Portuguese judoka Rodrigo Lopez, aiming to score points that will allow him to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, won a bronze medal in the 60kg weight category at the Perth Open in Australia this Friday.
Although the competition is open, it is, like last year, worth points equivalent to Grand Prix points, meaning Rodrigo Lopez’s bronze will give the judoka an extra 350 points.
In Australian competition, the Benfica judoka, who has not been on the podium since March 2022, had four matches at the European Open in Prague with three wins and one defeat, this time in the quarter-finals, which lifted him into the standings. comfort.
Rodrigo Lopez, 34th in the world rankings, beat Germany’s Maximilian Heider (101st) in waza-ari, Maltese James Zara (158th) and Australia’s Joshua Katz (35th) in ippon and lost to Chong-Yu Lin. (65th place), from Taiwan.
Perth was also expected to feature Thelma Monteiro, who was provisionally registered, but the judoka suffered a left knee injury at the European Championships in Montpellier and is awaiting a report from further clinical tests.