Four Spanish judokas with visual disabilities, among them Marta Arce from Valladolid, are competing in Baku for the World Judo Championship for the blind, which will be held between November 8 and 10 at the Heydar Aliyev and Concert Complex in the Azerbaijani capital. The objective, in addition to the medals, will be to score points in the qualifying ranking for the Paris 2024 games.
With three Paralympic medals to her name, in the women’s section it is worth mentioning the participation of Marta Arce (J2 -70Kg). Just two weeks ago, the woman from Valladolid won the bronze medal in the Spanish Judo Cup against able-bodied rivals. Along with Arce, Madrid’s María Manzanero will make her World Cup debut. After a successful season with gold at the Egyptian Pyramids International and the Normandy Gymnasiada, she comes to Baku to demonstrate her quality on the tatami. She will be the only Spanish representative in the J1 class for totally blind and will compete in the category of less than 57 kilos of body weight.
In the men’s category, the current Tokyo 2020 Paralympic runner-up, Sergio Ibáñez from Aragon (J2 -73Kg.), will compete together with Madrid’s Daniel Gavilán, who achieved third position in J2 -60kg at the European Championship held last September in Cagliari (Italy). ). The two judokas come from competing in the European Cup of the International Judo Federation (IJF).
The four judokas, representatives of the Spanish Federation of Sports for the Blind (FEDC), have been preparing this international event in a previous concentration in Malaga in order to attend in the best conditions.
Bagpiper, no luck in Baku
It was precisely in Baku that Alberto Gaitero competed in a new Grand Slam last Friday, losing in his first fight in -66 kilograms against the Uzbek Mukhriddin Tilovov. Even so, the man from Valladolid is seventh in the world ranking.
