On Sunday 24 April, the Absolute Italian Championships in SAMBO and the Italian Beginners Championships were held at THE Sport Palace of Telgate (Bergamo).
The event was very successful thanks to the active collaboration of Paolo Leoni, president of the Lombardy Regional Committee who, together with the General Secretary Federkombat dott. Stefano Rigamonti and Federal Vice President Marco Bertoletti inaugurated the event by awarding a plaque of sporting merit to the Lombard athletes who won last year’s absolute championships and medaled at the 2020 world championships.
In the competition reserved for Beginners (11-13 years) the Lombard athletes of the Paullese Gymnastics (MI) and the Leonessa Brescia Academy (BS) prevailed.
In the absolute championship there was a greater participation with several surprises in podium finishes, compared to the 2021 edition in full pandemic.
In the women’s field, the performance of the Piedmontese Tassone Vittoria (young class 2004) who won the absolute title by beating all the opponents in the category to the limit of 50 kg should be noted.
Also in the men’s competition, several medals in the seven weight categories were won by promising new athletes from the youth and junior classes. This is a clear symptom of the generational change taking place and the amount of work that awaits the national technical staff, for the necessary qualitative leap to make necessary to make aspiring Azzurri Athletes competitive in the international field.
The winner of the 58 kg category, Avella Stefano (2002 junior class) athlete of the Isao Okano Club 97 in Cinisello Balsamo (MI), who finished all three fights due to technical superiority before the time limit, should be noted. In the category up to 64 kg, team mate Canevaro Mattia (junior class 2003) wins silver by losing only the final with Rastellaqa Alaa (2000 senior class) from Alessandria.
In the category at the limit of 71 kilos, orphan of Galbiati Mattia still stopped for knee surgery, the Venetian Cici Silvio (senior class 1993) of the Dojo Treviso was reconfirmed as Italian champion, who overtook the contemporary Italian athlete Lussignoli Athos in the final. (Fujiyama Empoli), returned to the race after 3 years of inactivity.
In kg.79 he wins his first Italian title Serafini Emiliano (senior class 2000), athlete of the Paullese Gymnastics (MI) that bodes well for his next approach in the international competitive scene.
The category up to kg.88 saw the clear dominance Miceli Alessio (senior class 1988) who, despite being now projected towards the career of a Technical Teacher, has shown that the class is not water by concluding all the meetings before the limit, including the final with teammate Alessandro Binelli. For the rest we saw a fair balance for the conquest of the other places on the podium.
In the 98 kg. Cavanna Federico of Shodokan Genova won without too much difficulty, despite a shoulder problem that has dragged on from the last world championship in Tashkent (UZB).
The category +98 kg. was dominated by Gurghis Pavel, athlete of Team Evolution Sambo & Judo of Riccione, who beat all his opponents for technical superiority before the time limit expired.
Overall it should be noted that the technical level of the athletes has risen, especially for the young and junior classes, in fact the medals, the score for the placements in the national ranking and the points for the classification by company, have been won by the clubs of ten different regions.
In addition, this year, compared to the previous ones in which there was a clear dominance of the Lombardy region among the top clubs, in the team ranking the clubs from three different regions rose to the podium: 1st Weightlifting Club Alessandria; 2nd Shodokan Genoa; 3 ^ Isao Okano Club 97 Cinisello Balsamo (MI).
The National Technical Commissioner will shortly send the call for national collegiate training reserved to athletes of national interest (youth, junior and senior classes) and absolute championships medalists, in order to compose the team that will participate in the next European Championships.