Hidilyn Diaz to resume training in Malaysia in September

The hustle continues for the Philippines' golden girl.

Hidilyn Diaz, who delivered a gold medal in the recently-concluded Tokyo Olympics, is tipped to fly back to Malaysia for the resumption of her crucial buildup for the World Championships slated in November in Lima, Peru.

"She is going back to Malaysia and will train again with Julius [Naranjo]," Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas (SWP) president Monico Puentevella said on Tuesday during the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum.

"In September, she'll be back in Malaysia for the world championships in November in Peru because she wants to get a medal there."

Aside from the World Championships, the federation is also expecting Diaz to return to the stage of the Vietnam Southeast Asian Games and the 2022 Asian Games in China.

Puentevella also shared that Diaz has yet to make a final decision whether she will return to the 2024 Paris Olympics to defend her gold mint but stressed they will understand whatever her decision will be.

The official added that if Diaz retires, she will be tapped as the head coach of the national women's weightlifting team.

"In this Paris, I am looking at four weightlifters and including Hidilyn, we have five. But if ever she retires, I will make her the national women's coach," Puentevella said.

"But if she still can, I know she can still finish with a medal."

Diaz is no stranger to Malaysia as she had conducted her training there when she, along with Naranjo and then head coach Gao Kaiwen, was stranded there all throughout the pandemic.

—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA News