Maylin del Toro. Author: Judo inside

Silver, taken by Maylin del Toro in the 63 kilograms (kg) weight class last Friday, marked the most significant Cuban passage of the Grand Slam tournament in Tel Aviv, which took place in the Israeli capital over the weekend, and was the second challenge for Cuban judokas in the weight class . at the start of the 2023 season. With the podium mentioned and other worthy performances, the image offered by our main representatives at the moment inspires optimism.

Yesterday another of the flag bearers of this discipline on the island, Ivan Silva (90 kg), finished in fifth place, which, added to the third a couple of weeks ago in Paris, confirms the good physical and technical moment that the man from Matanzas is experiencing, in the elite of two very strong competitions and in one of the most equal divisions of world judo.

This Saturday, in addition to Silva’s result, multiple Artemisa winner Idalys Ortiz made her debut in this campaign from seventh place, which she will have to gradually overcome as she adapts to her competitive routine. In fact, in Tel Aviv, he had a chance to compete for a medal in the playoffs, but he did not show up due to illness.

The biggest challenges in 2023 for her, as for the rest of the Creole judokas, will be the World Championships in Doha, Qatar in May, as well as numerous regional games.

Therefore, this stage of preparation with participation in level competitions is vital, in which Julio Alderete, coach of the men’s team, and Yordanis Arencibia, his counterpart in the women’s team, even rotated the youngest athletes to coach them. the most difficult phase of the calendar.

In Tel Aviv, France topped the medal table with three golds, while Canada and Georgia won two each. For their part, Israel, Azerbaijan, Italy, Mongolia, Great Britain and Switzerland came to a consensus. Cuba finished in a respectable 14th place thanks to del Toro’s silver.

As for the route of Creole judo this year, the official page of the International Federation of this sport mentions the holding of the Pan American Open Championship in Varadero in April, which will be held on the 8th and 9th of this month and will mean the return of international tournaments to our country in a few years after the Grand Prix, held at the Coliseum of the Havana Sports City.

Source: Juventud Rebelde