GOOD as in.
Philippine Judo Federation Secretary-General Dave Carter recently said Kiyomi Watanabe is virtually assured of a berth in the Paris Olympics set next month as a recipient of one of the two continental quotas allotted for Asia.
“Kiyomi (Watanabe) is good as in but the official announcement will come from the IFJ (International Judo Federation),” said Mr. Carter.
The IFJ announcement will come Tuesday.
The four-time Southeast Asian Games gold winner is currently ranked No. 92 in the women’s -63-kilogram Olympic qualifying ratings where the top 17 get the Paris ticket.
Although the Filipina-Japanese judoka has ranked lowly, she should still book a berth since only one per country can make the Olympic cut per weight category and gender.
Also, 10 quota places for each gender for Asia will also be given in each weight division.
Ms. Watanabe should be one of them.
Mr. Carter said Ms. Watanabe is currently training and is scheduled to fly to the French capital on July 22, or five days before the judo event, which is slated July 27 to Aug. 3.
It will be the second Olympics for Ms. Watanabe after making the cut in Tokyo three years ago.
“Kiyomi (Watanabe) is training hard and will proudly represent the country,” said Mr. Carter. — Joey Villar
