Doha.- The Spanish judoka Francisco Garrigós looked impeccable and deserved all the applause at the Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena (ABHA Arena), where he not only improved his bronze from a couple of years ago in Budapest, but also contributed the first title for his delegation, by defeating, among others, one of the Japanese legends in the 60-kilogram division, Naohisa Takato, who was even left out of the medals with a fifth place.
“We are halfway through the year and this result comes at a good time, as we have accumulated points and we feel in excellent shape to reach the Olympic Games and fight for a title as we did now,” commented the Iberian exclusively, who also launched his wishes to visit Cuba as soon as you are invited.
After defeating the Japanese in the semifinal, Garrigós spared no inspiration and technique to dominate the Uzbek Dilshodbek Baratov by ippon, in the title discussion “Today I can say that it is my second birthday, because I feel extremely happy. Some counted on me, others did not, but in the competition I went up and when I beat Takato I knew that no one was taking my gold, ”he commented exclusively.
When dedicating Spain’s fifth gold medal in the history of these universal judo matches, the young Garrigós had words of praise for his coach Francisco “Quino” Ruiz, who was a world medalist in 1991, as well as for all the staff who helped him (family, doctors, psychologists, among others). “Without them I would not be celebrating or having this interview,” he said amid the greetings of many judokas from other nations.
A special moment in the dialogue was the memory that Garrigós has for the Cuban judoka Héctor Rodríguez (first Olympic champion of Cuba and Latin America). “He goes a lot for the club I’m at and he has given us all advice. I know Iván Silva, Idalis Ortiz, Andy Granda and the coach Yordanis Arencibia. I admire them a lot.”
For her part, the Japanese Natsumi Tsunoda was the favorite and did not disappoint her followers. She reached her third consecutive crown in the smallest division, as she also has a silver in 52 kg. In the final she prevailed over the French Shirine Boukli by ippon, enough to archive the gold number 155 of her country in those world events.
“I am happy to have won my third gold and I want to thank the attention received in this city. Japan wants to win the World Cup again, ”said the Japanese, who is only missing an Olympic medal in her laureate showcase.
For this Tuesday, the second day of competition, the divisions of 52 kg among the ladies and 66 kg among the men are scheduled. Cuba will not have a representative yet, as the debut of our first representatives will take place on Tuesday with Arnaes Odelín (57 kg) and Magdiel Estrada (73 kg).
Medalists of the first day
48 kilograms (f)
1.- Natsumi TsunodaJPN
2.- Shirine Boukli FRA
3.- Wakana Koga JPN
3.- Assunta Scutto ITA
60 kilograms (m)
1.- Francisco Garrigós ESP
2.- Dilshodbek Baratov UZB
3.- Ha-Rim Lee KOR
3.- Giorgi Sardalashvili GEO
Master in Communication Sciences. Deputy Editorial Director of the Trabajadores newspaper since 2019. Editor-in-chief of the Sports Newsroom since 2007. He has participated in journalistic coverage of the Central American and Caribbean Games, Pan American Games, Olympic Games, Intercontinental Baseball Cup, World Baseball Classic, World Baseball Championships Judo, among others. Professor at the José Martí International Institute of Journalism, in Havana, Cuba.
2023-05-07 22:03:28
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