Sarno snagged two golds and a silver in the 71-kilogram division in the recent continental event held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan lifting 101kg in the snatch and 128kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 229kg.

In an interview on The Game, the 17-year old weightlifter bared that her performance in the Uzbekistan tilt was unexpected. 

“Kami po lahat, hindi po kami nage-expect na maggo-gold po ako sa laro na ‘yun. Ang saya po noong nalaman namin na gold po ako, ang enjoy po ng game ko po,” Sarno said.

With Sarno turning heads after her major achievement, Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas President Monico Puentevella dubbed the teenager as the heir apparent to Hidilyn Diaz.

Puentevella is hoping that he could send the teenager to the Tokyo Olympics as a wildcard participant similar to Diaz being a wild card entry in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

However, Sarno’s focus at the moment is to be part of the national team that will compete in the 2021 SEA Games.

“‘Yung goal ko po talaga is ‘yung SEA Games,” she said.

A tryout will be held for weightlifters in August for them to vie for a spot in the national team that will be participating in the Hanoi games.