'Keep the fire burning’: Hidilyn carries Asian Games flame for Philippines

NAGOYA, Japan — The fire returned to where the dream was fulfilled.

Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo, the mighty mite from Zamboanga City — all 4-foot-11 of pure heart and steel — found herself back on familiar ground Thursday as one of the torchbearers for the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya.

It was five years ago over in Tokyo — 342 kilometers by Shinkansen, 384 by car from Nagoya — where Diaz-Naranjo, now 35, made history as the first Filipino to win Olympic gold, ending almost a century of drought for the country since it first joined the Games in 1924.

The Covid-delayed triumph in Tokyo was barrier-shattering. It was epic. It was the lift heard around the world.

On Thursday, after completing her leg of the relay, the country's weightlifting queen was greeted by Philippine Olympic Committee President Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino — two pillars of Philippine sports sharing pleasantries on foreign soil, both beaming with pride.

The symbolism was not lost on anyone. From Olympic champion to torchbearer — a fitting reward for the woman who showed all that nothing is impossible.

Diaz-Naranjo knows the Asian Games well as she struck gold in Jakarta-Palembang in 2018, then fell short of a repeat in Hangzhou in 2023 as she moved up in weight class.

Now she is praying for Team Philippines to keep the fire burning.

"Keep the fire burning," was her simple but powerful message.

Carrying that fire for the country in the relay are no less than the new generation of Filipino greats — tennis sensation Alex Eala, double Olympic gold medalist Carlos Yulo, jiu-jitsu ace Annie Ramirez, pole vault star EJ Obiena and the loaded esports squad.

From Tokyo gold to Nagoya flame. The journey continues.

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