Cuban judoka Andy Granda loses bronze medal match at the Olympics in Paris.

Cuban judoka Andy Granda failed to secure a medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics, falling just short of bronze in the men's +100 kg category.

The world champion of Tashkent 2022 lost the bronze medal match against the Tajik Temur Rakhimov, ranked number 3 in the world, by Waza-ari, according to the site olympics.com.

At 32 years old, Granda bids farewell to the possibility of obtaining his first Olympic medal.

Ranking number 5 in the world, Granda began his participation in Paris 2024 with a victory by ippon against Marvin Gadeau from Monaco in the round of 16.

However, in the quarterfinals, he fell to the Japanese Saito Tatsuru by a Waza-ari, which led him to the repechage round.

At this stage, Granda achieved a victory by ippon against Ushangi Kokauri from Azerbaijan, thus earning the opportunity to compete for the bronze.

Despite the defeat in the bronze match, Granda has shown a notable improvement compared to his performance at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, where he finished in 17th place in the same category.

Granda has had a distinguished career in international judo. In 2022, he won the gold medal at the Judo World Championship in Tashkent, marking an important milestone in his career.

In addition, in 2023, he won the bronze medal at the Grand Slam in Tashkent. Also, at the Judo World Championship in Doha 2023, Granda contributed to the Cuban medal count by finishing his participation with another medal.

His consistency and success led him to be nominated as Judoka of the Year by the International Judo Federation in 2023.

As of now, the Cuban delegation to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games is having a poor performance. Currently, Cuba has secured only a bronze medal with boxer Erislandy Álvarez, which could improve if he wins his next fight.