The deep renewal of elite teams of Cuban #judo is necessary at the beginning of this new Olympic four-year period, but it seems evident that the survivors are not ready to throw the towel in, as seen this weekend at the Grand Slam in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

The women's squad was the most rejuvenated, and only Maylín del Toro (63 kgs) remains of those who competed in the last four years. She is ready to drive the team forward after finishing seventh in her category in the Uzbek city.

However, the best news came through the men, because if Jonathan Charon (60) said goodbye early on the first day, at the end Ivan Felipe Silva (100) and Andy Granda (over 100 kg) won bronze medals.

Silva had already reached the first podium of Cuban judo in the current season by finishing third in the Grand Slam of Paris last February, and now he confirmed that in his new division he continues to be a contender to view closely.

He was only stopped in the semi-final by Russian Matvey Kanikovski, European champion who already occupies the third position in the ranking of the International Judo Federation (IJF).

The Matanzas native has been shoulder to shoulder with the world elite for several years, when he competed at 90 kg, and now at 100 kg he seems to be able to maintain his best qualities and improve his strength.

For his part, Granda, world champion at this same venue in 2022, won his first medal of the current four-year period and was also stopped by another Russian, in this case Denis Batchaev, finally champion, who beat him in overtime.

These were the only medals for Latin America in the competition, despite the fact that Brazil was with a large number of athletes, and they allowed Cuba to finish among the top 10 places, finishing in ninth place in a competition that hosted 242 participants from 23 countries.

They also generate confidence after closing the four-year period without taking the stage at the awards ceremony for the first time in events under the five rings since Montreal 1976, a streak that had only been interrupted when Cuba did not take part in the events of Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul 1988.

The competition showed the traditional dominance of Japan in the women's branch, although the big surprise was Russia, banned from the major events of world sport, which closed with six gold medals, three silvers and three bronze medals, a better result to that of the Japanese delegation (5-4-2).

Only these four representatives are taking part in this tour, but it will be very useful when new talents of both sexes are incorporated, to evaluate their potential.

According to the plan, this small group will also compete in the Grand Prix of Linz, Austria (March 7-9), then will complete a training base in Nymburk, Czech Republic (March 10-17), and will close its competitive phase at the Grand Slam of Tbilisi, Georgia (March 21-23).

Translated by Amilkal Labañino / CubaSí Translation Staff