Rafael Silva Won the Silver Medal at Tokyo Grand Slam
Brazil ends the last international competition of the season with four medals
The heavyweight Rafael Silva got the silver medal at Tokyo Grand Slam. The Brazilian, who became this year the vice-world champion, reached the fourth podium for Brazil in the last competition of the season. The half- lightweight Erika Miranda and Charles Chibana took the silver whereas Sarah Menezes conquered the bronze.
\"The result from Tokyo was a good one and it met our expectations. We came with a team mixed with young and more experienced athletes so that everyone could score points in the world ranking for a good start in 2014. Overall, we had our best first year of the Olympic cycle, with important achievements. We also had athletes who evolved such as Suellen, the heavyweight athlete, and new names, as Chibana’s , the half lightweight athlete, came out.“ mentioned the Performance Director of the Brazilian Judo Confederation, Ney Wilson. Next week, he will send the final convocation to Rio 2016 Olympic Selection - Phase II , which will be held on December 14th at Flamengo / RJ Club.
“We have announced the first names but others may still appear on grounds of the observations we made in the last national competitions, such as the Grand Prix and the Intercontinental Cadet and Junior Selection. This is important to bring fresh blood in the team and keep the athletes’ motivation. All those who are within the Olympic ranking zone – the first 14 female and the first 22 male athletes – do not have to take part in the selection process. Therefore, the score from Tokyo can influence the list as well.\"
After the bronze from the London Olympics and the silver from Rio, Rafael Silva secured his position by participating to one of the most traditional world tournaments, the Tokyo Grand Slam (the former Jigoro Kano Cup). More than that, he defeated two Japanese in his campaign: Hisayoshi Harasawa in the quarterfinals and Masaru Momose in the semifinals. In the first round, the athlete from Pinheiros / SP defeated Stanislav Bondarenko (UKR).
\"It was a favorable season in which I won three silver awards in three major championships: the World Senior Championships, the Tokyo Grand Slam and the Masters, which brings together the top 16 world judokas from each weight category. I will train even more so that next year my silver become gold, \"said Rafael Silva.” Fighting against the Japanese in Japan is different because of the crowd and tradition. The heavyweight category from Japan is undergoing a renewal and there are good athletes coming in front” he analyzes.
On Sunday, seven other Brazilians went to the mat from Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium and the best results came from David Moura and Rochele Nunes, both of them reaching the seventh place. Regarding the middleweight category, Eduardo Santos came out in the eighth round after two fights , and Eduardo Bettoni was defeated in the first roung, which happened to the half heavyweight Rafael Buzacarini and Renan Nunes and to the vice world champion Maria Suellen Altheman, in the heavyweight category.
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