The judoka from Jaén and member of CD Athenas, Pablo Buendía Labella, won the bronze medal in the Military World Judo Championship, in the category of less than 90 kilos, held in Tashkent (Uzbekistan). This world medal is the first that Spain has achieved in the history of military judo.
Buendía, who is currently a Cavalry soldier, belonging to the Royal Guard, in Madrid, has participated in the World Cup representing the Spanish military team, as current champion of Spain, a title he achieved last May in Ferrol.
Despite the little time available due to his professional work and the preparation of his opposition to the National Police, Buendía prepared with great enthusiasm for this World Cup with the idea of doing a good job and leaving the Hispanic flag as high as possible. After beating his rivals in several fights, he reached the semifinals where he met the Swiss W. Lukas, whom he could not defeat, so he competed in the fight for the bronze medal, which he finally achieved by beating the Frenchman A. Mathieu. In statements to Diario JAÉN, Buendía pointed out that this success is “an incredible reward” for so many years practicing this sport: “It is a sport that has given me a lot. I am very excited and it will give me a great dose of motivation to continue enjoying and trying to achieve good results again.” Buendía remembered all those who have accompanied him in his career: “With this victory you remember many people to whom you have to thank, for how much they have helped me, especially my coach Diego García, who gives me “A lot of knowledge to develop on the tatami, and of those that are no longer there.” Finally, the judoka from Jaén stressed the honor of opening the historic medal table for Spain: “being the first to win a world medal for Spain is very encouraging and a great honor for me and for those who are by my side. At first it is difficult to assimilate this success, but it is something that allows us to break down barriers to think that it can be achieved on more occasions.”
For his part, his coach, Diego García, highlighted the joy experienced at CD Athenas: “We are excited because it is a medal that Pablo deserves, for his dedication, effort, sacrifice and for the a lot of work accumulated, knowing how to perfectly combine his professional obligations. with sport.” This is how García defines Buendía: “He is one of those judokas that you like to train. In addition to being a good, serious person and an excellent professional, he is a humble, hard-working, constant and disciplined athlete, so we do not rule out that he can continue achieving new objectives both in the military and civilian fields.”
