NAGOYA, Japan — Two-time Olympian Elreen Ando is returning to the Asian Games with one clear target: improve on the bronze medal she won three years ago and challenge for another podium finish at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
Ando, 27, will compete in the women’s 61-kilogram weightlifting category, a change from the 64kg division where she captured bronze at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games. Philippine sports reports said the move gives Ando a weight class between the 59kg and 63kg categories she has previously competed in.
The Cebuana lifter has already made her ambitions known ahead of the Games.
“I am very excited because I am hoping for another medal at the Asian Games,” Ando said, expressing her desire to improve on her previous bronze finish.
From Hangzhou bronze to a new challenge
Ando’s bronze medal in Hangzhou came in the women’s 64kg division after she posted a 222-kilogram total. Her upcoming campaign in Nagoya will therefore present a different challenge as she moves into the 61kg category.
The change comes after a difficult period that included a leg injury. Reports from Philippine media said Ando had recovered from the injury and was continuing to adjust her training and lifts ahead of the Asian Games.
Despite the setback, Ando said she feels comfortable competing at 61kg.
The Daily Tribune reported that she views the category as being between the weight classes she has previously handled, while also acknowledging that her recovery and adjustments remain part of her preparation.
A decorated Filipino lifter
Ando enters Nagoya with significant international experience.
She has represented the Philippines at two Olympic Games, finishing seventh in the women’s 64kg category at the Tokyo Olympics and sixth in the 59kg division at the Paris Olympics. She is also a two-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist, winning titles in 2023 and 2025.
Philstar also noted that Ando won a bronze medal in the clean and jerk at the 2025 World Championships, adding another major international result to her résumé.
Her experience will be particularly important in Nagoya, where the field is expected to include strong lifters from countries such as China, Chinese Taipei and Japan, according to the Daily Tribune.
Ando leads a five-member Philippine weightlifting team
The Philippines is sending a five-member weightlifting squad to the 20th Asian Games.
Ando is joined by Rosegie Ramos, Kristel Macrohon, Albert Ian delos Santos and Eleaphraime Wacoy Limmong.
Among them, Delos Santos has also drawn attention after strong performances in junior international competition. The Daily Tribune reported that he won the men’s junior 70kg division at the Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships and established Asian junior records.
The Philippine delegation will therefore look to weightlifting as one of the sports capable of contributing medals to the country’s campaign in Nagoya.
The Hidilyn Diaz factor
Ando’s role becomes even more prominent because Hidilyn Diaz, the Philippines’ first Olympic gold medalist, is not competing at the 2026 Asian Games.
BusinessMirror reported that Diaz opted to skip the Games, leaving Ando as the most experienced female lifter in the Philippine delegation.
That places additional attention on Ando as she attempts to build on the bronze medal she earned in Hangzhou.
Still, the target is straightforward: perform better than she did three years ago.
The 20th Asian Games officially run from September 19 to October 4, 2026, with Aichi-Nagoya serving as host. The Olympic Council of Asia lists 43 sports and 469 events on the program.
For Ando, however, the focus will narrow to one platform, one weight class and one opportunity.
After bronze in Hangzhou, can Elreen Ando turn her renewed confidence and experience into a higher finish in Nagoya?
That answer will come when she takes the platform in the women’s 61kg competition.
