Hidilyn Diaz competes in weightlifting in the 2025 Southeast Asian Games, December 14, 2025 in Chonburi, Thailand. POC Media
CHONBURI – Filipina weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo is admittedly at a crossroads in her illustrious sporting career, after missing a shot to add another medal to her collection at the 2025 Southeast Asian Games.
The country's first Olympic gold medalist finished fourth in the women's 58kg weightlifting event on Sunday, clearing a total of 200kg in snatch and clean and jerk.
READ: Hidilyn Diaz misses podium in SEA Games return
Diaz-Naranjo was apologetic after the event in an interview with POC Media, but shared the competition lit a fire in her after setbacks.
She revealed she has been dealing with a persistent right knee injury since the qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympics, as well as mental struggles.
"After not qualifying sa Paris [Olympics], medyo nawalan na ako ng motivation. And yeah, this is my first international competition after 2024. So, I'm happy to be back again," Diaz-Naranjoo said.
"It's not the physical training, it's more on the mental training. So yun yung medyo nahirapan ako. So medyo one year, almost two years na akong hindi naglaro. Na-miss ko rin pala yung feeling na maglaro para sa Philippines and the podium," she added.
When asked if retirement is on the horizon, she did not give a definite answer.
"Depende sa takbo ng mga plano. May mga plano na. Nandoon na tayo, malapit na sa retirement. Pero siyempre, kailangan natin tignan kung ano ba [susunod]. Yun yung problema ng athlete. After winning gold, what's next? To be a sports leader? I will be a lecturer next year," she said.
"Medyo magulo ang isip kung... Definitely hindi pa, pero nandoon na. And dahil dito sa competition na ito, nagkaroon ako ng fire. Pero may kailangan na kung gagawin for the Pilipinas Weightlifting Association," Diaz-Naranjo shared.
Last October, Diaz-Naranjo announced she will be a lecturer at the University of the Philippines College of Human Kinetics.
She aims to give back by sharing her experiences to her future students, while helping develop the future generation of weightlifters.
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