Cuban Judoka Silva Falls in Repechage at Paris Grand Slam

February 7, 2022

Cuban judoka Iván Felipe Silva lost today in one of the repechage fights in the 90-kilogram category of the Paris Grand Slam, a tournament in which all his compatriots were eliminated early.

Silva, who will turn 26 on Tuesday, was defeated by three penalties under the golden rule after 11 minutes of competition against Turkish fighter Mihael Zgank, who will seek one of the bronze medals in the division in the afternoon session.

In his debut, Silva won by default against Colombian Francisco Balanta, then defeated Italian Nicholas Mungai by ippon in the second round, before losing in the quarterfinals against Georgian Beka Gviniashvilli, which is why he had to compete in the repechage.

The standout judoka, world silver medalist in Baku-2018, was seeking at least to match his third place from two years ago at the Paris Grand Slam, in the island's previous appearance at the prestigious tournament held at the AccorArena venue.

Cuba at Paris Grand Slam
Cuba's over 100-kilogram Andy Granda fell this Sunday in his first appearance, defeated by Frenchman Guerman Andreev, and the young woman over 78 kilograms Thalía Nariño was surprised by veteran Algerian Sonia Asselah with a waza-ari only seconds away from the golden rule.

Also the representative of the largest of the Antilles in the 70-kilogram division, Idelannis Gómez, lost in her debut by ippon against experienced Frenchwoman Margaux Pinot, Olympic team champion in Tokyo and world bronze medalist in the Japanese capital itself.

Yesterday the six Cuban judokas who stepped onto the tatami, four women and two men, lost in their first fights.

Both the men's judo coach, Julio Alderete, and the head of the women's technical team, Yordanis Arencibia, stated to Prensa Latina that training represented the main objective of the tour that began here, which they plan will also include the Grand Slams of Israel, Georgia, and Turkey.