Kiyomi Watanabe's campaign in Tokyo 2020 lasted in less than a minute. Three years later, the Team Philippines judoka hopes her time in Paris 2024 would go a la française--the French way.
Kiyomi Watanabe is one of the Philippines' celebrated judokas, having secured her second straight appearance in the Olympic Games.
In the 2018 Asian Games, she was the first to give the Philippines its first silver medal of the competition--bowing to Japan's Nami Nabekura in the -63kg judo final.
The Filipina-Japanese judoka followed up on her success by earning her fourth straight gold medal in the Southeast Asian Games. This became sweeter, with the 2019 SEA Games being held at home.
Tokyo 2020 - New York Minute
It lasted 38 seconds.
Watanabe's Tokyo 2020 started on a high note, getting the honor of carrying the Philippine flag for the opening ceremonies beside boxer Eumir Marcial on July 23, 2021.
Fast forward to July 27, the day of the women's -63kg judo competition.
Watanabe was placed in Pool C and would take on Cristina Cabaña Perez in the Round of 32.
She momentarily lost her balance during an attack, which Perez took advantage of for a throw. It was initially called a waza-ari, but the referee later upgraded it an ippon--immediately ending the match.
Perez went on to the round of 16 and lost to eventual silver medalist Tina Trstenjak of Slovenia.
Watanabe though was quick to vow her Paris 2024 comeback.
Paris 2024 - Road to redemption
The 2022 Asian Games didn't get any easier for Watanabe. While she defeated Nguyen Ngoc Diem Phuong of Vietnam in the Round of 16, the Fil-Japanese judoka bowed to Miku Takaichi of Japan in the quarterfinals and to Esmigul Kuyulova in the repechage.
The 27-year-old athlete though never stopped competing.
Ranked 92nd in the world in the women’s -63kg category, Watanabe secured one of two Asian quotas for Paris 2024.
[ALSO READ: Paris 2024: Fil-Japanese judoka Kiyomi Watanabe makes back-to-back Olympics appearance]
It's good to be back at the Olympics.
This time, Watanabe hopes there would be no New York Minute. When in France, do as the French do--prendre le temps.
[NEXT: LIST: Filipino athletes competing in Olympic Games Paris 2024]
Story Summary:
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Kiyomi Watanabe aims for redemption at Paris 2024 after her Tokyo 2020 campaign ended in under a minute, where she was defeated by Cristina Cabaña Perez.
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A celebrated judoka, Watanabe secured her second Olympic appearance by earning one of the two Asian quotas.
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Watanabe has a successful career that includes a silver medal in the 2018 Asian Games and four consecutive golds in the Southeast Asian Games.
[Editor's note: This article was written by a member of the One Sports Digital team. The summary was generated by AI, and then checked by the staff to ensure accuracy.]