Cuba with Three Judokas Today at World Youth Championship Lima 2025

Cuba will have three judokas competing today on the second day of the individual tournament at the World Youth Championships, which is being held in Lima, Peru, until this Tuesday. Japan currently leads the competition.

After two unsuccessful podium attempts on Sunday, Cubans Jon Kuan Fleitas (73 kg), Alexander César (81 kg), and Glenda Maso (70 kg) will step onto the mats this Monday.

Fleitas will face the winner of the match between Frenchman Dayan Boulemtafes and Uzbek judoka Muhridoin. César will take on Canadian Neyolov Artemisa, and Maso will compete against Japan's Rin Maeda, respectively.

The largest of the Antilles islands debuted without a medal in Sunday's session with Mauricio de Armas (66 kg) and Dalí Semanat (52 kg). Armas began his campaign in the second round with an Ippon victory over Mexico's Juan Pablo Ramírez, but was defeated by the same method in the round of 16 by Azerbaijan's Nizami Imaranov. A similar outcome occurred with Semanat, who beat Botswana's Neelo Modise by Wazari, but then lost by Ippon to Portugal's Driulys Rivas in the round of 32.

Japan, with three gold medals, one silver, and three bronze, is at the forefront of the championship, followed by Brazil (1-0-1) and Georgia (1-0-0), who hold the five titles distributed so far.

On Tuesday, for the conclusion of the individual tournament, Zail Ramírez (100 kg) will await the winner of the match between Kazakh Askar Birzhanov and Poland's Mateusk Loco. Meanwhile, Lisrialis González (78 kg) will face Kazakhstan's Saltamat Akhmetova, and Dayanara Curbelo (+78 kg) will meet the victor of the bout between Chile's Karla Casas and Romania's Roxana Visa.

The organizers announced the participation of 463 judokas—245 men and 218 women—from 65 countries.

The main objective of the Cuban delegation is to guarantee competitive preparation for the generational relay of the upcoming Olympic cycle. Accompanying the eight judokas are coaches Boannys Chan and Rafael Rubio, supported by physiotherapist Lesvia María Jiménez.

As scheduled, after the World Championships, the team will remain in Lima for the Grand Prix from the 11th to the 13th, and the Open tournament on the 14th, before returning to Cuba on the 15th.

The mixed team tournament is scheduled for Wednesday, featuring action in the men's 73 kg, 90 kg, and +90 kg categories, and the women's 57 kg, 70 kg, and +79 kg categories.