KRISTEL SATUMBAGA

Tokyo Olympian Elreen Ando will banner the Philippine weightlifting team that will see action in the 32^nd Southeast Asian Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia next month.

A silver medalist in the 64kg division of the previous SEAG edition in Vietnam, Ando will move to a lower weight class and try her luck in the women’s 59kg.

Joining Ando in the women’s field are Vanessa Sarno, Angeline Colonia, Lovely Inan and Rosalindo Faustino.

Sarno aims to defend her gold medal in the 71kg, while Colonia and Inan compete in the 45kg and 49kg. Faustino, for her part, will battle in the 55kg division – the same weight category where Olympic champion Hidilyn Diaz won the SEAG gold medal.

Diaz, however, will be skipping this year’s biennial meet as it coincides with her participation in a qualifying tournament for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The 2023 Asian Weightlifting Championships will run from May 3 to 13 in South Korea, while the SEAG will be held from May 5 to 17.

Meanwhile, the men’s SEAG team is composed of John Febuar Ceniza, Dave Lloyd Pacaldo and John Dexter Tabigue.

Ceniza and Pacaldo will compete in the 61kg and 67kg, while Tabigue will see action in the 89kg.