The Portuguese judo team said goodbye to the World Judo Championships this Friday with its worst results in the past 30 years, since Justina Pinheiro managed to make the competition’s honor roll in Hamilton in 1993.
Since that year (1993), the national team has never missed a major event, first every two years and then annually, and has always managed to place judokas in places of honor, up to seventh place, or with medals, of which there are many on their shoulders.’ by Telma Monteiro.
37-year-old judoka Benfica, who was knocked out at -57 kg on her debut in Doha, is nevertheless the person who collects the most medals in the history of Portuguese judo, five of which are hers (four silver and one bronze) , plus a third of the 14 captured.
Between last year, in Tashkent, and the 1993 World Cups, in Hamilton, Canada, there is no comparison with the results of Doha, in which the selection, which had 11 judokas in the competition – eight eliminated on debut -, left without any decision-making positions.
After Justina Pinheiro’s seventh place in 1993, the team achieved several seventh and fifth places, as well as podiums, which Portugal achieved for the first time in Chiba, in 1995, when Filipa Cavalleri won bronze at -56 kg.
Then Guilherme Bentes, who was in the stands this Friday in Doha in support of Patrícia Sampaio, won bronze in Paris in 1997, as well as Catarina Rodrigues, current member of the European Judo Union, in 2001, and João Neto in 2003.
When there were no medals, which Telma Monteiro achieved five times (2014, 2010, 2009, 2007 and 2005), there were some places up to seventh place, sometimes by Leandra Freitas, Célio Dias, Joana Ramos (also fifth), Yahima Ramirez (fifth), Catarina Costa (fifth) or Jorge Fonseca (fifth).
In 2019 it was Jorge Fonseca who put the team back on the road to success, with an unprecedented world title, which it renewed in 2021, in two consecutive World Cups in which the team also won a silver medal for Bárbara Timo (2019) and bronze for Anri Egutidze (2021).
In the last World Cups, after falling from -70 kg to -63 kg, Timo repeated his climb to the podium, the only one who managed to do it, together with Jorge Fonseca and Telma Monteiro, but this time he reached bronze .
At the World Cup in Doha, Jorge Fonseca (-100 kg) and Rochele Nunes (+78 kg) were underweight for the squad, at a time when both are recovering from injury.
The competition in Qatar, where absolute debutant Raquel Brito (-48 kg) achieved the best performance of the Portuguese national team with three competitions, followed long months of struggle in the sport, namely between some judokas and the former president.
A context that led to an associative complaint for incompatibilities in the position and ultimately, after investigation, to the dismissal of Jorge Fernandes, who has led the Federation since 2017 and achieved the best results ever.
Results of the last 30 years:
Tashkent 2022: Bárbara Timo (bronze), Jorge Fonseca (seventh).
Budapest 2021: Jorge Fonseca (gold), Anri Egutidze (bronze), Joana Ramos (fifth) and Telma Monteiro (seventh).
Tokyo 2019: Jorge Fonseca (gold), Bárbara Timo (silver) and Joana Ramos (fifth) and Patrícia Sampaio (fifth).
Baku 2018: Catarina Costa (fifth), Jorge Fonseca (seventh).
Budapest 2017: Telma Monteiro (Thursday).
Astana 2015: Telma Monteiro (seventh).
Cheliabinsky 2014: Telma Monteiro (silver), Yahima Ramirez (fifth).
Rio de Janeiro 2013: Célio Dias (seventh).
Paris 2011: Joana Ramos (Thursday).
Tokyo 2010: Telma Monteiro (Silver), Joana Ramos (Seventh) and Leandra Freitas (Seventh).
Rotterdam2009: Telma Monteiro (silver) and Ana Cachola (seventh).
Rio de Janeiro 2007: Telma Monteiro (Silver).
Cairo 2005: Telma Monteiro (bronze).
Osaka 2003: João Neto (bronze) and João Pina (fifth).
Munich 2001: Catarina Rodrigues (bronze).
Birmingham 1999: Nuno Delgado (fifth) and Sandra Godinho (seventh).
Paris 1997: Guilherme Bentes (bronze), Justina Pinheiro (fifth) and Sílvia Henriques (seventh).
Chiba 1995: Filipa Cavalleri (bronze).
Hamilton 1993: Justina Pinheiro (seventh).
Source: DN
