Brazils Mariana Silva surprises the elite towards semi finals

Only one surprise in the semi final for women, the rest is by the book. Brazil’s Mariana Silva achieved to book victories over Yarden Gerbi in the quarter final, Martyna Trajdos in the 1/8 final and Szandra Szogedi in the first round.

The Brazilian wasn’t expected by the bookies, but is in line with the women’s team where all four women so far proceeded to the final block. Mariana Silva won bronze at the Pan American Games in Toronto in 2015. The middleweight won a few World Cups starting in 2014 in Buenos Aires and prolonged that title in 2015. In 2015 Silva won the World Military Games in 2015 in Mungyeong. She won silver at the Grand Prix in Samsun and defeated the 2013 World Champion Gerbi and 2015 European Champion Trajdos today. So Silva took care of both sensations. Gerbi will get a repechage match against Yang Junxia (CHN). In the semi final Silva will fight World Champion Tina Trstenjak (SLO) who’s the favourite although both never fought eachother and with the cariocas in the back it’s going to be wild. The cool Trstenjak will have to give her best to keep the Olympic title in Slovenia as Urska Zolnir, now coach, won the title in London. The other semi final is between Clarisse Agbegnenou of France vs Miku Tashiru of Japan. Agbegnenou, the 2014 World Champion has a track record of 5-0 against the Japanese is the favourite to make it to the final.

In the repechage Gerbi vs Yang and Dutch Anicka van Emden who lost to Agbegnenou will fight Austrian Kathrin Unterwurzacher. With Gerbi, Agbegnenou and Trstenjak we still have the World Champions of this Olympic cycle in the race for the medals.