TOKYO OLYMPIAN Erleen Anne Ando has no other way but up when she competes in the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Championships starting on Tuesday at the Uzbekistan Sports Complex in Tashkent.
The 23-year-old Cebuana Ando will climb the stage on Saturday in the women’s 59 kgs and no longer in the 64 kgs where she competed in the Asian championships also in Tashkent and the Tokyo Olympics earlier this year.
“I think my current lifts and techniques provided me with some advantages here on the world stage,” Ando told BusinessMirror from Tashlent on Monday. “My experience in the Olympics also made me comfortable here.”
Ando collected two silver and one bronze medals at the Asian Championships last April but remained wary with her nine opponents led by Russia’s Aleksandra Kozlova and Taiwan’s Hsing-Chun Kuo.
“It’s just normal to be nervous sometimes but just don’t bring it in the actual game,” she said.
Fernando Agad, a 19-year-old also from Cebu, will be up first for the Philippines at 5 p.m. (Manila time) on Tuesday in the men’s 55 kgs class.
The other Filipino bets are Asian 71 kgs double gold winner Vanessa Sarno, Ellen Rose Perez (49 kgs), Asian Championships silver medalist Mary Flor Diaz (45 kgs), Kristel Macrohon (76 kgs) and Margaret Colonia (64 kgs) in the women’s division and John Febuar Ceniza (61 skg), Dave Pacaldo (67 kgs) and John Dexter Tabique (96 kgs) in the men’s contest.
Christopher Bureros, Richard Augusto and Roberto Colonia are their coaches.
“We are just hoping Agad will lift his best as a first timer here,” Bureros said.
A total of 300 weightlifters from 24 countries are competing in the event that ends December 17.