Rafaela Silva Is Leading Again the World Ranking

The current world champion reaches this important position before the three competitions left until the World Championship 2014. Charles Chibana (66kg) and Rafael Silva (+100 kg) are also in the first place.

The International Judo Federation released this Tuesday, July 22^nd, a new update of the world rankings, in which 50% of the score got in the Grand Slam Moscow 2013 was missing. Brazil had good news. The world champion Rafaela Silva resumed the leadership of the lightweight category, overtaking the German Miryam Roper by 24 points. She joins Charles Chibana (66kg) and Rafael Silva (+100 kg) who kept the first position of their categories.

"I'm very happy with the news because I didn’t imagine reaching now this position. The good part is beginning the competition as a head-key and not having a tough fight right in the first round, “Rafaela Silva said.

The world calendar will have three more competitions which worth points for the ranking: the Pan American Open in Santiago on July 26^th and 27^th, the Open Asian in Taipei on July 27^th and 28^th and the Pan American Open in Miami on August 1^st and 2^nd. Since it is the competition that is worth the least for the ranking, the top names might not compete and so Rafaela can keep leading until the World Championship of Chelyabinsk. The considered update for deciding who the key-heads are in the World Championship is precisely the one done after the competition in the United States.

"The downside of the leadership is that I will be more targeted and my movements more analyzed for the World Championship. But I'm also doing the same, I watch them. I use to watch every day their fights as a preparation stage for the World Championship, “Rafaela said.

The rest of the rankings changed very little compared to the rankings released last week. In the men’s team, Felipe Kitadai is the fifth and Eric Takabatake the 16^th among the extra-lightweight judokas. Alex Pombo (73kg) moved up one position to the fifth place, while Marcelo Contini, who climbed two positions, is the 17th. Victor Penalber (81kg) remained in the third. Tiago Camilo is still the best Brazilian in the middleweight and he also climbed two positions, and in his eighth current position, he entered the list of possible head-keys for the World Judo Championship. In the half-heavy, Luciano Correa fell one place and he is in the 10^th while Rafael Buzacarini climbed a step and reached the 16^th place. Apart from Rafael Silva, Brazil has two more athletes in Top 20: David Moura is the 7^th and Walter Santos is the 18^th.

Regarding the women’s team, Mariana Silva climbed a position and she is now again in  half-middleweight Top 20. The Brazilian best placed in the category is Mariana Barros, 12^th placed, and she was called for the World Championship 2014. All the other Brazilians are well placed and they kept their positions from the last update. Sarah Menezes (48kg), Erika Miranda (52kg) and Maria Suelen Altheman (+78 kg) are second placed. Mayra Aguiar (78kg) remains the third and Ketleyn Quadros (57kg) the sixth. Rochele Nunes (+78 kg) is the 18^th and Barbara Timo (70kg) is the 21^st.