In his debut at the László Papp Sports Arena, the 25-year-old Cuban, ranked 54th, defeated Serbia’s Strahinja Buncic, ranked 25th, by Yuko, and in the third round he won by Ippon against the world’s eighth-ranked judo expert, Russia’s Murad Chopanov, European runner-up in April in Podgorica.

Polanco secured his place in the semifinals after defeating Narmamdakh Bayanmunkh, a Mongolian-born Emirati, also by Ippon, in the Pool B match.

In his next match, the Cuban will face the tough Japanese Takeshi Takeoka for a place in the final, in which the main favorite is Japan’s Hifumi Abe, two-time Olympic champion and four-time world champion.

The other Latin Americans in this category and in the women’s 52 kg category were eliminated early on, with no chance of reaching the podium.

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