Watanabe logs record win in Asian junior judo

MANILA, Philippines - Kiyomi Watanabe bested a tough field, including Aigerim Abilkadirova of Kazakhstan in the finals to post a record feat in the 15th Asian Junior Judo Championships in Hong Kong recently.

The 18-year-old Watanabe, a SEA Games gold medalist in Myanmar last year, flashed top form to dominate her Kazakh rival and rule the -63kg division, becoming the first Filipina to win a gold in an Asian-level juniors competition.

“This is a historic moment for Philippine judo. We look forward to more accomplishments from our athletes in the future, thanks to the decision of the Philippine Sports Commission to include judo as part of the priority sports list,” said Philippine Judo Federation president Dave Carter.

Watanabe, trained by Yazaki Yuta, settled for a bronze in last year’s edition of the annual event in Hainan, China.

En route to her gold medal feat, Watanabe beat Tursunpashasha Nurmetova of Uzbekistan in the first round, then advanced into the finals with a win over Renu Kundu of India.

Bianca Mae Estrella finished fifth in the women’s -78kg division of the event which Japan topped with six gold medals.

Others who saw action for Team Philippines were Joshua Raphael Tan, Jose Joaquin Miciano, Dither Tablan, Rodimple Rodriguez, and Patricia Nicole Rosario with Paul Michael De Vera as head coach.