ASIAN Games-bound Kiyomi Watanabe placed seventh in the Grand Prix Zagreb 2018 in Croatia.
Watanabe beat Edwige Gwend of Italy, and Nadjya Bazynski of Germany to reach the quarterfinals before falling to eventual gold medalist Nami Nabekura of Japan.
Watanabe lost to Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard of Canada in the repechage, winding up as the second-best Asian in the event July 27 to 29 event behind Nabekura.
Watanabe’s performance in the Grand Prix Zagreb should be a boost for the Fil-Japanese as she looks to claim a medal in the Asian Games in Jakarta in a few weeks.
Watanabe is ranked No. 19 in the world and that could rise after her performance in Zagreb.
The Fil-Japanese will have one more tournament in Budapest before heading to Jakarta.
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