Cuban judo faces two Olympic qualifying battles at once

Cuban judo is pursuing two major qualification campaigns at the same time, and it has already lost one opportunity to collect points. The team will not compete at the Grand Slam in Budapest, Hungary, from September 11 to 13, an event that could have helped its bid for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

Julio Alderete, head of the men's coaching group at the Cerro Pelado High-Performance Athlete Training School, said the sport now faces the Olympic qualification process and the race for the Lima 2027 Pan American Games. The world championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, from October 4 to 11 will be crucial for the Olympic campaign. Only athletes ranked among the world's top 100 can compete there.

Cuba currently has eight athletes in that range, four men and four women. They are Jonathan Charón at 60 kilograms, Orlando Polanco at 66, Iván Silva Silva at 100 and Andy Granda above 100. The women are Lian Benavides at 57, Maylín del Toro at 63, Lianet Cardona at 78 and Dayanara Curbelo above 78. Granda will miss the world championships while recovering from shoulder problems, Alderete said.

The Masters in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, from December 18 to 20 will bring together the top 36 judokas in each weight class and offer a substantial number of ranking points. Charón currently ranks 20th, Silva 23rd, Polanco 30th and Granda 36th. Granda's absence from the world championships could put his position at risk. Among the women, Cardona, Curbelo and del Toro are the strongest candidates to reach the elite list.

For Lima, Curbelo has already secured a place through her continental youth title in Asunción. The other Cubans must qualify through ranking, which offers nine places with one athlete per country and requires at least 70 points. The four best results from qualifying events will count, including a Pan American championship.

Cuba has so far competed only at the Pan American event in Panama on April 18 and 19. It skipped Opens in Buenos Aires, Santiago, Lima and San Salvador, and plans to travel to Santo Domingo next weekend. Montreal and Florida are also scheduled this year, although Alderete said visa difficulties remain a concern. Two more Opens are planned for 2027, along with the Pan American Championship in Lima on April 8 and 9. That championship awards 500 points to the winner, compared with 175 at Opens and 125 at Cups.

“

As if they were breaking the sacred rules of this sport, athletes from the island must face two major challenges at once.