In the men’s category of -55kg there were 28 competitors, selected through the national ranking list and regional qualifiers.
Antonino Lo Presti, 4th in the Ranking List, had access to the national finals as seeded No. 4.
In the sixteenths of his poule he met a strong Piedmontese athlete beaten for ippon of shime waza after 40 ″. In the second round the athlete from Veneto, with a strong kumi kata and an effective o uchi gari, was canceled by Nino’s fast pace which forced him to undergo the three penalties as well as numerous projections which, however, always ended on the abdomen.
The semifinal begins with the best wishes also because the black belt was conquered and the mind was free at least from this thought. The lively exchange of techniques between the two gives life to a match of a good competitive level; unfortunately for us a sinister seoi surprises Nino who tries to limit the damage by falling on the bridge, but the ippon is inevitable.
Finding the motivations despite this cold shower was fundamental. The moral and motivational support of Maestro Franco Novasconi who followed Nino throughout the preparatory path of the previous months and followed him in the competition contributed to this. His vast experience allowed him to recharge the athlete for the 3rd / 5th place final.
As opposed to the Tuscan, Nino never conceded anything leading the opponent to receive two penalties for non-combativeness. About a minute from the end a hairi kata on the ground, concluded with kami shio gatame nails the good opponent in 5th place and places our athlete on the junior national podium.
The emotion is very strong, everyone hugs each other and on the phone we cry with joy: the Novasconi Judo has restarted in a great way!
