By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Albert Ian Delos Santos delivered the country’s second gold medal in the 2025 Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan over the weekend.
Delos Santos topped the clean & jerk in the junior men’s 71kg with a lift of 177 kilos but settled for silver medal in total with 313 kilos.
He was actually running fifth after the snatch event where he managed only 136 kilos, and before winning the clean & jerk via the countback after he and Uzbekistan’s Diyorkbek Ruzmetov posted similar lifts.
Ruzmetov, however, bagged the gold in total with 319 kilos after a dominating performance in snatch with 142 kilos.
Also delivering medals for Team PH is Jerick Icon Castro, who bagged one silver and two bronze medals in the youth men’s 60kg.
Castro and India’s Sunil Singh lifted identical 105 kilos in snatch, but the Filipino settled for the silver via the countback. He, however, managed a bronze in clean & jerk with 128 kilos to finish with another bronze in total with 233 kilos.
A Maharajan and Singh made a 1-2 finish in total with 255 kilos and 238 kilos, respectively.
Jhodie Peralta boosted Team PH’s campaign the other day with five podium finishes in the women’s 53kg — three silver medals in the youth class and two bronze medals in the junior side.
Team PH hiked its overall tally to two gold, seven silver and seven bronze medals.
