Vanessa Mballa grabs gold at Judo Africa Open

Vanessa Hortense Mballa Atangana has taken a great leap towards qualifying for the Rio 2016 Olympics by winning gold at the just ended judo Africa Open which took place in the Mauritius Island on November 8th and 9th.

She beat the reigning African champion, Ouallal Kaouthar of Algeria to gain more than 200 points crucial for qualification for the Olympic Games to take place in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

She also won 2000 dollars in the process that is about FCFA 1.000.000. The two other Cameroonian participants at the continental open; Sitcheteng Paule and Wezeu Helene lost in the bronze finals in the -57 kg and -63kg respectively.

According to the Secretary General of the Cameroon Judo Federation, Kamsu Kom Tekam, only girls were chosen to take part in the continental open because they were better placed on the judo world rankings than the boys.

More so, the boys took part in the world champion and didn’t do well but will have the opportunity to make up during the upcoming African championships to take place in Gabon.

Over 130 athletes from 26 countries took part in the Africa Open in the heart of Port Louis-Mauritius. 43 African athletes were sponsored by the International judo federation.

At the end of the competition, Algeria who participated with 19 athletes, came first on the medal ranking, followed by Britain and Ecuador in the second and third positions respectively.