Havana, Nov 12 (EFE) .- Cuba will bring to the Colombian city of Cali a delegation of 214 athletes who will compete in 26 disciplines in the first edition of the Junior Pan American Games, which will take place from November 25 to December 5.
Cuba will have representatives in 16 sports and many interests in the medals that will distribute athletics, boxing and wrestling, said the director of High Performance of the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (Inder), José Antonio Miranda.
The objectives of the Cuban delegation, as explained by the manager, focus on the evaluation of the prospects for the Los Angeles 2028 and Brisbane 2032 Olympic cycles, as well as the participation of various figures in the Paris 2024 event.
He also considered that there is an interesting opportunity to evaluate the rivals in the area and project athletes to the Pan American Games in Santiago de Chile 2023.
Miranda classified the qualification process for Cali 2021 as complex, first due to the impact of the covid-19 pandemic, and also due to the coincidence with the preparation stage for the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Although the Cuban delegation will be one of the largest in Cali, representatives in volleyball, tennis, softball and 3×3 basketball were left out.
Among those classified, 169 (78% of the delegation) come from the national high-performance schools and 45 from the Schools for School Sports Initiation (Eide) and academies in the country.
Sixty-one athletes are between 14 and 18 years old.
For the first edition of the Junior Pan American Games, which will bring together athletes under 23 years of age, Cuba also classified in badminton, baseball, boxing, canoeing, cycling, diving, fencing, rhythmic gymnastics, karate, weightlifting, Greco-Roman wrestling and wrestling. free.
Also swimming, artistic swimming, running and figure skating, modern pentathlon, rowing, table tennis, taekwondo, shooting, archery, triathlon, sailing and beach volleyball.
At the Cali event, 3,800 athletes from 41 countries are expected to attend.
The Junior Pan American Games will be the first great trial by fire in the new Olympic cycle that will then lead to the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago de Chile and will lead to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. EFE
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