JUDOKAS NEAR TOKYO SLOTS
Kiyomi had shown the clearest chances of making it to the Olympics
The national judokas continue to knock on the doors of the Tokyo Olympics following a long break brought by the global outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
Philippine Judo Federation president Dave Carter said they have handsome chances of clinching up to two slots in the Summer Games when Olympic qualifying tournaments resume.
Carter stressed that Asian Games silver medalist Kiyomi Watanabe is already assured of punching a ticket after climbing the world ranking of the women’s -63kg division following impressive performances in the Zagreb Grand Prix, Antalya Grand Prix and the Asian Games.
“Kiyomi had shown the clearest chances of making it to the Olympics. She is at the border of direct qualification,” Carter said, referring to the Filipino-Japanese sensation who is at No. 36 in the world ranking.
“Unlike before, qualifying is now based on the world rankings, which makes it even tougher.”
Aside from Watanabe, Carter is also banking on Japan-based judokas in Shugen and Keisei Nakano and Mariya Takahashi.
“Aside from her (Kiyomi), we are also hoping that another one of our athletes can enter through continental quota,” Carter said, citing equal opportunities for the Nakano brothers and Takahashi.
He added that the judokas are slowly getting back into training after Japan relaxed its health and safety protocols.
“Our Filipino-Japanese judokas can now train more freely within their districts. In a video sent to us, we can see that they are now jogging in the streets,” he said.
“At least they can now break a sweat. Soon, person to person contact would be allowed as long as they will avoid complete strangers.”