Brazil Gets Two Bronze Medals on the First Day of Zagreb Grand Prix
Diego Santos (60kg) and Raquel Silva (52kg) reach the podium. The Saturday’s athletes are Katherine Campos (63kg), Nadia Merli (70kg), Maria Portela (70kg) and Marcelo Contini (73g).
Brazil got two bronze medals on the first day of Zagreb Grand Prix. Diego Santos (60kg) defeated the Italian Carmine Di Loreto and Raquel Silva (52kg) overcame the Belgian Ilse Heylen and so both reached the podium in Croatia. The Saturday’s athletes are Katherine Campos (63kg), Nadia Merli (70kg), Maria Portela (70kg) and Marcelo Contini (73g).
Diego Santos (60kg) began by winning the Slovenian Matjaz Trbovc by ippon in less than a minute of fight. In the quarter-finals, he controlled the fight against Jeroen Mooren (NED), making the opponent be punished three times. As he needed to score, the Dutch tried to project Diego, but he ended up receiving a wazari, which assured the Brazilian’s qualification to semifinals in which he would face Ahmet Sahin Kaba (TUR). But Diego failed to recover after a yuko projection run in the first few seconds of fight. He make the Turkish be three times penalized but he could not go further. Thus, he went to compete for the bronze against Carmine Di Loreto (ITA). The Brazilian got a yuko in the beginning of the fight. Then he managed to immobilize his rival for ten seconds and so he got one more yuko. Then he had to only wait for the end of the fight to get his third place.
Raquel Silva (52kg) had a tough first fight against the American Angelica Delgado but she assured her victory due to less punishments. Afterwards, she defeated the Polish Zuzanna Pawlikowska by ippon. In the quarter-finals, she failed to overcome the Israeli Gili Cohen and so she went to repechage against Laura Gomez (ESP). The Brazilian athlete was losing the fight because of two yukos but missing 40 seconds to the end, she managed to defeat the Spanish by wazari and so she went to compete for the bronze. Against Ilse Heylen (BEL), she had a hard time in the beginning of the fight but in the first projection, she got a wazari in a counterattack. Shortly thereafter, she immobilized her rival by ippon and so she secured the medal in Croatia. Annabelle Euranie (FRA) took the gold, Joana Ramos (POR) the silver and Gili Cohen (ISR) the other bronze.
Taciana Lima (48kg), the Brazilian who is defending Guinea-Bissau, also took the bronze by defeating Valentina Moscatt (ITA). In the same category, Nathália Brigida was defeated by the Romanian Monica Ungureanu, who would be champion of the competition by applying a yuko in the first fight and she did not take part in the contention for medals. The silver went to Julia Figueroa (ESP) and the other bronze went to Charline Van Snick (BEL), in her first competition after she was suspended because of punishment for doping.
The athletes who are fighting on Saturday are Katherine Campos (63kg), Nadia Merli (70kg), Maria Portela (70kg) and Marcelo Contini (73g). On Sunday, Rochele Nunes (78kg +) and Rafael Buzacarini (100kg) are the last Brazilians who participate in Croatia. The competition takes place in Dom Sportova Sports Hall. The qualifiers will start at 5 in the morning and the finals from noon, Brasília time.
