Southeast Asian Games gold medalists Kiyomi Watanabe and Mariya Takahashi take the floor today in the 18th Asian Games judo competition at the Jakarta Convention Center Plenary Hall in Indonesia. Watanabe takes part in the women’s -63 kgs while Takahashi shoots for medal in the women’s -70 kgs. Recently, Watanabe bagged a bronze medal in the prestigious 2018 International Judo Federation (IJF) Grand Slam held at the ISS Dome in Dusseldorf, Germany. No Filipino has won a medal since judo became a medal sport in the Asian Games in Seoul in 1986. But Philippine Judo Federation president Dave Carter said he is optimistic that the current judokas could break the 22-year-old medal drought.

Source: Manila Times August 29, 2018 16:29 UTC