|
The Brazilian Judo Federation,
the national governing body of judo in Brazil, has announced a
seven-strong squad for the GB World Cup at the NIA Arena in Birmingham
on Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 October.
The squad come into
British judo’s flagship event in a rich vein of form having starred
at domestic and international engagements this year.
Brazil’s line-up features
teak-tough veterans and the country’s leading young judoka’s as
they all bid for vital ranking points and safe passage through
to the London 2012 Olympics.
Edinanci Silva,
34, is the most experienced and accomplished fighter in the squad
having competed at the last four Olympic Games, a first for a
Brazilian judoka.
The Sousa, Paraiba native
made her Olympic debut in Atlanta before finishing seventh in
both Athens and Sydney. Last time out in Beijing the much-admired
Brazilian narrowly missed out on a medal with a fifth-place finish.
Silva, who won world
bronze in 1997 and 2003, has been a dominant force on the domestic
scene having captured multiple Pan American Games titles, the
highly-quality event representing the continent’s equivalent to
the Commonwealth Games.
The under 78kg star
claimed the Brazilian national title last year as she continued
to reign supreme in the South America after a stellar showing
at her third consecutive Olympic Games.
Taciana Lima,
who is currently ranked no. 26 in the world, has been on a tear
this summer having captured a silver medal at the IJF Brazil World
Cup in May and gold at the US Open in August.
The 2002 World Junior
bronze medalist, who campaigns in the under 48kg category, made
a strong start to the year after taking a silver medal at the
Grand Prix Panamericana in Panama.
Lima, 26, a two-time
Pan American medallist and three-time national champion, picked
up a hard-fought bronze medal at the 2009 GB World Cup in a category
which was won by Britain’s Kimberley Renicks.
Camila Minakawa
will take to the mat in the under 63kg division as she
looks to continue her promising start to her senior career.
The 20-year-old tyro,
who’s already ranked no. 28 in the world, has excelled at the
Panamerica Judo Confederation’s World Cup events this year. Minakawa
has medalled at all three events in the Americas including a gold
medal in El Salvador.
The talented youngster,
a 2008 World Junior bronze medalist, won the South American Championships
in 2008 and captured gold at the Maccabiah Games, a quadrennial
Jewish multi-sport event, in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Maria Portella,
an emerging under 70kg fighter, will be striving to produce her
domestic form on the international stage when he competes in Birmingham.
The 22-year-old, whose
ranked no. 30 in the world, fought at her second World Championships
earlier this month and exited the event at the pool stage.
Despite an underwhelming
outing in Tokyo the South American judoka continues to impress
when she fights at home. In May Portella took fifth at the IJF
Grand Slam in Rio de Janeiro and bronze at the IJF’s Brazil World
Cup in Sao Paulo.
In 2009 the young judoka
took silver at the Pan American Games in Argentina and won the
Brazilian Championships in Vitoria.
Danielli Barbosa,
who competes in the under 63kg category, is ranked no. 39 in the
world.
The 26-year-old has
Olympic experience having fought in Beijing two years ago, where
she was eliminated in the first round.
Barbosa, who reportedly
started judo after moving with her family to Japan, took a bronze
medal at the Grand Prix Panamericana Panama in March and gold
at the PJC World Cup in Miami.
The experienced fighter,
who was born in Registro, a city on the Atlantic coast of Sao
Paulo, finished third at the Brazilian and Portuguese World Cups
in 2009.
Giullia Penalber
, an 18-year-old ace, will see action in the under 57kg
weight class.
The teenager, whose
ranked no. 92 in the world, has two continental under 20 gold
medal wins to her name and a silver medal at an IJF world circuit
event.
Cristiane Pereira,
a silver and bronze national championship medallist, completes
the line-up for Brazil.
Saturday 2 October will
see the women’s lightweight categories, -48kg, -52kg, -57kg, -63kg
and step into the spotlight while Sunday 3 October will see the
-70kg, -78kg and +78kg weight categories do battle.
Tickets can
be purchased through The Ticket Factory on 0844 338 8000 or online
at www.theticketfactory.com and are priced at £14 for adults per
day and £6 for children and senior citizens.
|