100,000 for the upgrading project.
“Last night she contacted me and talked about her desire to upgrade the training facility for use by the country’s weightlifters to prepare for various championships.
“She also asked me to introduce her to a contractor today to discuss building a weightlifting gymnasium and a hostel for the benefit of weightlifters. She wants the project to start as soon as possible,” he said when contacted by Bernama here today.
Hidilyn arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) last Saturday and immediately went to Kampung Kesang Tua to undergo quarantine until November 5.
“In fact, after the success of Hidilyn was given wide press coverage, there were requests from weightlifting associations from countries like Thailand and India to send their weightlifters here for training.
“Since the interstate travel ban was lifted, we have received visits from many parties which wanted to take pictures of the training ground,” he added.
Hidilyn, 30, prepared for the Olympics by training at the village facility after being stranded by movement restrictions imposed to check the spread of Covid-19 last year. — Bernama