The countdown to i continues 2021 World Judo Championships, the last event valid for qualifying for the Tokyo Olympic Games, which will start on Sunday 6 June in Budapest and will end on 13 with the world championship team event. Italy will be present in Hungary with a selection made up of 9 athletes: Francesca Giorda, Francesca Milani (48 kg), Maria Centracchio (63), Giorgia Stangherlin (78), Manuel Lombardo (66), Giovanni Esposito (73), Antonio Esposito (81), Nicholas Mungai (90).
“I think that placing the world championship one month after the main event in a calendar with an Olympic purpose is certainly a rather risky choice. Suffice it to say that usually the World Cup is not played in the Olympic year“, Declares the blue technician Francesco Bruyere to the federal site.
“The IJF will certainly have had its motives, but clearly many Top Players of all nations will not take part in this event, because from a programming point of view it is very risky. The athletes are tired and exhausted from this long journey and a competition of this level is very complicated, a small ailment could jeopardize the 5 years’ work“, Bruyere continues.
Three strikers from the national team were absent in Budapest: “For these reasons, also the Technical Management, in agreement with the athletes and their respective clubs, has decided to rest some of the Italian Top Players such as Parlati, Giuffrida and Basile, who in this period have already begun the work of Olympic preparation. “.
“It is certainly true that perhaps a good performance would have thrown them among the top seeds, but the risk is too high and we prefer to prepare for the Olympics in the best possible way. The situation is different for Manuel Lombardo instead who, due to recent injuries, has competed very little in the last year and a half, only one match in 2020 and 5 in 2021. He is cooler and can carry the weight of these two close contests“.
Decisive World Cup in view of the Olympic pass for the various Mungai, Centracchio, Bellandi, Milani and Giorda: “For all the others the world championship is the world championship and beyond the value, 2000 points to the first, it is one of the most prestigious medals that can be aspired to. I think that these 2000 points at the end of qualification can change a lot of cards on the table and we will see some good ones. We currently have 8 qualifiers, including Nicholas and Alice who enjoy the continental and repechage share and are looking for a good result to gain mathematical certainty of being among the participants in Tokyo 2020”.
Photo: EJU
