The participation of Sampaio and Fonseca follows to those of Catarina Costa (-48 kg) and Miguel Gago (-66 kg), eliminated in the debut, by Otari Kvatidze (-73 kg), seventh classified, by João Fernando (-81 kg), ninth, and from Taís Pina (-70 kg), who competed in recent days.
Patrícia Sampaio (-78 kg) and Jorge Fonseca (-100 kg) are, this Wednesday, the great hope of Portugal to leave with medals in the world of Judo in Budapest, with the Olympic bronzes to close the Portuguese participation.
Sampaio, European title champion, a medal won in April in Podgorica, is in a career glowing phase after being an Olympic bronze medal in Paris2024.
After the games, the judoka of Tomar was already able to be champion at the difficult Grand Slam of Paris in February, one of the most prestigious tournaments of the world circuit, and in April became European champion.
The judoka of the Gualdim Pais Philharmonic Society, which is the first standard head in -78 kg, begins the competition, this Wednesday, at Lásszló PAPP Arena in the second round, against Croatian Petruunjela Pavic, 35th in the world, to whom he always won, in seven fights.
Already Jorge Fonseca, bronze medal in Tokyo2020 and world champion in 2019 and 2021, the only Portuguese with gold in worlds, is, at 32, in a less consistent phase of his career, but with the judoka everything is possible.
Fonseca, who is not standard, may have the counterters of the drawAlthough it has its debut in the competition against an opponent without great international results, the Frenchman Khuslen Munkhuu.
If he exceeds the first round, Fonseca will have to fight Dzhafar Kostoev from the United Arab Emirates and sixth in the world ranking.
The participation of Sampaio and Fonseca follows to those of Catarina Costa (-48 kg) and Miguel Gago (-66 kg), eliminated in the debut, by Otari Kvatidze (-73 kg), seventh classified, from (-81 kg), ninth, and Taís Pina (-70 kg), ninth, who competed in recent days.
