By now, many of you would have heard of the Filipina athlete, Hidilyn Diaz, who is the first athlete to bring her country an Olympic gold medal. If you don’t, here’s a summary of how she had trained for Tokyo 2020 in Melaka.
Hidilyn came to Malaysia in February 2020 to train for the Olympics. She was trapped in Kuala Lumpur in a condominium unit due to the Covid-19 restrictions till October 2020 when she moved to Jasin, Melaka to train at the house of a Malaysian weightlifting official’s house. During the entire time that she was here, she could not go to the gym and train but had to train in the open-air porch in the sweltering Malaysian heat.
Her story has made its rounds and people all over the world congratulate her on her huge success. Hidilyn even thanked Malaysia and everyone who contributed in the process of her achieving this great victory. However, it seems as though a few individuals are using the weightlifter’s big win and attributing it to the actions of others.
News portals claim Adham Baba was the ‘backbone’ to Hidilyn’s victory
According to Berita Harian and Utusan, it is claimed that the Health Minister, Dr Adham Baba, is one of the individuals which served as the ‘backbone’ to Hidilyn’s success.
OLIMPIK: Dr Adham turut bantu kejayaan Diaz
KUALA LUMPUR: Menteri Kesihatan, Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba adalah antara…
Posted by KEMENTERIAN KESIHATAN MALAYSIA on Wednesday, 28 July 2021
The reason behind the belief is that the Phillippines Embassy had sent a request to the Health Minister on 8 June so that Hidilyn and her coaches (who all had 1 dose of AZ) will get their second dose expedited before going to the Olympic games.
It is said that the request was accepted within three days after it was made and Hidilyn, along with her coaches were vaccinated with Pfizer.
What do you think about this? Let us know in the comments.
Also read: “Thank you Malaysia!” Filipina Weightlifter Who Trained in Melaka Wins First Gold For Philippines
