Vanessa Fernanda Chala Minda

Vanessa Fernanda Chalá Minda (born 13 March 1990) is an Ecuadorian judoka. She is a gold medalist at the South American Games and a two-time gold medalist at the Pan American Judo Championships. She is also a bronze medalist at the Pan American Games.

Career

Chalá won one of the bronze medals in the women's 70kg event at the 2014 Pan American Judo Championships held in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

Chalá won a bronze medal in the women's 78kg event at the 2018 Pan American Judo Championships held in San José, Costa Rica. In the same year, she won the gold medal in her event at the South American Games held in Cochabamba, Bolivia.

At the 2019 Pan American Games held in Lima, Peru, Chalá won one of the bronze medals in the women's 78kg event. She defeated Liliana Cárdenas of Mexico in her bronze medal match. She won the gold medal in her event at the 2020 Pan American Judo Championships held in Guadalajara, Mexico.

In 2021, Chalá competed in the women's 78 kg event at the Judo World Masters held in Doha, Qatar. A few months later, she won one of the bronze medals in her event at the 2021 Judo Grand Slam Antalya held in Antalya, Turkey. In April 2021, she won the gold medal in her event at the 2021 Pan American Judo Championships held in Guadalajara, Mexico. In June 2021, she competed in the women's 78kg event at the World Judo Championships held in Budapest, Hungary where she was eliminated in her first match.

Chalá represented Ecuador at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. She competed in the women's 78kg event where she was eliminated in her first match.

She won a bronze medal in her event at both the 2023 Pan American-Oceania Judo Championships held in Calgary, Canada and the 2024 Pan American-Oceania Judo Championships held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Achievements

Year Tournament Place Weight class 2014 Pan American Championships 3rd −70 kg 2018 Pan American Championships 3rd −78 kg South American Games 1st –78 kg 2019 Pan American Games 3rd –78 kg 2020 Pan American Championships 1st −78 kg 2021 Pan American Championships 1st −78 kg 2023 Pan American-Oceania Judo Championships 3rd −78 kg 2024 Pan American-Oceania Judo Championships 3rd −78 kg