It started a couple of days ago long trip to Japan for the Italian national judo team (from 10 to 27 January), engaged in a preparation meeting very important in view of the many appointments of the 2023 season. Called up for the occasion all the blue athletes of Olympic interest, i.e. the qualifiers for the last Masters in Jerusalem with the exception of Assunta Scutto and Alice Bellandi.
The 20-year-old from Naples and the 24-year-old from Brescia, both on the podium in the Israeli tournament at the end of 2022, are in fact following a different path to recover their condition following some physical problems. There are therefore sixteen local judokas present in the Land of the Rising Sun: Asya Tavano (+78), Gennaro Pirelli (100), Francesca Milani (48), Giulia Carnà, Odette Giuffrida (52), Veronica Toniolo (57), Angelo Pantano (60), Fabio Basile, Elios Manzi, Matteo Piras (66 ), Martina Esposito (70), Giovanni Esposito, Manuel Lombardo (73), Giorgia Stangherlin (78), Antonio Esposito (81), Nicholas Mungai, Christian Parlati (90).
“Until before the pandemic, the national team flew to Japan at least annually, but with COVID everything stopped. Now the doors of Japan have also reopened and, at a time when it is necessary to optimize workloads, the possibility of returning to do so with the best in the world seemed ideal to us“, explains Alexander Comi through the Federal website.
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“It is also a useful opportunity to close ranks and work as a team: this technical management has inaugurated a new system that aims to enhance the work of individual athletes in the clubs, without forgetting the potential of collegiate appointments to amplify their results“, adds the team manager of the national team.
“This long trip interprets this idea perfectly: the four technicians (Raffaele Parlati and Corrado Bongiorno with the men, Francesco Bruyere and Raffaele Toniolo with the women, ed) who accompany the boys will have a lot of work in view of the next appointments starting from the Grand Slam of Tel-Aviv”, concludes Comi.
At this point the big names of the Italian team will in all probability miss the first two events of the World Tour, the Grand Prix of Almada and the Grand Slam of Paris, to then return to action from the Grand Slam of Tel Aviv (February 16-18) in then.
Photo: IJF
