MANILA, Philippines — Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas (SWP) president Monico Puentevella advised weightlifter Vanessa Sarno to lose with grace and not blame others for it.

Sarno recently shared that her incurring a DNF (did not finish) in her Olympic debut at the women's 71kg class on August 10 was the ultimate result of having to train under an alleged toxic environment and her mental health being neglected.

"Let her performance speak for itself. I don't know who she's referring to. No excuses for us. Lose with grace. Blaming others is a no-no," Puentevella said in a short response to The Manila Times.

The 20-year-old Sarno, who's dubbed as the heir apparent to weightlifting great and first-ever Filipino Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz, did not specify names.

In three attempts, Sarno could not lift her declared starting weight of 100kg in snatch, which is significantly lighter than his personal best and national record of 110kg.

Sarno also lamented how her request of having her personal coach and 'father figure' Richard Pep Agosto assist her for Paris Games buildup got denied by SWP.

Agosto, who was serving an indefinite suspension due to a reported punching incident in Cebu last June, eventually arrived in Paris to assist Sarno through a Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) executive decision.

To this, Puentevella, who said he will reveal SWP's full side of the story in a press conference, commented:

"I will reveal all in due time. Only SWP can lift the indefinite suspension. Now you know, this is just the first chapter. Executive decision? It's an authoritarian rule. Worse, the SWP board just banned him [Agosto]."

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