Young judo heavyweight

Whanganui 15-year-old Keightley Watson wins gold and silver against the big boys in Tonga.

Hard-working Whanganui teenager Keightley Watson is making giants steps toward his end goal while winning international judo gold along the way.

The 15-year-old has just returned from the 2017 Oceania Judo Union Championships with gold won in the Junior Men for under-21-year-old over 100kg competitors as part of the New Zealand team at the Atele Stadium, Nuku'alofa in the Kingdom of Tonga.

Competing over two days, Watson also won silver in the Cadets (U18) over 90kg division.

"This was more than a satisfying result after two years of regular overseas travel competing in the Australian Open International tournaments gaining, not only experience, but also chasing the required New Zealand ranking points which are a requirement for New Zealand selection for this tournament," father Ross Watson said.

A real heavyweight of world judo helped the Whanganui youngster achieve his goals in Tonga.

"The bonus was warming up with the 179kg Samoan Rio Olympian heavyweight Judoka Derek S'ua prior to competing for 40 minutes was a huge benefit," Watson senior said.

"With Keightley's fighting weight being around the 148kg mark, suitably-sized training partners are always an issue."

Young Watson puts in the hard yards working six days a week at the gym with strength training paying off for the 15-year-old.

The immediate future is a series of New Zealand area champs then back across to Australia in August for the Sydney 2017 International Open followed in October by a trip back to Melbourne for the Southern Cross International Open.

"Next year will see Keightley most likely bypass some of the Australian tournaments in 2018 for the higher-ranked Asian and European tournaments which will be a natural progression through the tiers of the IJF (International Judo Federation) world rankings to obtain his end goals in the sport."

By Iain Hyndman
Wanganui Chronicle 3/5/17