SouthWest Judo Academy’s Kayla Nae won silver at the 2026 Hong Kong Asian Cadet Cup on Saturday, 18 July, representing Australia in the Cadet Women’s +70 kg division.
Competing in a three-athlete round-robin pool, Kayla faced Anna Zheleva of Russia and Seohee Kim of Korea.
Her opening contest against Zheleva ended in defeat after she was caught with a counter for ippon. Kayla responded strongly in her second contest against Kim, taking an early lead with a yuko.
She followed this with a powerful soto-makikomi, her signature technique, to score waza-ari. Continuing into groundwork, Kayla secured a hold-down for ippon to win the contest and claim the silver medal.
The result marks an exciting milestone in Kayla’s development, achieved at her first international competition outside Australia.
Kayla’s tour continues in Macau, where she will take part in a three-day international training camp before representing Australia again at the Macau Asian Cadet Cup on Saturday, 25 July.
Congratulations, Kayla. Everyone at SouthWest is proud of your achievement and looks forward to supporting you in the next stage of your tour.
