Malaysia-trained weightlifter Diaz wins first ever Olympics gold for the Philippines

An emotional weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz after winning the Philippines first gold on Monday night. - Reuters.

TOKYO: Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz spent the last year and a half training in exile in Malaysia because of Covid-19 restrictions but it did not stop her from making history on Monday when she became the first athlete from the Philippines to win an Olympics gold medal.

The 30-year-old Rio 2016 silver medallist from the southern city of Zamboanga realised her dream in the women's 55kg class at the Tokyo International Forum, smashing her personal best to see off world record holder Liao Qiuyun of China who had to settle for silver.