There Will Be Six Judokas Representing Brazil in March in Chile Open
The senior team has among its members two new comers: Rafaela Barbosa (52kg) and Giovana Silva (70kg).
The Brazilian national judo team has been preparing itself for the first competition held this year on the Pan-American continent, Santiago Pan American Open, which will take place from March 7th to 8th. Brazil will participate with six athletes, most of the them newcomers: Nathália Brígida (48kg), Rafaela Barbosa (52kg), Giovana Silva (70kg), Luiz Revite (66kg), Adriano Souza (66kg) and Rafael Buzacarini (100kg).
New onboard, Rafaela and Giovana are representing in this event the senior team for the first time. The two passed the Olympic Selective held in 2014 and won the credentials to defend the country as senior.
"It's my first competition in the senior team and I am a little nervous about this. I think the biggest challenge will not know very well my opponents," said Giovana, the athlete of Minas Gerais. "My goal is to make a good competition to score points in the IJF’s ranking," she added.
Another rookie, Rafaela Barbosa does not hide her pride of being among the elite of the Brazilian judo and highlights the preparation run earlier this year as a key to having a good performance in the first senior challenge.
"I'm extremely happy, above all, to be part of the Brazilian national senior judo team. I'm preparing a lot, training the best I can to have a good result," she said. "I am confident. After the training from Saquarema I learned and evolved a lot. I think it will make a big difference. I hope to get a medal and maybe the top one”, stated the athlete from the Amazonas State.
They will face the challenge of overcoming the Brazil’s last performance in the competition. In 2014, the country ranked second in the medals table, winning three gold, one silver and five bronze medals. On that occasion, the selection had ten athletes fighting.
