Paris Olympic Spotlight: Kiyomi Watanabe (judo)

Spain's Cristina Cabana Perez (white) and the Philippines' Kiyomi Watanabe compete in the judo women's -63kg elimination round bout during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo on July 27, 2021.
Franck Fife/AFP

Hajime! 

Judoka Kiyomi Watanabe booked her return trip to the Olympics three years after making her debut in the Tokyo edition of the quadrennial meet in 2021.

Watanabe, who won four gold medals in the Southeast Asian Games and a silver medal in the Asian games, secured her seat after earning one of the two continental quotas in the -63 kilogram class of the women’s category. 

The 27-year-old judoka ranked 92nd in the world and is expected to make some noise in the Games. 

Watch Watanabe slam her way to Olympic immortality on July 30, at around 10 p.m.

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