Cuban judokas to participate in Grand Slam in Tel Aviv

HAVANA, Cuba, Feb 13 (ACN) A total of five of the 14 judokas who are completing a three-month training base in France will travel to Israel tomorrow to take part in the Grand Slam of Tel Aviv, Feb. 16-18.

Yordanis Arencibia, head coach of the women's team, announced today to the Cuban News Agency (ACN by its Spanish acronym) that the Olympic (1-2-1) and world (2-2-4) medalist Idalis Ortiz (+78 kg), 16th in the World Ranking, who will make her debut this year after several months without competing, will compete.

Arencibia ratified to ACN that alongside Idalis will be Vanesa Godinez (48 kg), Arnaes Odelin (57 kg), Maylin del Toro (63 kg) and Idelannis Gomez (70 kg).

He recalled that they previously competed in the Grand Slam in Paris, France, where Del Toro won a silver medal, and as guests at the French National Championship in L'Aisne, where they won 10 medals, three gold, four silver and three bronze.

The gold medals went to Odelin, Del Toro and Nairelis Fuentes (70 kg), while the silver medals went to Blanca Elena Cabrera (52 kg), Yuinisleidys Hernandez (57 kg), Santa Romero (78 kg) and Dayle Ojeda (+78 kg).

Zamarit Gregorio Vasconcelo (48 kg), Lutmary Regla García (63 kg) and Gomez finished with bronze medals, Arencibia added.

The stay in France makes it easier for them to participate in top-level competitions, among these also the Grand Slam (GS) of Tashkent, Uzbekistan (March 3-5) and Tbilisi, Georgia (March 24-16).

With a similar objective, but in Hungary, 13 athletes trained by Julio Alderete have already competed in the Paris GS, with bronze for Ivan Silva (90 kg), and will also compete in the Tel Aviv, Thashkent and Tbilisi GS.

The Israeli tournament will be attended by Silva, fifth in the world ranking, Magdiel Estrada (73 kg), Milko Obregon (60 kg), Danilo Garcia (66 kg) and Maikel Mkencie (81 kg).