The fight in the final against Cuba’s opponent was defined by the number of punishments
With his place secured at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which are scheduled to start in July, the experienced judoka from Mato Grosso do Sul, Rafael Silva “Baby”, won the silver medal last Saturday (27) during the Pan -American and Oceania held in Rio de Janeiro.
Promising a medal in Paris, Baby was the last Brazilian to step on the mat, but he was unable to finish his fight against Cuban Andy Granda, in the over 100 kg category. Facing the Pan-American champion, the “giant” from MS had an arduous challenge ahead. He tried to dominate through the collars and apply decisive blows during the dispute, but the Cuban reacted to the attacks and secured the gold.
The fight was defined by the number of punishments, within a few minutes the scoreboard already had two punishments for each and, before the end of the clock, the referee punished Rafael Silva for lack of combativeness, giving victory to the Cuban opponent.
Adding up the medals won on all days of competition, Brazil led the overall table, closing the tournament with six golds, three silvers and six bronzes.
“Brazilian judo, once again, fulfilled its mission. We finished leaders in the overall medal table, with a considerable gap to second place. The Pan-American Championship is very important in this final stretch of preparation in terms of points, of getting back into the seeding position”, summarized Marcelo Teothonio, high performance manager at CBJ.
