Cuba has six
judocas among the world’s top seeds
CUBA is the country with the highest number of
judocas in the Top Ten by divisions of the world
ranking, a list led by Japan, France and Russia, in
that order.
Both the Cuban women’s and men’s teams are the
regional leaders – with six athletes – followed by
both Brazilian teams (4), while the Japanese, French
and Russians notch up 18, 13, and 11, respectively.
Trump cards for the island are Idalis Ortiz and
Oscar Braison, heavyweight stars and bronze medal
winners at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, who stand in
third position on the list.
Ortiz has accumulated 420 points in the 78kg-plus
category after winning the silver medal at the Grand
Slam in Paris and the gold medal at the Panamericano
competition in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
For his part, Braison has accrued 300 points for
the two silver medals he won in the men’s 100kg-plus
category at the Grand Prix in Hamburg and the
Panamericano in Argentina.
Completing the lineup for Cuba are Oreidis
Despaigne, who finished in sixth place in the
100kg-plus division; Yordanis Arencibia, eighth in
the 66kg category; Kaliema Antomachín, ninth in the
78kg; and Yasmani Piker, tenth in the 60kg category.
The most outstanding aspect of these results is
that the Cubans have only taken part in three
European events plus the Panamericano tournament in
Argentina, according to the online edition of Jit
weekly.
This ranking system will be valid for
qualification for the 2012 Olympic Games in London,
and even with respect to awarding direct places to
the first 22 men and 14 women. (AIN)
