Brazil Keeps an Eye on the Promising Young Cuban Judokas at the International Challenge
Among the Cuban team’s members, there are a Cadet World Champion and an Awarded Junior Judoka in the World Junior Championships.
As usually, the Brazilian coaching staff and athletes use an extensive collection of data and images of their opponents so they can study them and plot their strategies to get the best result. And in the International Challenge Brazil x Cuba which takes place this Sunday at 1 pm in Vitória, live broadcast by SporTV, this data was very valuable. The coach Yuko Fujii invited the Cuban delegation to do a workout together on Friday afternoon in which she could observe the athletes’ movements. On Saturday morning, the Brazilian team’s training focused on improving the blows against their opponents. And on Saturday afternoon it was time to watch videos with the Cuban judokas fighting.
"It's great we can see the opponent's action. This is not the only decisive thing in winning a fight, but it helps us a lot, "said Raquel Silva, who will be the first Brazilian to get on the mat this Sunday.
And the analysis indicates the two great forces of the Cuban team: the young promising judokas Mailin Del Toro Carvajal (63kg) and Gusmari García Savigne (+78 kg). The half middleweight Del Toro, as she likes to be called, is only 20 and she already has the bronze medal got last year at the World Junior Championships. According to the website of the International Judo Federation, she is Uchi-mata. Currently she is 120th in the world ranking of her category. She will be Erika Ferreira’s opponent, also a promising young Brazilian judoka, only 18 years old.
"When we got in the concentration, I and sensei Yuko studied her movements, her blows and main projections. I feel good, quite prepared for this fight, "said the South American vice-champion of 2013.
The heavyweight Savigne has an even more extensive curriculum. She the current world cadet champion of her category and in the same year she lost the contention for bronze against the German Clarisse Taube during the World Junior Championship. In the strong Grand Prix of Havana, she reached again the contention for bronze, but she finished in the fifth place. On her way, she defeated big names such as the German Jasmine Kuelbs and the Mexican Vanessa Zambotti. Gusmari is in the 76th place in the world ranking, 16 positions behind Claudirene Cezar. Her main blow, according to IFJ, is Ouchi-gari.
"I would like to have seen more training of the Cubans but luckily we had the video and it helped us analyze their team. We could have a good physical, technical, tactical and psychological preparation. They are very focused and I believe in this group’s force " the coach Yuko Fujii stated.
The Brazilian team is formed by Raquel Silva (52kg), Manoella Costa (57kg), Erika Ferreira (63kg), Nadia Merli (70kg) and Claudirene Cezar (+70 kg). Cuba will be defended by Gretter Díaz (52kg), Anayli Hernandez (57kg), Mailin Carvajal (63kg), Olga Ramirez (70kg) and Gusmari Savigne (+78 kg), under the command of the coach Ismael Dupotey.
