The Contact Sports Training and Competition Center of the National Stadium dressed up this Saturday to receive, under a large audience, the first day of the Pan American Judo Open, a tournament in which more than 100 athletes from countries compete. from America, Asia and Oceania.
This tournament is of enormous importance considering that it is one of the last that awards points to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The Saturday day began early, with the dispute of the preliminaries. Team Chile managed to overcome the qualifying stage in some categories, going on to compete in the medal finals during the afternoon.
The national team managed to get on the podium five times, thanks to the performances of Marcela Alfaro, Constanza Pérez, Ayinko Toloza, Reinaldo Cáceres and Juan Pablo Vega.
In the -48 kilos women’s category, there was a Chilean duel in the definition of the bronze medal, with the triumph of Ayinko Toloza over Martina Díaz. The first was imposed after Díaz was disqualified after receiving a hansoku-make due to accumulation of fouls.
Later it was the turn of Judith González (-52 kilos), who was close to obtaining bronze against the Colombian Wendy Golu. After obtaining a point after an incredible maneuver, it seemed that the medal was in her hands, but the play was reviewed, and the judges decided to annul the score. It was the Colombian who ended up taking the victory and unleashed joy for the fans of her country while, on the other side of the medal, González stayed sitting on the tatami, looking for answers to her defeat.
The third national presentation fell to the young Reinaldo Cáceres in the -66 kilos category. The Judo team faced the Colombian Keiner Sánchez, defeating him after a great maneuver. Thus, the native of Pudahuel won the second medal of the afternoon for the country.
“I was focused on doing my judo, I was not focused on the medal or the result. I came from the Pan American Games that took place in Brazil and when I didn’t achieve my goal I had a serious relapse. Although it was not my goal, with the medal and the support of my people I was able to rebound. My next goal is the Bolivarian games in October”, he said in statements to El Deportero.
In the -73 kilo category, Team Chile had three Chileans competing, but only one won a medal. In the bronze medal match, Tomás Hernández fell to the Peruvian Javier Saavedra, while in a new Chilean duel, Juan Pablo Vega defeated Johan Lagos. A great maneuver allowed Vega to score a point and then, with great defensive work, he ended up winning to achieve the third national medal.
Finally, in the -63 kilo women’s category, Javiera Soto fell to the Colombian Ingrid Choco, finishing in fifth place in the general table. In the grand final, in another duel between Chilean judokas, Marcela Alfaro defeated her partner Constanza Pérez in an entertaining outcome, achieving a 1-2 score for Team Chile.
During the day, the championships of the Ecuadorian Juan Ayala (-60 kilos men), the Salvadoran Diego Calix (-66 kilos men), the Canadian Olivier Gagnon (-73 kilos men), the Argentine Keisy Perafán (-48 kilos women), stood out. the Panamanians Lilian Cordones (-52 kilos women) and Kristine Jiménez (-57 kilos women).
The highest weight categories will meet this Sunday, May 5, in the same venue, with free admission for all those who want to go see a good martial arts event.
For the day, which begins at 11:00 a.m. with the preliminaries, the presence of national judokas Thomas Briceño and Jorge Pérez stands out.
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Written by Lucas Rollano
Photo: Chilean Judo Federation
2024-05-05 05:10:00
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