Iván Felipe Silva reached the farthest point for the Cuban delegation at the World Judo Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, before elimination in the 100-kilogram division left him just short of medal contention, Granma reported.
Opening Bouts in the Baku Tournament
Wrestling in Pool D, Silva opened his campaign against Aristos Michael of Cyprus with 14 seconds remaining in the mandatory four-minute regulation. With his opponent on the verge of disqualification, Silva scored a waza-ari using the sumi-otoshi hand technique and immediately transitioned into a yoko-shiho-gatame four-point lateral hold to secure the victory. In the round of 32, he compiled a full range of scoring marks—a yuko, a waza-ari, and an ippon—to defeat South Korea’s Seheon Kim with 24 seconds left on the clock.
Round of Sixteen Exit Against Dota Arai
Japan’s Dota Arai halted Silva’s progression in the round of sixteen by scoring a waza-ari that forced the Cuban competitor into a desperate pursuit of an equalizer. Just as the final gong sounded, Arai landed a major projection to close out the match. The defeat stripped Silva of a path to the quarterfinals and eliminated any possibility of entering the repechage bracket. Arai subsequently advanced to the final, where he lost in golden score to Georgia’s Ilia Sulamanidze via a regulation yuko. Italy’s Gennaro Pirelli and Russia’s Niiaz Bilalov captured the bronze medals.
Elimination of Lianet Cardona in the 78-Kilogram Division
Lianet Cardona also represented Cuba in Pool C of the women’s 78-kilogram category. One minute and 17 seconds into the golden score period, tournament officials handed Cardona a disqualification against Lithuania’s Migle Dudenaite. Yelyzaveta Lytvynenko of the United Arab Emirates ultimately claimed the division title by defeating France’s Kaila Issoufi with a waza-ari awasete ippon.
Preparation Deficits Highlighted Prior to Competition
Speaking at the Cerro Pelado High Performance School a month before the event, Silva addressed Granma regarding the challenges facing the national team’s preparation. “The motivation and the objective always consist of being on the podium, but it is very difficult to give a prediction,” Silva said. “We have not had the necessary amount of tournaments; for example, of the European tour we only participated in the Paris Grand Slam. But many sports complete their preparation in Cuba, we are not the first nor the last.”
Contrasting the current buildup with his silver-medal performance at the 2018 World Championships in the same Azerbaijani capital, Silva noted the stark differences in competition exposure. “Then we had carried out a base in Budapest, Hungary. We spent almost all year there and intervened in five or six events of the world tour,” he recalled, adding that those years yielded fifth and sixth-place world finishes while he competed in the 90-kilogram class.
Return from Shoulder Surgery and Roster Context
Silva transitioned to the 100-kilogram division in 2025 with an immediate string of results, earning one gold and three bronze medals across five Grand Prix and Grand Slam tournaments. Medical personnel subsequently addressed an injury requiring intervention. “Then Dr. Ricardo Tarragona operated on my shoulder, I have recovered very well, without pain or discomfort,” Silva said. “I participated in the Pan American Championship and the Central American and Caribbean Games, which allows me to increase confidence for the remaining contests.”
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