TWO-TIME Olympian Elreen Ando and Rosegie Ramos, a rising star in the sport, bagged three silver medals apiece in the Women’s 64kg and Women’s 49kg divisions, respectively, to lead the Philippines to a respectable finish in the 2025 Asian Weightlifting Championships in Jiangshan, China, where the team secured a total of seven silvers.
In the men’s competition, Fernando Agad Jr. nailed the seventh silver medal in the Men’s 55kg Clean and Jerk.
The team received a warm welcome upon its arrival on Tuesday, with the Philippine Sports Commission organizing a recognition ceremony to honor the athletes’ achievements.
Ando lifted 102 kg in the snatch, 130 kg in the clean and jerk, for a total of 232 kg, placing second behind China.
“Unang-una sa lahat, nagpapasalamat ako sa Panginoon sa araw-araw na pagbibigay sa akin ng lakas para malagpasan ko lahat. Alay ko ito sa Iyo—ang medalya na nakamit ko,” said Ando in a social media post.
Ando, who placed sixth in the Women’s 59kg division at the 2024 Paris Olympics, moved up to the 64kg category, a class where she previously bagged the bronze at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou and silver at the 2021 Asian Championships in Tashkent.
Other athletes who competed were Rose Jean Ramos in the Women’s 45kg division and Kristel Macrohon in the Women’s 71kg divisions.
The Philippine delegation was led by national coaches Nicolas Jaluag, Patrick Lee, and Kelle Kay Rojas.
