Winning is never easy, but confirming yourself is even less so, especially if you do it five times in a row. At Sakura Judo in Ponte San Giovanni the coup was successful. The Perugian team won the National Championship of the Csen promotion body for the fifth consecutive edition (2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024). A record-breaking edition, the 39th, the one organized by Maestro Franco Penna, national manager of the Csen Judo sector, and his staff starting from Maestro Roberto Fortunati and Rolando Innamorati, who saw him climb onto the tatami of the Play Hall in Riccione well
In total 1,500 athletes from all over the peninsula, for almost 150 teams. The winners, as already mentioned, were the boys from Ponte San Giovanni who dominated the final ranking with 360 points and preceded Judo Amiatino and Sakura Osimo on the podium. An exciting two days, which began already in the Youth Grand Prix test (reserved for pre-competitive classes), where Maestro Roberto Sabatini’s company placed fifth. Then it was the turn of the athletes, whose sum of the categories allowed them to aspire to the National Absolute Trophy, with the Beginners’ race (Under 13 and Under 15) on Saturday afternoon where the Perugian team finished in eighth place with 60 points, and then moving on to Sunday in which the protagonists were the Cadets (Under 18), the Under 23s, the Seniors (Under 35) and the Masters (Over 35), a day in which they 300 points were achieved, and the consequent assignment of the daily title, and the most coveted one: the Absolute, with a 138 point difference on the second place. An emotional moment, as always, when Maestro Penna handed over the cups that sanctioned this historic “manita” into the hands of maestro Roberto Sabatini (who founded Sakura 43 years ago).
“We closed the tournament with 17 gold medals, 9 silver and 16 bronze, plus 4 fifth and 3 seventh places – comments Maestro Sabatini – expressing good judo from every point of view, from the youngest to the oldest experts. We brought important medals with very young people and rookies, with the Seniors, the Cadets, and the Under 23s as well as with the Masters, male and female. The contribution of the group of technicians was also very important, many of whom also chose to fight and all of whom medaled. A big thank you goes to all the athletes because once again, even those who were not in optimal conditions, became positive protagonists by winning precious points and highlighting the incredible group that is this club, thanks also to those who got on the tatami but was not able to express itself at its best, and to all the friends with whom we collaborate and grow on a daily basis, such as the Judo Club of Foligno and Città della Pieve, J-Etic and Cus Perugia, I would also like to underline how in this edition we also managed to have parents and children on the tatami, both generations competing. I also want to thank all the Csen Judo organizational staff, who did their best in managing the two days of competition.”
The satisfaction for all the management staff of Sakura is immense, which brings another very important title to the hamlet of Ponte San Giovanni, and therefore to the municipality of Perugia, starting from the president Daniele Calzoni, passing through Roberto and Gianni Mastriforti, Antonio and Andrea Liotta , Federico Sabatini, Michele Baldassarri and Luciano Todini.
All participants in the enterprise. First place: Michele Baldassarri, Lorenzo Bruni, Francesco Brunori, Federica Fioriti, Federica Faraone, Letizia Mencarelli, Giovanni Garofalo, Francesca Sabatini, Edoardo Mastriforti, Ilario Mancini, Fabio Persichetti, Shamil Khamitov, Serena Filegi, Roberta Schiavina, Samira Convito, Giulia Ceccaroni , Leonardo Bordini. Second place: Samuele Vitali, Anita Alunni, Matteo Alunni, Alessandro Davoli, Diliane Ercolani Barbosa, Sabrina Sardano, Dante Ceccaroni, Letizia Ceci, Vittorio Massimilla. Third place: Daniele Calzoni, Federico Sabatini, Eduardo Picciolini, Giacomo Borgioni, Andrea Cruciani, Davide Formiconi, Chiara Persichini, Tommaso Marchesi, Giulia Barbieri, Gloria Fiordelmondo, Michela Capezzali, Alessio Castellari, Noemi Poponesi, Natalia Branchini, Camilla Giovi, Hicham Namiq . Fifth and seventh places: Maddalena Cocco, Chiara d’Antonio, Yeva Bila, Serena Poli, Ana Lara Ercolani Texeira, Tommaso Maglio, Manuel Palermo Also competing: Matteo de Fazio, Luca Simone, Luca Panciroli, Natan Zdwitowiecki, Alessio Prota and Giulio Pierandrei .
