Gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz visualized win two months before Asian Games

Confidence and exhaustive training gave Olympian Hidilyn Diaz a glimpse of herself standing on the podium months before clinching the gold at the 2018 Asian Games.

"Before nung competition talaga, vini-visualize ko na talaga na nandun na 'yung bandila, nasa gitna ako ng dalawang kalaban ko," Diaz recalled Wednesday in an interview on Unang Balita.

She added that she had this idea in mind two months before the Asian Games as Hsu Shu-ching, the athlete who bested her at the 53kg category, retired due to an injury.

Her vision was realized after she managed to lift 117kg once Turkmenistan’s Kristina Shermetova, the athlete who beat Diaz out for gold in last year's world championships, missed her goal in the event last August 21.

But even with these in mind, Diaz said her training became more difficult as she became more certain of her victory.

"Sobrang hirap po. 'Yung pressure pa lang sa sarili ko, kasi alam kong mananalo ako, so kailangan ko i-pressure sarili ko. Tapos 'yung pressure ng taumbayan, kasi silver medalist nga ako, so siyempre ine-expect nila, gold medalist," she said.

Diaz is the first Filipino athlete to win a gold medal in the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia and one of four women who won the Philippines' three gold medals so far. —Rie Takumi/KG, GMA News