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Cubans depart for judo tour in Asia

Xinhua, November 16, 2015 Adjust font size:

Cuba's judo team departed for China on Sunday to participate in the world judo Grand Prix where they will look for points ahead of the Olympic Games 2016 in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), local media reported on Sunday. 

   The first stop in Asia for them will be Qingdao on the east coast of China in Shandong province. In this city, the athletes will begin their competitions from Nov. 20 to 22, according to information broadcast by Cuban radio. 

   The two teams will then travel on to the next stop in the competition which will take place in South Korea from Nov. 26 to 28. The third and final leg of the competition will take place in Japan where the teams will attend a Grand Slam from Dec. 6 to 8. 

   A total of 10 judokas make up the Cuban team. The female side has Idalis Ortiz in the over 78-kilogram category, while Asley Gonzalez is among the male competitors that will participate in the 90-kilogram category. Both of these athletes have won Olympic and world medals. 

   The Grand Prix serves as one of the qualifying tournaments for next year's Rio Olympic Games and will grant 22 and 14 direct Olympic spaces for men and women respectively. 

   Nearly 600 judokas from 58 countries and regions will take part in the tournament in Qingdao.  Endi