TT judoka to compete at World Champs

GABRIELLA Wood, TT’s lone judo hopeful for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, has arrived in Budapest, Hungary to compete at the Judo World Championships.

A media release from The Friends of Judo Foundation said, “This year’s competition has a large field of 40 athletes competing in the +78kg division. This means that there will be five knock-out rounds of competition before a winner is declared. Gabriella has been seeded to begin competing in the second round of Group A on 12 June 2021.”

The release said Wood will go up against the winner of the first round match between Adiyasuren Amarsaikhan (Mongolia) and Anzhela Gasparian (Russian Judo Federation). If Wood wins that match, she would go on to compete against World and Olympic champion Idalys Ortiz (Cuba) for a place in the quarter-final round.

Wood holds one of the Olympic spots for the Americas region and a solid showing at the World Championships will cement her place in Tokyo.

“We wish her all the best as she competes in this final tournament of her Olympic journey,” the release ended.