Ando rise continues; focus now on Norway tilt
Elreen Ann Ando has been consistently reaping honors in her class in the Asian scene, something the two-time Olympian would love to do on a much grander scale.
“I’ve been really working on it. I feel good about the result [in the Asian championship] and I intend to build on it,” said Ando in Filipino.
The lifter from Cebu pocketed three silver medals in the women’s 64 kilograms at the Asian Weightlifting Championships in Jiangshan, China, adding to the bronze medal she won in the Hangzhou Asian Games in China two years ago.
On Sunday, she gave hometown bet Li Shuang a bit of a scare in coming up with one of her finest performances in the sport.
Ando’s silver medals came from lifting 102kg in the snatch, 130kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 232kg, while Li swept the three golds following a 105 in the snatch, 134 in the clean and jerk and 239 in the total.
Mun Min-hee of South Korea grabbed three bronze medals by compiling 94, 120 and 214.
It was a marked improvement for the two-time Olympian compared to her output at the Asian championships last year in Uzbekistan.
Ando bagged two silvers in the women’s 59-kg category back then with a combined lift of 213kg built on 120kg in the clean and jerk.
Rosegie Ramos also sparkled with three silvers in the women’s 49kg after hoisting 90kg in the snatch and 107kg in the clean and jerk to compile 197kg in the total behind Thai gold medalist Thanyathon Sukcharoen’s 91, 109 and 200kg.
Fernando Agad Jr. seized one silver with 141kg in the clean and jerk of the men’s 55kg, but ended up fourth in the snatch (113kg) and total (254kg).
“I’m looking forward to the Southeast Asian Games at the end of this year, but the biggest challenge I think is the world championships,” said Ando.
The 2025 International Weightlifting Federation World Championship will be held in Forde, Norway, from Oct. 1 to Oct. 10.
