Judoka Watanabe quickly eliminated in Olympic debut
MANILA, Philippines – Fil-Japanese Judoka Kiyomi Watanabe was raring to go in her Olympic debut in the Women's -63kg Judo, but in just 38 seconds Spain's Cristina Cabana Perez ended her journey.
In just the opening seconds of their Round of 32 match, Cabana Perez managed to grab hold of Watanabe, who was going for a takedown.
The Spanish judoka transitioned the takedown attempt into an armlock, which was initially awarded a Waza-Ari but was then declared an Ippon — an instant win in Judo.
Watanabe was visibly disappointed when the call was made as both athletes were set to continue the match after the initial call of Waza-Ari.
Making her Olympic debut, Watanabe qualified for Tokyo 2020 via continental quota. She is a four-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist and a silver medalist in the 2018 Asian Games.
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