Men's national judo championship kicks off today in western Cuban province

CARDENAS, Matanzas, Cuba, Apr 8 (ACN) The main male judo athletes in Cuba will take part from today until next Saturday in the national championship of this sport, which has already concluded the women's competition at the Antonio Nores gymnasium in this city.

In the event, which serves as preparation for the Pan American of America and Oceania, scheduled to be held 15-17 of this month in Lima, Peru, it is expected the participation of the nine players who were on tour in Europe, including Ivan F. Silva and Andy Granda, medalists in the recent Grand Slam in Antalya, Turkey.

Amaury Mendive Piedra, national methodologist of the discipline, declared exclusively to the Cuban News Agency that around 90 athletes representing all the provinces of the country should take part in what should undoubtedly be a top-quality competition.

Since the previous Sunday, the national judo competition began with the women's competition, where Artemisa(western region) team led by provinces and it was held with the absence of eight of the main figures of the national team, including the Olympic and world champion, Idalys Ortiz (+78), due to her training and competitions in Europe.