In the midst of a wave of criticism towards directors and coaches of Cuban judo, the call of the Olympic and world medalist Diadenys Luna to the coaching staff of the national team seems like a last-minute attempt to improve the image of this sport 70 days before the Paris Olympic Games.
Luna, 48 years old, won bronze in the Atlanta-96 Olympic Games and won gold in the world championships in Chiba (China) in 1995, silver in Paris in 1997 and bronze in Birmingham (England) in 1999. The Santiago judoka also She was proclaimed champion at the Pan American Games in Mar del Plata 1995 and Winnipeg 1999.
Currently, the award-winning athlete worked as a coach in her native province where she was also part of the government of Santiago de Cuba as president of a council of the so-called “People’s Power.”
The announcement was made known on the site “The Truth of Judo” from where days ago strong criticism had been made against the technical direction of the national preselections due to the poor international results that have been obtained in the Eurasian circuits, such as the Grand Slam and Grand Prix, competitions that bring together the figures who will presumably reign in the upcoming Olympic event.
Luna is currently on an Asian tour with a group of athletes. Her presence can be confirmed in photos that the coach posted on her social networks.
In the last three years, judo has suffered a wave of leaks, both legally and illegally, and even of athletes who have blamed the Cuban Federation for their withdrawal from the team.
Shortly before the opening of the Olympic Games, there are currently only two judokas classified, Andy Granda and Iván Silva in the highest weights. The multi-Olympic medalist Idalys Ortiz does not yet have the Olympic ballot and her most recent performances do not confirm optimism, however, it is expected that the International Federation, in case the Artemi native does not obtain her pass by ranking, will grant her a “wild card” ( invitation).
The directors of the State Sports Institute (Inder) had plans for at least five judokas to be in Paris, and among them more than one could get on the podium, but those forecasts are complicated. This Sunday, May 19, the World Championship begins in Abu Dhabi.
The most recent blow against these predictions was the defection at the end of April of the experienced Magdiel Estrada when he was about to achieve his Olympic qualification. Estrada, 30 years old, had competed in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and Tokyo 2020. The Cuban, a regional multiple medalist, escaped in Rio de Janeiro during a Pan American championship.
Another well-known figure, Kaliema Antomarchi from Santiago, bronze medalist at the Budapest World Cup (2017) and runner-up at the Lima Pan American Games (2019), had left before, in September 2023, through the Havana airport, heading to Serbia after marrying local judoka Bojan Dosen
Antomarchi’s departure coincided with the escape in Canada of judokas Samarys Gregorio, Odelin García and Yurisleydis Hernández, who left the team that won second place in the Pan American and Oceania Championships held in Calgary.
At the end of May, five other judokas who were holding a concentration in France had escaped: Vanesa Godinez (48 kg), Mellisa Hurtado (52 kg), Santa Virgen Romero (78 kg), Blanca Elena Torres (52 kg) and Lutmary García (63 kg). kg).
The chain of escapes also included the double Paralympic starter Dalidaivis Rodríguez before participating in the Pan American Tournament of the International Federation of Sports for the Blind (IBSA), in the city of Edmonton, Canada.
Ayumi Leyva, who had defected in Madrid in August 2021 along with Nahomys Acosta, before participating in a qualifier for the Junior Pan American Games in Cali, told Diario de Cuba this week that the reason for her escape was “because she felt humiliated.” and mistreated” by her teachers.
In the midst of this unfortunate context, this sport also learned at the beginning of 2024 of the death of judoka Maricet Espinosa, at only 34 years old, as a result of a surgical intervention in Armenia after passing through Russia as an emigrant.
Espinosa had competed in the Rio Olympic Games and accumulated an outstanding record in Pan American championships and world circuits.
In addition to technical challenges, the new coach Diadenys Luna faces an important “ideological” challenge as well as a political one, given the flight of talent that includes athletes and coaches and that in new times even the “cradle of the revolution” contributes. an important figure in the exodus since the iconic Antonio Pacheco surprised his followers in Plaza Marte.
2024-05-16 19:46:53
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