With the closing of the qualification period and the publication of the definitive Olympic rankings, we can begin to project towards drawing of the scoreboards of the 14 individual weight categories (in addition to that of the Team Event, which however has different dynamics) of judo on the occasion of Paris 2024 Games. Italy presents itself at the key event of the three-year period with a group of 12 athletes to try to reap what has been sown in recent seasons.
However, the competitiveness of the senior Italian national team is not measured only by the number of passes won (only 2 men’s categories were missing, the -60 and +100 kg), but above all by the quality of the judokas who will fly to France. In fact, the Italian selection will be able to field 7 seeded teamswho should therefore avoid at least on paper some of the most fearsome international big names up to and including the round of 16.
Assunta Scutto and Alice Bellandi they will even be drawn from No. 1 seeding respectively in the -48 and -78 kg categories, but will have the advantage of avoiding the other seeds in the first rounds also Odette Giuffrida (n.3 in -52 kg), Asya Tavano (n.7 or n.8 in +78 kg), Manuel Lombardo (n.4 in -73 kg), Matteo Piras (n.8 in -66 kg) e Christian Parlati (n.8 in -90 kg).
Positions which, however, do not necessarily protect some of our standard bearers from possible unpleasant surprises, due to the presence of some loose cannons in the draw such as the Japanese champion Uta Abe, undisputed dominator and heavy favorite for the gold medal in Paris which is not included in the 8 seeds of the -52 kg and therefore will potentially be able to meet already in the first round, for example, the n.1 in the ranking Diyora Keldiyorova or Giuffrida herself. In the coming weeks, when the choices of the various National Olympic Committees will be made official (in case of “duplications” within a single category), we will then analyze in detail the probable opponents of the Azzurri towards the Final Block in Paris.
