Olympic medalist Daniel Cargnin won bronze at the Grand Prix in Zagreb, Croatia, winning five of his six fights. The judoka rediscovered the taste of winning a medal on the IJF world circuit this Saturday, a year after his feat in Tokyo. Cargnin’s only loss was to Italian Manuel Lombardo in the semi-finals. The bronze came with ippon over compatriot Pedro Medeiros, another highlight for Brazil that day.

The 73kg gold went to Lombardo who, like Daniel, went from 66kg to 73kg. The last meeting of the two took place in Tokyo, with the victory of the Brazilian. The rivalry between the two dates back to Under-21 competitions and is set to open new chapters in Paris.

The Zagreb medal has special value for Cargnin, as it is the first he has won at lightweight (73 kg), his new category. In the cycle in Tokyo, Daniel fought at light middleweight (66kg) and in 2022 he took on the challenge of moving up to 73kg and restarting the race for a place in Paris from scratch. He adapted quickly to the new weight and, in less than a year at lightweight, he won bronze at the Croatian Grand Prix, the last competition before the World Championship in Uzbekistan, which will take place in October. .

“I’m still adjusting to 73kg. I’m very happy with the progress, because I’m doing well. I know there’s still a lot to improve, but it’s step by step. And I’m looking for always Paris 2024, my second medal. I thank all those who applauded, who were not discouraged in the defeats. See you at the Worlds”, celebrated Daniel.

Ketlyn Quadros maintains consistency to claim bronze

At 34, in her fifth Olympic cycle, Ketleyn Quadros continues to fight at a high level in Zagreb, and has taken another step towards her first dream medal at the Worlds. Current world number four at 63kg, Ketleyn won two matches in the preliminaries and only fell in the semi-finals to Canada’s Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard, who won gold after Anriquelis Barrios withdrew. hurt.

In contention for bronze, the Brazilian outplayed Gili Sharir of Israel, scoring an early waza-ari and managing the advantage all the way to take her second medal of 2022. In Tbilisi, Georgia, she got the money.

“I’m very happy with my medal. I think it’s a sign that I’m on the right track, that I’m improving day by day, that I’m pushing myself. I hope it will serve as motivation and stimulating, because this is the last competition before the Worlds.The work will continue.

Rookie surprises with win over world number one

One of the biggest highlights of the day was 21-year-old Pedro Medeiros, who made his international competition debut in the adult judo class. In the very first fight, Pedro dispatched Wictor Mrowkzysk of Poland. In the Round of 16, he threw Georgia’s Lasha Shavdatuashvili twice (waza-ari) and knocked out the group favorite.

To understand the extent of the Brazilian’s achievement, just look at the Georgian’s career: THREE Olympic medals (gold, silver and bronze), and the world title last year.

In the quarter-finals, however, Pedro was beaten by Cuban Magdiel Estrada. He managed to recover in the repechage, beating Frenchman Kilian Leblouch, and fell to Cargnin for the bronze.

Tamires Crude (63kg), Luana Carvalho (70kg), Maria Portela (70kg) and Vinícius Panini (81kg) also fought this Saturday. Maria was in seventh place and the others stopped in the first laps.

On Sunday, seven other Brazilians are in action

On Sunday, Brazil will host Mayra Aguiar (78kg), Giovanna Santos (+78kg), Rafael Macedo (90kg), Luanh Rodrigues (90kg), André Humberto (100kg), Rafael Buzacarini (100kg) and Rafael Silva “Baby” (+100kg) ) on the Zagreb Grand Prix carpet.