Cuban Judo to bolster teams for Tbilisi Grand Slam

HAVANA, Cuba, Mar 4 (ACN) With the incorporation of four judokas, among them Idalis Ortiz, Cuba will bolster the men's and women's judo teams participating at the World Tour, with presence in the Grand Slams of Paris, France, Tel Aviv, Israel, Tbilisi, Georgia, and Antalya, Turkey.

The current 10 young athletes led by Julio Alderete and Yordanis Arencibia, heads of the men's and women's technical groups, respectively, have already competed in Paris and Tel Aviv, with the best results for Ivan Silva.

Silva, in the 90 kilograms (kg), has a seventh position and a bronze medal, in that order, and Andy Granda (over 100 kg), a fifth place in the Israeli competition.

Undoubtedly, the presence of Ortiz, 32 years old, will considerably increase the podium possibilities for Cuba, since he boasts a first-class record, headed by the Olympic medal table, with one gold, two silver and one bronze medal.

Idalis should depart for Paris next 12th, where the Cubans have a permanent training base since before the Paris Grand Slam and until the Antalya Grand Slam, Rafael Manso, president of the Cuban Judo Federation, told the Cuban News Agency.

Continuing to train in Paris, besides Silva and Granda, are Idelannis Gomez (70 kg), Thalia Nariño (over 78 kg), Aleanny Carbonell (48 kg), Melissa Hurtado (52 kg), Arnaes Odelin (57 kg), Maylin del Toro (63 kg), Orlando Polanco (66 kg) and Hector San Roman (73 kg).

According to the program, the upcoming competitive commitments of the Cubans are the Grand Slam of Tbilisi, April 25-27, and the Grand Slam of Antalya, April 1-3.