Finally a trip abroad for the boys Cus Siena Judo after a couple of years of shiai competitions held only on the national circuit.
So do the three cadets Emma and Gaia Nastasi e Oscar Capezzuoli, accompanied by the teacher Simone Crestishowed up in Slovenj Gradec, a town in Slovenia located east of Ljubljana, to participate in the important international Koroska Open tournament. 19 participating nations with 840 judoka, a spectacle to see the tatami full of colors and joy.
The first to get on the tatami is Oscar who immediately has to deal with the emotion of being at his first international tournament: he finds himself facing a Hungarian athlete who initially manages to constantly anticipate the intentions of the Sienese, who however, once having taken his measures, he manages to throw his opponent and then pin him to the ground, bringing home the victory; in the second match he finds a German athlete who this time manages to harness the Cussino judoka to the end who, although narrowly, is forced to give way.
Only after a wait of about four hours does Gaia have her first match and she immediately finds herself faced with an obstacle that seems insurmountable given that she is a girl from the Austrian national team, but our athlete manages to manage the situation as best as possible and win even sooner. the meeting with two splendid wazari is the limit! Following the momentum of this first match, she also beats the Swiss representative with the same score, only to then stop in the semi-final match against a Hungarian girl due to a strangulation suffered. In the match valid for the bronze with the representative of Germany she starts with determination and aggression, but is forced to leave the medal in the hands of her opponent again due to a strangulation: many good indications for her but also something to reflect on.
Finally the moment also arrives for the second twin, Emma, who in turn finds herself facing a representative of the Austrian national team but the outcome of the meeting is the same as for her sister Gaia, Emma also takes it home with two splendid attacks that decree the ippon! Unfortunately in the second match the situation is reversed, the Hungarian judoka that Cussina finds herself facing turns out to be too strong and this time it is Emma who has to suffer the ippon from the girl who will then win the category. In the repechages the Sienese athlete starts with the right gear and confidently beats the representative of Switzerland, and therefore she too is in the match valid for the lowest step of the podium: competing for the medal is the English athlete Ewing who she is immediately put in difficulty by our Emma, who however is surprised halfway through the match with a strangulation action and like her twin is forced to accept a defeat that leaves a bit of a bad taste in the mouth.
A performance by the three Sienese athletes, all in their first international experience in a tournament of this caliber, which makes it clear that they have the potential and the possibility of doing well even at these levelsgaining some experience the next time they show up for an appointment like this they will certainly be able to leave an even more tangible mark.
To this end, the boys remained the day after the competition to complete four hours of training, carrying out an innumerable series of unrefereeed matches with all the athletes who were competing the day before, thus testing their abilities with greater serenity and studying their qualities. of their opponents, trying to understand where to improve and what good things they can steal from others.
