Two Brazilians Will Be in the Country's Last Participation in the Grand Prix of Zagreb Held on Sunday
Eduardo Bettoni and Rafael Buzacarini will be the judokas in action on the last day of the Croatian tournament. On Saturday, Danielle Karla Oliveira, Marcelo Contini and Leandro Guilheiro did not compete for medals.
The Grand Prix of Zagreb ends on Sunday, May 3rd, with the participation of two Brazilian. The middleweight Eduardo Bettoni and the half-heavyweight Rafael Buzacarini will be the Brazilians in action on the last day of the tournament in Croatia. Bettoni will face the Israeli Li Kochman in the first round while Buzacarini makes his first fight in the second round against the winner of the clash between the Austrian Christoph Kronberg and the British Benjamin Fletcher.
"This competition will be hard from the start to the end and each point will be achieved with a lot of sweat! It is the final countdown to the Games 2016 then I will give my best because I know that I am well prepared for this step, "Bettoni said.
On Saturday, the three Brazilians in action failed to reach the fight for medals. The young Danielle Karla Oliveira, 21, had a quarry right in her first round in the half-middleweight (63kg): Clarisse Agbenenou, world number one in the category. But the French, the current world champion, had no easy life. The Brazilian balanced the fight that was only decided in the very end, when Danielle suffered an ippon in the last 24 seconds of the round.
In the male half-middleweight, Leandro Guilheiro could not fit his game against the Bulgarian Ivaylo Ivanov and he was defeated by wazari in his first fight in Croatia. Marcelo Contini (73kg) started by defeating the Serbian Nemanja Petrovic by yuko but in the second round, he was defeated himself by the Frenchman Pierre Duprat. On Friday, Phelipe Pelim arrived in the fight for medals but ended up in the fifth place.
After the Grand Prix of Zagreb, Brazil continues competing in the Grand Slam of Baku. Sarah Menezes (48kg), Erika Miranda (52kg), Rafaela Silva (57kg), Mariana Silva (63kg), Ketleyn Quadros (63kg), Maria Portela (70kg), Barbara Timo (70kg), Samanta Soares (78kg) and Rochelle Nunes (+ 78kg) join Nathália Brigida (48kg), Marcelo Contini (73kg), Leandro Guilheiro (81kg) and Rafael Buzacarini (100kg) who go to Azerbaijan directly from Croatia. The coaching staff of the Grand Slam will be composed of the coaches Rosicleia Campos and Mario Sabino as well as the physiotherapist Priscila Marques.
