The Philippine weightlifting team opens its campaign in the 2025 Southeast Asian Games on Saturday at the Chonburi Sports School, with Olympian Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo set to compete the next day.
Rosegie Ramos, 2024 World Championships bronze medalist, opens the Philippine campaign at 10 a.m. local time (11 a.m. Manila time) in the women's 48kg class.
Fernando Agad Jr. competes in the men's 60kg division at 1 p.m. local time (2 p.m. Manila time), to be followed by Jhodie Peralta in the women's 53kg category at 3 p.m. local time (4 p.m. Manila time).
Diaz-Naranjo, winner of the country's first-ever Olympic gold in Tokyo 2020, is entered in the women's 58kg class set to be held on Sunday.
The young weightlifters will be on the spotlight to open the Philippines' gold-medal bid.
The 21-year-old Ramos, a bronze medalist in the 49kg category during the Hanoi SEA Games in 2021, could be the first weightlifter to produce a medal for the Philippines as she copped the silver medal in the Asian Championships just last May in China.
The Zamboanga City product will face the same weightlifter that won the gold in the same competition in Thanyathorn Sukcharoen of Thailand.
Agad, 23, will also look to bring home a medal in the SEA Games after copping the 55kg snatch silver in this year's Asian Championships.