Cuba to participate with 10 judokas in Grand Slam in Paris

HAVANA, Cuba, Jan 23 (ACN) Cuba will participate with 10 athletes in the Grand Slam of Paris, scheduled to be held February 4 and 5 at the Accor Arena, according to the latest update of the International Federation's website.

There are 543 athletes -337 men and 206 women- from 81 countries, with the divisions with the highest presence of men in the 73 and 81 kilograms (kg), both with 60, while in the women's division stands out the 63 kg, with 37.

The Cuban teams ( men and women) are among those that increased their numbers, now with Orlando Polanco (66 kg), Magdiel Estrada (73 kg), Jorge Martinez (81 kg), Ivan Silva (90 kg) and Liester Cardona (100 kg), who will be coached by Julio Alderete, at the head of the men's technical team.

Yordanis Arencibia, also head coach of the women's team, will count on Vanesa Godinez (48 kg), Melissa Hurtado (52 kg), Arnaes Odelin (57 kg), Maylin del Toro (63 kg) and Idelannis Gomez (70 kg).

The men are currently training in Hungary, while the women are in France, stays that will help them to fulfill a wide critical route.

Cuban judo has several multiple competitions this year, especially the Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador, June 23 to July 8, and the Pan American Games in Santiago de Chile, October 20 to November 5, without forgetting the Olympic Games in Paris 2024.

The Paris Grand Slam will be followed by the Grand Slam in Tel Aviv, Israel (March 16-18), Tashkent, Uzbekistan (March 3-5) and Tbilisi, Georgia (March 24-16).

In March they will also have a qualifying tournament in Santo Domingo, for the Salvadoran event, and in April, the Varadero Open, while in May the World Senior Championship is planned in Doha, and in November, the junior tournament in Portugal.