Olympic Dreams for Salvadoran Judoka Studying at HUSS

Diego Calix, a Salvadoran judoka, began his studies at the Hungarian University of Sports Science (HUSS) last year and has since made significant progress in the world judo rankings.

This year, Calix completed his first year in the BA coaching programme at HUSS. The 25-year-old athlete from El Salvador is a recipient of the Stipendium Hungaricum Sports Scholarship programme, which supports higher education studies for international athletes with outstanding achievements.

Competing in the 66 kg weight category, Calix had already spent some time training in Europe prior to joining HUSS, working out in southern Spain. However, he had yet to achieve major results – remaining outside the world’s top 100 and having never competed in a World Tour event before 2023.

Now, he is ranked 44th in the world. His performance at this year’s Pan-American–Oceania Championships was a breakthrough, earning a silver medal, ultimately losing in the final to a much higher-ranked Brazilian opponent.

“I coach him, he trains with us once a week, and the rest of the time he trains with Honvéd,” said Dr Endre Németh, Head of the Department of Combat Sports at HUSS. “He is the best judoka in El Salvador, supported by his national federation. The International Judo Federation also backs him by covering the full costs for two international competitions of his choice each year, although he hasn’t taken advantage of this opportunity yet. He’s a cheerful, easy-going young man with exceptional timing. Just two weeks after his entrance exam at HUSS, he nearly won a medal at the Zagreb Grand Prix, finishing seventh after being defeated by fellow HUSS student Bálint Gombás. We do everything we can to support and help him, and I’m confident that if he stays injury-free, he will be at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. That’s his goal, and he’s working hard toward it. I recently ran into him at the World Judo Championships at the Papp László Budapest Sport Arena, while chatting with Gergely Nerpel, and we even took a photo together.”

18 Jun 2025