Cuban judo is immersed in a renewal process for both squads, after they said goodbye to the 2016-2021 cycle with not very encouraging results at the Tokyo Olympics. That, in addition to the fact that, in the I Junior Pan American Games in Cali, the so-called relay wore the judoguis.
Precisely for this and other reasons associated with their logical development process, several of them are inserted in the tour on European soil, in which there are 12 figures and another four will soon be incorporated, among them the stellar Idalys Ortiz (+78 kg) , Kaliema Antomarchi (78), and the tanned Magdiel Estrada (73).
On this and other issues of the journey, in which ours established their headquarters and training base in France, Cuba Si spoke with the president of the Cuban Federation, Rafael Manso.
—Start of cycle, greater representation in European tour. Does this correspond to the strategy of the discipline?
—Since the beginning of February, both teams have been on a preparatory tour mainly in France. That includes participation in the World Tour circuit. At the Grand Slam in Paris they competed just the day after their arrival. In Tel Aviv they showed improvement, not only because of Silva’s bronze and Granda’s fifth place, but also because of other fights won by other exponents.
«We pursue two fundamental objectives: the first, to carry out training bases in France for two months, with a view to the Pan American Championship in April in Lima, Peru. This year, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic that is still plaguing the world, these events do not have the traditional training camps; so we appealed to the base in France, where with the national team of that country they have taken very good advantage of the joint sessions and randoris with their main cards.
«It is one of the greatest powers of judo at a universal level, while being closer to the competitive stages. After the Pan American, the other crucial event will be the World Cup in Uzbekistan.
«The vast majority of both groups are young figures, who recently ventured into Cali, and others who join and who could not attend Cali. To date they have made a good preparation, according to the systematic communication that we maintain with the technical groups.
«As of March 12, Idalys, Kaliema, Magdiel and Liester Cardona must travel in the 100 kg. In this renewal process we include the men’s 81 kg division with Yasser Baeza, who has had very good results at the national level, and we expect them to gain mileage against much higher level athletes in these Grand Slams, and then, when they face rivals of the continent, have the experience of having ventured into the highest endorsement of the world circuit.
“To which is added that, as far as possible, they are scoring for the ranking. For example, this Pan American will be the first cumulative event in the area, with 700 points at stake for the winners of each category.
“Likewise, it is planned in Peru, after this continental tournament, to complete a high base. Before we would have the National, from April 1 to 10, in Cárdenas, so everyone involved in the tour should return in shape to face those commitments.
—Would the four who join now participate in any of the remaining World Tour stops?
-They must enter between March 25-27 in the Grand Slam of Tbilisi, Georgia (so far 135 judokas from 17 countries have registered), and in Antalya, Turkey, between April 1-3 (estimated presence of 104 athletes from 20 nations), both figures that could be increased.
“But that punctual assessment will be made by the coaches, depending on how each one arrives, the issue of body weight, and any other issue that must be evaluated. However, they will take advantage of the training base, in the event that they do not compete in said tournaments.
“Facing the Pan American of the discipline, we intend to double in two divisions, and we would present 18 athletes to that fight in Peru, in which we aspire to dispute the team titles as well, knowing that Brazil is the main power of America, and therefore, our greatest rival, both collectively and individually.
To be a little more accurate in this initial x-ray of judo in the 2022-2024 cycle, below we offer you the current locations of the members of our respective squads in the world ranking.
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 90.
Arnaes Odelín (57): Appears on rung 35, thanks to 1,040 lines.
Maylin del Toro (63): She is in 22nd place in this start with 1,528 points.
Idelannis Gómez (70): He is placed at 85, with 170 units.
Kaliema Antomarchi (78): She is anchored at 21, with 1,536 points.
Idalys Ortiz (+78): Anchor in 14, 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 217, with just a dozen lines.
Orlando Polanco (66): He was about to qualify for Tokyo and appears in 28th place, with 1,110 units.
Magdiel Estrada (73): Reaches 29th position, with 1,210 points.
Héctor San Román (73): He is in 237th place, with 20 points.
Yasel Baeza (81): Lacks endorsement and appears on rung 260, 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 19th place, with 1,690 lines.
It should be remembered that the respective divisional rankings are extremely important, because the location and rivals to face as part of the organization chart in a given tournament also depend on them.
