Francisco Prino took the silver medal in Adult Middleweight Combat in a very close final that had to go to overtime to decide the match. “I thought that in the two rounds I had taken a small advantage but it was not like that, it was tied. In the extra time, for me it was also another draw… I felt that I could win the gold medal but it got out of hand.”
After that initial discomfort due to the lost final, Francisco enjoys the great achievement he achieved in this 2022 World Cup. “The next day, it’s colder and I begin to think that I was in a final, a televised final and that I had a very worthy fight.”
The analysis of the World Runner-up also includes an evaluation of the great performance of Uruguay in this ITF World Championship. “Five Uruguayans took 7 podiums, it seems to me a very good result”. To his own silver medal must be added that of two of his students who also went to Amsterdam and brought third place in Combat and silver in Forms. “The three of us go back to our city and the three of us come back with medals.”
In addition, Francisco highlights the performance of Elias Bonardo “who came out world champion in wrestling and Carlos Gutiérrez who came out third in wrestling and first in power break.”
His view on the development and future of Taekwon-do in Uruguay is very positive. “We have a lot of work ahead of us, but Uruguayan taekwon-do is moving forward and we want it to be at a high international level in 5 years. I think we are on the right track.” He confirms that there is a lot of interest in his country for the discipline and that this World Cup has also served to increase that interest so that more people get involved, more people who “want to be there in a World Cup, in a South American, like the one that is going to take place in Salta, where we are going to prepare youth and adult teams.”
Before saying goodbye, Francisco Prino leaves “congratulations to Mauro (Beccaria, his rival in the final) for his success” and says that he dedicates his medal to his son, his family, his students and parents, “to all the from my city who were always attentive and supportive”. “I’m happy to come back and see everyone,” says Francisco, very happy with his medal already saved to take to Uruguay.