Cuban judo will culminate its incursion in the usual tour of Europe at the Grand Slam in Antalya, Turkey, between April 1 and 3, an extremely demanding stop and to which 565 judokas from 67 countries have been summoned.
For almost all the exponents of this discipline in the elite, it is the culmination of a preparatory stage, prior to their appearance on the tatamis that will host the respective continental fairs. A true crusade in pursuit of victories that will allow them to accumulate points for the world and Olympic ranking that is beginning to be outlined towards the Paris 2024 event.
This dynamic will be of special interest to our team, especially when we talk about a greatly renewed squad whose greatest endorsement of rigorous mileage for several of its members was the foray into the I Junior Pan American Games in Cali Valle, Colombia, led by which our six representatives won two titles, the same number of silvers and three bronzes.
Of those exponents in coffee lands, Idelannis Gómez (70 kg and silver in Colombia), and Talía Nariño (+78 kg and gold) were now gaining strength in the Old Continent; while the remaining four exponents in that continental fair have continued to raise their levels of preparation at the Cerro Pelado headquarters.
It should be reiterated that, according to their respective locations in the divisional ranks, the organization charts and pairings of our team will be formed in the continental fair that will host Lima, the Peruvian capital, and where there will be a prize of 700 points for the winner of each category. of weight; as well as being considered a qualifier for the Pan American Games in Santiago de Chile 2023, an appointment to which Nariño and the also super complete Omar Cruz León, secured tickets for their status as monarchs of Cali.
Back in Antalya, the Greater Antilles will go to the ring with 15 troops, the 12 who faced the tour from the beginning and took very good advantage of the training bases developed in France, and Magdiel Estrada (73 kg), Kaliema Antomarchi (78 ), and Liester Cardona (1009), who together with the stellar Idalys Ortiz (+78) joined later in the middle of this month of March.
By the way, according to the president of the Cuban Judo Federation, Rafael Manso, Idalys will attend the Turkish tatamis to carry out scouting and study of opponents, because her preparatory volumes still do not allow her to compete in a contest of rigorous size. .
The last competitive reference of our team was the Grand Slam in Tel Aviv, Israel, the latter event in which Iván Felipe Silva (90 kg) won the bronze medal; and Andy Granda (+100) finished in fifth place as the most outstanding grades.
Regarding the stay of our team on Gallic soil, the excellent relations that exist in sports matters with the Federation, a powerful team from that country, and solidarity organizations with Cuba such as the Cuba Coopération France (CubaCoop) association, Manso revealed to the press America that at least 24 French cities have shown their willingness to welcome our athletes.
And we would not only be talking about judo, but also about other considered strategic sports such as boxing, wrestling, athletics, swimming and taekwondo. Very profitable question thinking about the great sports fair under the five rings if it ultimately materializes.
Being a little more earthy and close, it’s time to look back at the continental battle, where once again Brazil stands as the main stumbling block for our people and their aspirations, as the main power in the discipline on this side of the Atlantic, and one of the most powerful casts in the ultimate universal environment.
A quick look at the auriverdes reveals that in the 48 kg their main card is Gabriela Chibana in 33rd place with 952 lines. Here, Argentina’s Paula Paretto (13-2,216) and Chile’s Mary Dee Vargas (18-1,868) appear better positioned. At 52, the Brazilian Larissa Pimenta (14-1837) ruled in America; and in the 57 no one does it like the Canadian leader Jessica Klimkait (1-4 750), although the experienced Rafaela Silva (25-1 230) cannot be ruled out.
The 63 have Ketleyn Quadros (6th-3 612) as the most dangerous for Maylin del Toro; while in the 70s Maria Portela (8th-3 102) is installed. The reality does not differ in the 78 where despite being Mayra Aguiar (23-1 420) below Kaliema (20-1 536), she has historically been the executioner of her with nine successes without setbacks. The opposite occurs in the +78, where Idalys (12-2,360) has dominated both Beatriz Souza (2nd-4,994) and Maria Suelen Altheman (4th-3,622) at will.
The panorama in the male does not differ much from that of the females. Eric Takabatake (60kg-12-1977); Daniel Cargnin (66kg-12-2264); Guilherme Schmidt (81-16-1887); and Rafael Silva (+100-2-4 052) are the best on this side of the Atlantic in their respective categories, so it is inferred that the “timba” will be boiling for ours, despite the fact that Magdiel in the 73 and Silva in the 1990s they reign at the continental level in their weights.
That is what judo brings for the next weekend and the immediate future. Working hard and constantly in pursuit of overcoming each of the objectives seems crucial. Next, we leave you the locations in the world rankings currently of each of our main exponents:
Feminine:
Aleanny Carbonell (48 kg): With 20 points, she ranks 136th in the ranking.
Melissa Hurtado (52 kg): Owner of 170 units, lands in position 89.
Arnaes Odelín (57): Appears on rung 34, thanks to 1,040 lines.
Maylin del Toro (63): She is in 21st place in this start with 1,528 points.
Idelannis Gómez (70): He is placed at 83, with 170 units.
Kaliema Antomarchi (78): She is anchored at 20, with 1,536 points.
Idalys Ortiz (+78): Anchor at 12, backed by 2,360 units.
Thalía Nariño (+78): She is placed in position 100, with 20 points.
Male:
Julio Delgado (60 kg): He is in a distant seat 229, with just a dozen lines.
Orlando Polanco (66): He was about to qualify for Tokyo and appears in 29th place, with 1,030 units.
Magdiel Estrada (73): Reaches in position 31, with 1,130 points.
Héctor San Román (73): He is in 232nd place, with 20 points.
Yasel Baeza (81): Lacks endorsement and appears on rung 278, with 10 units.
Iván Silva (90): He is in 18th place, with 1,880 points.
Liester Cardona (100): He does not appear ranked among the 195 men in his division registered by the International Federation.
Andy Granda (+100): Located in 22nd place, with 1,440 lines.
