Huge enthusiasm at the Leipzig judo club: JCL Bundesliga fighter Andy Granda from Cuba is world heavyweight champion.
Cuban Andy Granda won the final of the World Judo Championships in the Uzbek city of Tashkent, putting Cuba on the medal table, while his compatriot Idalys Ortiz failed to reach the podium.
In the deciding bout, the 30-year-old Matancero native defeated young Japanese Tatsuru Saito with ippon for the best result of his sporting career, which includes three third-place finishes at Grand Slam tournaments and medals of various colors at Pan-American competitions.
Granda’s gold medal lifted Cuba to eighth place in the country rankings, somewhat forgetting the disappointing results of the Caribbean island’s athletes at the World Athletics and Wrestling Championships,
At the end of September, the 30-year-old had secured JudoClub Leipzig’s entry into the Final4 on November 19 in Hamburg and thus a Bundesliga medal.
Now the multiple Pan-American champion and his teammates are celebrating the greatest success of his career in Leipzig.
“Andy has already beaten many greats of the heavyweight – but never all in one day. He succeeded today,” said JCL manager Stefan Schulze enthusiastically.
