Filipino judokas face uphill battle in Asiad

HANGZHOU – Kiyomi Watanabe and the Filipino judokas will be hard-pressed to deliver a first-ever gold medal in the 19th Asian Games here but they remained hopeful of their chances while vowing to dish out their very best.

“Winning the gold medal will not be easy. But if we’re talking about medals of any color, I think our athletes have a chance,” said Philippine Judo Federation secretary-general Dave Carter, stressing that other countries have improved significantly, making it a lot tougher for the team to score an Asiad breakthrough.

Leah Jane Lopez kicks off the country’s campaign as she collides with Abiba Abuzhaknyova of Kazakhstan in the Round of 16 of the women’s 48-kilogram Sunday at the Xiaoshan Linpu Gymnasium here.

Also set to see action is Shugen Nakano, who battles Saoud Alamiri of Kuwait in the Round of 32 of the men’s 66-kilogram.

The 26-year-old Nakano clinched the gold medal in the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi in 2022 but settled for silver in the 32nd biennial meet in Cambodia last May.

He will be competing against a 21-year-old Kuwaiti who finished fifth in the 2023 Arab Judo Championships and seventh in the 2021 Asia-Oceania Judo Championships.

Completing the national judo squad are Kessie Nakano (men’s 73-kg), John Viron Ferrer (men’s 81-kg), Carl Dave Aseneta (men’s 100-kg), Rena Furukawa (women’s 57-kg), Ryoko Salinas (women’s 70-kg), Dylwynn Gimena (women’s 78-kg), and Watanabe (women’s 63-kg).

Their coaches are Franco Teves, Gilbert Ramirez and Olympian Kodo Nakano.

Watanabe, 27, is the country’s brightest hope to win a medal in the four-day tournament that drew 203 competitors from 28 countries.

She is a former Southeast Asian Games champion but missed the Hanoi edition in 2022 after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament tear.

In the last Asian Games in Jakarta in 2018, she had a dominant run to the final, but lost to Japanese powerhouse Nabi Nabekura in the gold medal match.

“Realistically speaking, it won’t be easy,” said Carter. 

“After her first match on Monday, she will be facing the top player in Asia. It’s gonna be tough.”