The cuban judoka Andy Granda rose to third place in the world ranking of the +100 kilogram division thanks to the title of World Championship from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, according to official media on the island.
In said tournament Granda defeated the Japanese Tatsuru Saito and raised his accumulated points to 4432, while his victim was placed 18th with a sum of 2400 units, according to a office of the Cuban News Agency (ACN).
The newspaper recalls that this year the contests that contribute points for the world ranking began to be played, and that in addition to the universal fight, Granda from Matanzas treasures the title won in the Pan American Championship and Oceania, held last September.
In addition, the 30-year-old judoka won bronze medals at the European Open Tournament and at the Grand Slam in Antalya, Turkey, both held in April.
Cubans Iván Silva (90 kg and fourth place), Idalys Ortiz (+78 kg and 12), Magdiel Estrada (73 kg and 15) and Arnaes Odelín (57 kg and 17), as published on the website of the International Federation of Judo (IJF).
The location in this list is of great importance to qualify for the judo contest of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
In Tashkent, the Cuban Silva finished on the fifth step –he disputed bronze-, while the multi-laureate Idalys Ortiz occupied the seventh position, hence his discreet progressions in the ranking.
With these results and Granda’s gold, Cuba secured the eighth seat by nations in an event that was attended by 571 judokas -310 men and 261 women- from 82 countries-, highlights the ACN.
Currently, the island’s judokas are intensifying their preparation to compete from November 22 to 28 in the qualifying tournament for the Central American and Caribbean Games of San Salvador 2023, which will be based in Panama.
