The invitation that we bring today is to put on the judogis (also named, by many, as kimonos). And that the readers also place a black tape. The time has come to review what happened during this year 2022 that almost said goodbye to us. It is almost unnecessary to write it, but let’s do it: it is one of the sports with the best results in Cuba.
“We believe that 2022 was a good year for our judo. Of course, one is not usually satisfied, and wants to reach higher each time,” he told me. Raphael Mansonational commissioner of this sport, and president of his federation, in statements to Cubahora.
Another expert, Andrés Taño, methodologist of the national commission, spoke along the same lines:
“It has been a good year, we were discussing with kayaking the nomination for the best individual sport of the year in our country, and we were left with an important mention”, he told me.
“The high point, of course, was the gold medal won at the World Championships, held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, by Andy Granda, in the division of more than 100 kilograms, which means his best result in life. It is something that in his case was expected for a long time. And that, without a doubt, puts it with very good possibilities for the already close Olympic Games in Paris 2024 ”.
IT IS NOT ALL
But that’s not all: Granda was selected the best athlete of the year, and two other judokas were included in the list of the 10: the multi-laureate Olympic and world Idalys Ortizas well as ivan silvawho has also been a world medalist.
Well, that wasn’t all either: Sheyla Samariam (parajudo), Dalidayvis Rodríguez (parajudo) and Juan Manuel Romero (parajudo) were included in the list of the best athletes with disabilities.
There was also very bad news: the death of coach Ronaldo Veitía, the architect for many years of the great victories of our judokas, and an important trainer.
WE FOLLOW…
And trying to summarize, it should be remembered that our compatriots, unlike other sports that could not celebrate it, had their always important national championship in 2022, held again in Cárdenas, Matanzas, a significant place for the present and future of this discipline. of the ippons (the equivalent in boxing of what a knockout is: that is, the fight ends right there).
Cuban judokas made an important training base in France, one of the great powers of this discipline that is dominated by Japan, the father of judo and let’s say its owner in the most important competitions, such as the Olympic Games or the World Championships.
Nor is it forgotten that Cubans participated, also with good results, in squabbles with the Grand Prix or Grand Slam category, all of which serves as valuable preparation for everyone’s great goal: yes, the aforementioned Olympic Games in Paris. 2024.
The truth is that sometimes it is very encouraging to close the year, already in the last bars of the calendar, with a competition in which good results can be achieved: this happened with a qualifier for the Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador 2023 (they will be from Friday June 23 to Saturday July 8).
REFLECTORS
The aforementioned qualifier was held until last Sunday, November 27.
“The competition on Panamanian soil no longer gave direct quotas for San Salvador 2003, but we did achieve very good positions in the ranking within the classification zone,” Rafael Manso himself told us then, also for Cubahora.
The question is inevitable in sports journalism:
How did the Cuban judokas do at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Barranquilla 2018?
They finished comfortably in first place by country: 8 gold-3 silver-6 bronze medals= total of 17. Then came Venezuela (3-4-7=14) and the Dominican Republic (3-3 -6=12).
The great Idalys Ortiz, winner in the Olympic Games of a gold medal, two silver, and one bronze, was one of our invincibles. Did we mention one more? Yes… Andy Granda!
It means that everyone, including the readers (I hope they have put on the black tape!), we are already very attentively directing the reflectors towards the tatami mats that will be set up in San Salvador 2023.
