Sarno ready to pull off surprise?

HANGZHOU – Weightlifter Vanessa Sarno, gold medalist in the 2020 Asian Championships and the reigning, defending SEA Games champion, will go for broke in the women’s 76kg today at the 19th Asian Games here.

The cheerful 20-year-old, who as a child in Tagbilaran, Bohol lifted barbells as a hobby, will seek a medal in the weight class that’s five kilos more than her normal weight of 71kg.

Monico Puentevella, president of the Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas, rued the organizers’ decision to scrap the women’s 71kg class where Sarno also won the silver in the 2023 Asian Championships.

“Kagaguhan ang ginawa dito na inalis ang 71 kilos, which is in the Olympics, at naglagay ng 76. Siguro may malakas ang China sa 76,” said Puentevella over the phone yesterday morning.

“Pero kalimutan mo na ito. ‘Yung Paris Olympics pa din ang goal natin at ma-qualify silang lahat,” he said.

Puentevella, however, is not losing hope that Sarno, still trying to shake off a minor elbow injury sustained early this year, can win a medal here like Elreen Ando, who bagged the bronze medal in the 64kg last Monday.

Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz finished fourth in her new weight of 59kg but said the real objective here is to size up her opponents. Then she will seek a ticket to Paris when she competes in the 2023 WFP World Cup in Qatar in December and its 2024 edition in Thailand in April.

Puentevella said Sarno, who just turned 20 last month, can pull off a surprise against the field that includes the mighty North Koreans.

“Marunong lumaban ‘yan (Sarno). Ibang klase ‘yan. Pang Olympics talaga si Sarno pero sa 71 kilos. Pero may laban ‘yan. Hindi ako magugulat kung mag medal ‘yan dito,” he said.

“Nagka-problema lang yan sa elbow this year pero okay naman daw,” he added.