KIYOMI WATANABE.
CDN FILE PHOTO
Cebuana judoka Kiyomi Watanabe brought home the gold medal Sunday in the Asian Judo Open Taipei Judo Championships in Hsinchu City.
Watanabe destroyed two Japanese fighters in the women’s 63-kilogram category preliminaries as she sets herself for the upcoming Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) in Kuala Lumpur this August.
The Fil-Japanese fighter whose mother is from Toledo City, crushed Japan’s Chika Kudo in an intense final to capture the elusive gold.
In the quarterfinal round, the young judoka defeated Japanese Haruna Ota before silencing Taipei’s Yu Ching Cheng in a much anticipated semi-final matchup.
Kudo, on the other hand, took down three opponents to forge a championship showdown against Watanabe only to woefully fall short in bagging the top prize.
Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Ramon Fernandez, meanwhile, congratulated Watanabe after the win.
“CONGRATS! Kiyomi Watanabe for winning the gold,” Fernandez posted on his Facebook page. “Looking forward to more medal hauls in the SEAG 2017.”
This year’s SEA Games is slated this August in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
This is Watanabe’s best finish so far this year after winning a bronze and silver in the Paris Grand Slam 2017 and 2017 European Judo Open Women in Austria, respectively.
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