The “Villa de Avilés” judo tournament started yesterday with the Spanish Under-18 Cup and its respective under-21 competition. Asturian participation in cadets ended with four gold medals – two in the female category and two in the male category – and two silver, both in the female category.
The young Nel Llope, gold in -55 kilos, shone in his final fight against the Canary Eric Juan Morales. “It was a tough final, but I felt comfortable at all times,” said the Spaniard fresh off the mat. Equality was the general tone of a fight that ended 1-0. “Everything is decided by small details. In the end, the one with the best day gets the medal ”, Llope concluded.
David Álvarez also won the victory, in this case in the -50 kg category. The young Asturian recognized that “there is a lot of effort behind this medal”, celebrating having won at home, which “always feels good.” “I started a little nervous, but a good entry of mine ended up being gold,” Álvarez explained about his final against the Andalusian Darío Torres. In addition, the Asturians Pablo Muñoz (-81 kilos) and Óscar Camacho (-66 kilos) achieved a bronze in the “Villa de Avilés”.
The girls, for their part, signed an outstanding role in the U-18 Spanish Cup. Melania Souto managed to hang the gold in the -70 kilos category after winning the Catalan Ainhoa López. “You have to take advantage of every moment of the final and in this I felt very comfortable,” acknowledged the Asturian, elated by the victory. “It had been a long time since I was on the podium. I am very happy ”.
The day also left a final between the Asturian Carlota Álvarez and Claudia Lora, in the -57 kilos category. A tight and tactical combat, decided by small details. “She is left-handed and I am right-handed, so I went to stop her left hand, solving as I could,” explained the winner as soon as the final was over. “I have a sprained collarbone and I didn’t feel very well for the competition, but I finally found myself comfortable,” Álvarez explained.
For her part, the Asturian Alba Barreiro ended up hanging the silver in a long fight that was opted at the last moment towards the side of the Portuguese Adriana Torres. “I ended up falling out of fatigue, but I felt that it was an even fight until the end,” said the Asturian, who was very happy for “having stood up to a very strong girl who competes at an international level.”
For its part, the under-21 category left five more medals with an Asturian seal on the four tapestries displayed at the El Quirinal sports center. In the heavyweights (+81 kilos) the final was between compatriots. The teammates of the Avilés Judo Club Pablo Menéndez and Adrián González faced each other in a match that ended up with Menéndez. Mateo Solís, at -81 kilos, won gold against the Basque Aimar Aiartzaguena and Borja Tamargo did the same in the -66 kilos category.
In the women’s section, the Asturian Noa Fernández took the gold against the Valencian María Kalynchuk and Alba Barreiro won the second silver of the day against the Portuguese Carolina Francés and Noa.
For his part, Carlos Fernández, technical director of “Villa de Avilés”, valued as “very good” the performance of the locals, who “set a capital first day”.
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