As expected, the golden girl delivered once more
Filipino-Japanese judoka Kiyomi Watanabe successfully defended her title in the women’s -63 kilogram division, Saturday afternoon in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Watanabe, who celebrated her 21st birthday yesterday, wasted no time in dispatching Thailand’s Orapin Senatham in the finale, scoring a waza-ari after a throw early in the contest. Watanabe gained control of her opponent, pinning the latter to the mat to eventually win the match in just 37 seconds.
This is her third SEA Games gold medal, and it was also the Philippines’ 17th gold in the 2017 Southeast Asian Games.
The Cebuana breezed past Malaysia’s Nik Binti Azman in the quarterfinals, while crushing Myanmar’s N Chu Myat to advance to the final.
Prior to this tournament, Watanabe had taken home silver in the 2017 European Open Women Championship.
Judokas Keisei Nakano and Shugen Nakano chipped in a pair of bronze medals in the men’s -73kg and -66kg, respectively.
