Cuban Judo Teams to Fight in Europe

Cuban judokas will open their international calendar of 2015 in Europe with tournaments in Belgium, home of the Opens of Vise, for men, and Arlon, for women, and Germany, which will host the Dusseldorf Grand Prix for both sexes.

As expected, José Armenteros , 100 kilograms world runner up in Chelyabinsk 2014 (Russia), Magdiel Estrada (73 kilos) and Ivan Silva (81), will travel to Europe, under the direction of Professor Justo Noda, supported by Dr. Ubelino Moreno .

The coach Ismael Bourbon and Doctor Edel Robaina will travel on Wednesday or Thursday accompanied by the women athletes Onix Cortés (70), bronze medalist in 2014, Dayaris Mestre (48), Aliuska Ojeda (57) Maylín del Toro (63) and Kaliema Antomarchi (78).

The Belgian tournaments will take place on January 31 and February 1st, while that of Germany will be from February 20 to 22, so training bases are planned in France before and between competitions.

These events are part of the preparation for the Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada, scheduled from July 10 to 26 and the World Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, from August 24 to 30, main commitments of the year.

Other scheduled contests are the Pan American Championships in Edmonton, Canada (April), qualifier for the Canadian continental multisport event, and the ALBA Games in Ecuador (also in April).

The women's national team, coached by Ronaldo Veitia, will also participate –as guest- in the New York teams tournament , in United States (March) with Dayaris Mestre (48), Yanet Bermoy (52), Aliuska Ojeda (57), Olga Masferrer (63) and Yalennis Castillo (78).

Another good news for the Cuban judo is the involvement of coaches Armando Padron (w) and Julio Alderete (m), and the referee William Rosquet in a course given by the International Judo Federation, in Malaga, Spain, on January 30 and 31, with a view to updating new rules.

It is also envisaged that five judokas shall compete in the Women Festival at the Dominican Republic, from March 13 to 15, month in which it will also take place the national championships, for both sexes, in Havana.