Diaz wins Philippines’ historic gold

Hidilyn Diaz made history as she won the Philippines’ first gold medal in the Olympics, claiming the top prize in the women’s -55kg weightlifting in her fourth straight Summer Games appearance.

Diaz cleared 97kg on the snatch and an Olympic record 127kg on the clean and jerk for a total of 224kg as she edged Liao Qiuyun of China, who finished with 223kg (97kg on snatch and 126kg on clean and jerk).

The 2016 Rio de Janeiro silver medalist becomes only the second Filipino to win at least two Olympic medals, joining swimmer Teofilo Yldefonso, who won bronze medals in the 1928 and 1932 Summer Games.

(READ: Golden lift: Hidilyn Diaz captures historic Olympic gold)

Petecio inches closer to Olympic medal

Nesthy Petecio is a win away from bagging a medal in the Tokyo Olympics as she advanced to the quarterfinals of women’s featherweight boxing with a stunning split decision victory over top seed Lin Yu-Ting of Chinese Taipei.

Petecio took down her fellow world champion by the skin of her teeth, with three of the five judges scoring in her favor, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 28-29, 28-29.

If Petecio advances to the final four, she will already be guaranteed of an Olympic medal as the losers of the semifinals will take home bronze.

(READ: Nesthy Petecio stuns top seed, moves a win away from Olympic medal)

Didal ends Olympic stint

Skateboarder Margielyn Didal concluded her first Olympic stint with a commendable seventh-place finish in women’s street skate.

The Cebuana finished the eight-woman finals with a total of 7.52 points as she tallied scores of 2.33, 2.22, and 2.97, suffering falls in four of her five trick attempts.

Despite not being able to win a medal, it was still an admirable effort from Didal, considering she reached the finals and recorded better scores than world No. 1 Pamela Rosa and No. 4. Leticia Bufoni in the qualification.

(READ: Margielyn Didal lands at 7th, 13-year-old Japanese rules Olympic street skateboarding)

Paalam triumphant in Olympic debut

Boxer Carlo Paalam emerged victorious in his first Olympic match as he pulled off a split decision win over Brendan Irvine of Ireland in their men’s flyweight round of 32 match, 4-1.

The judges scored the bout 30-27, 29-28, 28-29, 30-27, 29-28.

Paalam will join fellow boxers Nesthy Petecio and Irish Magno in the next round as they both advanced to the round of 16 in the women’s featherweight and women’s flyweight classes, respectively.

(READ: Carlo Paalam outlasts two-time Olympian, reaches round of 16)

Didal through to finals

Skateboarder Margielyn Didal will get a crack at an Olympic medal after qualifying for the women’s street finals following a top eight finish.

The Asian Games gold medalist landed at seventh place in the qualification round with a total of 12.02, accumulated from her best scores of 2.77, 3.01, 3.02, and 3.22.

Needing all the luck she could get, Didal – who competed in the second heat – advanced as world No. 1 Pamela Rosa and No. 4 Leticia Bufoni failed to make the top eight.

(READ: Margielyn Didal hangs on to reach Tokyo Olympics skateboarding finals)

Preview

The Philippines’ pursuit of its first Olympic medal in Tokyo continues as four Filipino athletes see action on Monday, July 26.

Asian Games skateboarding champion Margielyn Didal starts the day early for the Filipino contingent in the women’s street qualification scheduled to start at 7:30 am.

Boxer Carlo Paalam will follow at 11:03 am as he tangles with Brendan Irvine of Ireland in the men’s flyweight round of 32.

Another boxer competes after Paalam, with Nesthy Petecio locking horns with top seed Lin Yu-Ting of Chinese Taipei in the women’s featherweight round of 16 at 12:39 pm.

Last but not the least, 2016 Rio de Janeiro silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz eyes another Olympic medal in the women’s 55kg division at 6:50 pm.

(READ: Tokyo Olympics: Meet Team Philippines)

– Rappler.com