Manuel Lombardo redeems the disappointing fifth place of the recent Mediterranean Games e wins the 2022 Zagreb Grand Prix with authoritystarting in the best way his Olympic qualification path towards the Paris 2024 Games in 73 kg and sending an important signal to the rest of the competition at national and (above all) world level.
The talented Turin judoka born in 1998 thus returns to the top step of the podium for the first time after the triumph at the Lisbon European Championships in April 2021, in which he won the continental title in the 66 kg. The current one in Croatia is therefore the first success of the blue in its new weight categoryafter having shown that he can be immediately competitive three months ago with the second place in the Grand Slam of Antalya.
Today Lombardo showed all his exquisite class by collecting 6 consecutive wins by technical score (only one at the Golden Score in the semifinals with the fearsome Brazilian Daniel Cargnin, all the others in the regulations) and imposing himself in the final with a spectacular ippon after only 13 ″ of battle against the surprising Cuban Magdiel Estrada. Also noteworthy is the second round match with the Romanian European and world junior champion Adrian Sulca, won by the Piedmontese by waza-ari.
Judo, Grand Prix Zagreb 2022: Matteo Piras shines and is second in the 66 kg, eliminated before the quarter-finals the other blues
In the same category, the 19 year old from Molise Luigi Centracchio (still juniors) he won in the first round with the Belgian Jeroen Casse and then left the stage in the round of 32 against the Cuban finalist Estrada for hansoku make after more than 3 minutes of Golden Score. Positive performance in the -81 kg per Kenny Bus Pricecapable of winning two matches in a row before paying duty in the second round against the Brazilian rising star Guilherme Schimidt.
Eliminated in the second round with no regrets in the 63 kg Nicolle D’Isanto and Flavia Favorini, respectively defeated by the first and second seeded of the tournament after winning the debut fight. Immediately out of the game instead the blue couple engaged in the 70 kg, formed by Martina Esposito and Irene Pedrotti.
Below is the summary of the podiums of the second day of the Zagreb Judo Grand Prix 2022:
-63 kg F
1 Beauchemin Pinard (Can)
2 Neighborhoods (Come)
3 Boards (Bra) and Bold (Mgl)
-70 kg F
1 Matic (Cro)
2 Butkereit (Ger)
3 Rodriguez (Ven) and Cvjetko (Cro)
-73 kg M
1 Lombardo (Ita)
2 Road (Cub)
3 Cargnin (Bra) e Lee Eunkyul (Kor)
-81 kg M
1 Djalo (Fra)
2 Mollaei (Aze)
3 Grigalashvili (Geo) and Fernando (Por)
Photo: IJF
