João Neto (Judoka)
João André Pinto Neto (born December 28, 1981 in Coimbra ) is a former Portuguese judoka who was third in the world championship in 2003 and European champion in 2008.
Athletic career
João Neto fought in 1999 in the half-light weight, the weight class up to 66 kilograms. He was Portuguese junior champion and runner-up in the Portuguese championships in the adult class.
From 2000 to 2004, the 1.75 m tall Neto started in the lightweight, the weight class up to 73 kilograms. As in 1999, he was also the Portuguese junior champion in 2000 and runner-up in the Portuguese championships in the adult class. At the Junior European Championships, he finished fifth. In 2001 he was Portuguese adult champion for the first time, further lightweight titles followed in 2002 and 2003. At the 2003 European Championships in Düsseldorf, he was defeated in the quarter-finals by Spaniard Kiyoshi Uematsu , after two wins in the hope round he was defeated by Poland's Krzysztof Wilkomirski in the battle for bronze . At the 2003 World Championships in Osaka, he lost in the quarterfinals to the Russian Vitaly Makarov . With two wins in the round of hope, he reached the battle for bronze, which Neto won against Victor Bivol from the Republic of Moldova. A year later, Neto and Bivol met in the quarter-finals of the 2004 Olympic Games , after 2:01 minutes Bivol had won. In the hope round Neto defeated the Iranian Hamed Malekmohammadi in 4:50 minutes and then lost after 4:27 minutes against Jimmy Pedro from the United States. In the final statement, João Neto took seventh place.
From 2005 Neto fought in the light middleweight division, the weight class up to 81 kilograms. In 2006 he won the World Cup tournaments in Minsk and Lisbon. At the European Championships in 2006 , he finished seventh. In 2007 and 2010 Neto was the Portuguese light middleweight champion. At the European Championships in Lisbon in 2008 Neto defeated the Georgian Giorgi Baindurashvili in the quarter-finals and the Latvians Konstantins Ovcinnikovs in the semi-finals . With his final victory over the Dutchman Guillaume Elmont , Neto was European champion, the only Portuguese winner at the home European championships. Four months later, at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Neto won his first three fights through Ippon, but then lost in the quarterfinals to South Korean Kim Jae-bum through a penalty. After losing to Poland's Robert Krawczyk in the first round of hope, Neto finished ninth. Neto then went to the World Championships in 2009 and 2010 , but retired early.
Web links
- João Neto in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
- Tournament results at JudoInside.com
Footnotes
- ↑ Match balance at judoinside.com
- ↑ Fight durations according to SportsReference
- ^ Fight outcomes according to SportsReference
- ↑ Match balance at judoinside.com
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Neto, João |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Neto, João André Pinto (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Portuguese judoka |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 28, 1981 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Coimbra |