The cuban judoka Andy Granda won this Wednesday the only gold medal for Cuba in the World Championship headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, after beating Japanese Tatsuru Saito in the final of the +100 kilogram division, according to official media reports on the Island.
Granda, Pan American champion in Lime 2019, imposed its hierarchy with a spectacular ippon on Saito, who at only 20 years old is one of the new pearls of Japanese judo, according to a report from the agency Latin Press (PL).
Gold medal for Andy Granda in World Cup #Judo!!! News of the day #Cuba #CubanSport pic.twitter.com/EFGARjOrPQ
— JIT Cuban Sport (@jit_digital) October 12, 2022
On his way to the crown, the Caribbean judoka had left behind Roy Meyer (from the Netherlands), 2018 world champion Guram Tushishvili (Georgia), Daniel Allerstorfer (Austria), and Richárd Sipocz (Hungary), he adds. information.
In this way, Cuba achieved its first and only gold medal in the tournament, since up to now the best performance had been given by Iván Silva, fifth place in the 90-kilogram division.
Georgian Tushishvili and South Korean Kim Min-jong completed the division’s podium, sharing bronze medals.
In the other division played on Wednesday, the French and bronze medalist at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Romane Dicko, won the title in the women’s +78 kilogram division, after beating Brazilian Beatriz by ippon in the final. Souza.
One of the victims of the South Americans on the way to the decisive combat was the Cuban multi-laureate Idalys Ortiz, who in 2019 had won the last Cuban medal in these events before the Crown now won by Granda.
Fifth place for Iván Silva, the best so far for Cuba in the Judo World Cup
The bronze medals in this category corresponded to the Japanese Wakaba Tomita, another of those defeated by de Souza, and to the also French Julia Tolofua, points out the medium.
When the game of medals in the mixed team modality, scheduled for this Thursday, is hardly to be distributed, Japan leads the medal table by country with five gold, four silver and three bronze medals. Behind are Brazil (2-1-1) and Uzbekistan (2-0-0), adds the information.
This World Judo Championship is held at the Humo Ice Dome in Tashkent and brings together 571 exponents from 82 countries (310 men and 261 women).