Brazilian judoka Andressa Fernandes was authorized to travel to Beijing on Thursday to replace her teammate Erika Miranda, who had to withdraw from the match on the upcoming Olympic Games due to a knee injury.
Fernandes used to have problems to participate in the Beijing Olympics. When Miranda's injury was announced, the Brazilian Judo Confederation decided not to send Fernandes, who was the reserve judoka, to the competition.
Fernandes and many other influential judokas in Brazil protested about the decision, saying that a Brazilian handball player had been replaced by his reserve, and if a handball player could adapt to the time zone, so did any other athlete.
Rogerio Sampaio, the champion of 1992 judo Olympic, said Erika Miranda was injured on July 22, before the judo team left Brazil, "things might have been easier if Erika Miranda was called back earlier."
(Xinhua News Agency August 8, 2008)