Minakawa Family Meet at the World Judo Championship on Opposite Sides

The referee Edison Minakawa and his daughter Camila, fighting for Israel, meet in the same space from the fighting area while her mother is in the stands

While Camila’s mother was running in the stands and encouraging her, the father was watching the fight with no facial expression.

\"I cannot have any reaction. These are Juan Carlos Barcos’s orders, the refereeing director. The referees have to behave in accordance with their position,\" said her father, Edison.

His daughter, Camila Minakawa, has stopped fighting for Brazil since last year, and now she is competing in the World Judo Championship of Rio de Janeiro for Israel. Her mother, Myriam, is Jewish and, as she has lived for five years in this country, she received an Israeli passport.

\"The love between the Israeli selection and Camila has existed for about four years; in 2013, the new president of the federation said he would like to have her on his team. Of course that when I see her fight I want to cheer, to jump and to scream, but I need to keep my professional attitude\" said her father.

\"It was not a matter of position in the Brazilian National Team that made me leave the country. I wanted a change both in my personal life as in my professional one. I think it\'s always good to have a change. I\'m 23 years old and I have always trained and lived with my parents. So I think it was the right time to make that change\" he said.

Camila competes in the 57kg- category, the same as Ketleyn Quadros’s, the Olympic medalist, and Rafaela Silva’s, the world champion. Her relationship with the Israeli Federation began in 2009 when Camila lost the final round in Macabíade (the Olympics of the Jewish people) for the middleweight world champion, Yarden Gerbi.

“In Israel they gave me an opportunity to practice and some facilities that I could not have here in Brazil ,\" added the judoka from São Paulo, 23 years old.

\"Camila has always dreamt taking part in the Olympic Games and it was the Israeli national team that opened the doors for her. Of course that her heart is Brazilian. This was her wish and I, as her father, I have to support her decision.\" said Edson.

“I think everyone has to think about what is best for them. I think that if we can give an example to the others and they start searching for their dreams, I think it\'s worth it. You have to take some risks if you want to be happy and reach your goal, “said the athlete will be stay in Brazil for a week’s vacation, together with her family, and she hopes to compete again in 2016 for the Olympics.