Within the framework of the Paralympic route, Venezuelan judokas Héctor Espinoza (B1) and Marcos Blanco (B1) made their qualification to the great multidisciplinary event official. This after having been measured in the Baku and Warwick jousts, respectively.
Blanco, who competes in the weight division of (-60kg), as well as Espinoza in the (-90kg) managed to obtain their quota under the “protected ranking” methodology, which prioritizes the three best parathletes in their sport class ( totally blind).
In the last scoring event of the category, the Warwick Grand Prix, Espinoza managed to place seventh in the event and go through “bye” in the finals, while Blanco managed to take second place by winning the last two bouts by ippon.
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“I am very happy because these are my first Paralympic games. Furthermore, the fact that they are going to be in Japan, which is the cradle of judo, makes this event have a much more special touch, ”said Banco.
He added that these days they have prepared very well and with a fairly strong training, since “this would be the final competition, so you have to put a little more to get good results and finish the cycle,” he said. Adapted judo is the only discipline that has managed to award Venezuela a gold medal at the Paralympic Games. This when in Beijing 2008, Nahomi Soazo in the category (-63kg) managed to place in the first place of the podium by defeating her Chinese and Spanish rival by ippon.
Press IND
