The long journey of the Olympic judo qualifiers for Tokyo is now running out, with the last act scheduled from 6 to 13 June on the mats of the Laszlo Papp Budapest Sports Arena, in Hungary. The Hungarian capital is preparing to host a Senior World Cup with a double value, who will be giving away world medals and (above all) the last 2000 points available to try to snatch the five-circle pass through ranking.
Italy has already put three Olympic cards on ice: Manuel Lombardo in -66 kg, Odette Giuffrida in -52 kg and Christian Parlati in -81 kg. Qualification now one step away even in categories up to 48 (female) and 73 kg (male), but it will be necessary to wait until the end of the event to formalize the presence in Japan of Francesca Milani and Fabio Basile.
The Roman will be competing in Budapest and will thus be able to reject the possible desperate comeback attempt by Francesca Giorda (forced to reach the final for the title, to have a chance), while the Rio 2016 Olympic champion has decided to skip the Magyar trip and will consequently be an interested spectator of the race that will be staged on Tuesday 8 June.
Giovanni Esposito, in the case of world gold or silver, would in fact overtake Basile in the 73 kg ranking and would earn the selection for the Olympics on the field (the final choice would still be at the discretion of the technical staff). The Bel Paese is however almost certain to field an athlete in Tokyo in this category, unless a highly unlikely combination of results.
Much more complex situation for the other blues in the balance, which could allow Italy to qualify for the newly formed Olympic team test. Maria Centracchio (63 kg) he has a fair margin to defend in Budapest against the South Koreans Heeju Han and Mokhee Cho, forced to reach at least the quarter-finals to have a chance to overtake the blue in the standings.
Presumably the most delicate and important competition of the tricolor selection from a Tokyo perspective will take place on Thursday 10 June, with Nicholas Mungai in full fight to grab the Olympic qualification from the main goal in the -90 kg. The Tuscan is currently the first of the excluded, but the brawl is still very open with many athletes in front of him and behind him enclosed in a few hundred points.
If all the Italians mentioned up to this moment were to succeed in hitting the direct pass goal, then Alice Bellandi she would be sure to participate in her first Olympics (and the Bel Paese would be able to qualify for the Team Event) regardless of her path in Budapest, thanks to the repechage through the continental quota. Otherwise, the born in Brescia in 1998 should come up with the best race in her career to reach the Final Block and hope to return to the qualifying area directly to the last breath.
Photo: IJF
