Caracas, Venezuela.–Combat sports continue to add joy to Cuban sports, and the Games at dawn could not be different. This weekend judo and taekwondo further increased the booty of the delegation from the Greater Antilles.
At the United Nations Park National Judo Center, the Cubans won medals in each and every one of the competing divisions and closed in first place in the discipline’s medal table, with ten gold, three silver and one bronze.
The gold medals of the Saturday day were in charge of Yonathan Charón (60 kg), Maikel Oconor (66) and Héctor San Román (73), among the men; while among the women, Elidiany Martínez (52) and Yusmaris Reyes (63) were crowned. Cheila Areviche (48) and Lian Benavides (57) won the silver medals.
This Sunday, Rubén Darío Romero (81), José Alexis García (100) and Jonathan Loynaz (+100) climbed to the top of the podium, as well as Daymarelis Caballero (70) and Dayanara Curbelo (+78). Sergueis Rodríguez (90) finished in second place, while Lianet Cardona (78) was bronze.
The judo team fulfilled the commitment to dominate by country, while the top figures of the national team played the Pan American Open in Santo Domingo. Idalys Ortiz (+78), Maylín del Toro (63), Arnaes Odelín (57), Liester Cardona (100) and Orlando Polanco (66) won first place; Zamarit Gregorio (48), Maikel Mckencie and Jorge Martínez (both 81 kg) and Idelannis Gómez (70) were third.
For its part, this Sunday taekwondo, after the tension of the confrontations, gave Cuba two gold medals, one silver and the same number of bronze.
At the Bolivarian Army Military Academy, Yuniel Alexi Noa, from the 80 kg division, rose to third place; while the 19-year-old, Ángel Yaniel Fernández (68 kg), added another second place for the delegation of the Greater Antilles.
Zalarit Cortés, who ranked first in the 57 kg category, came from behind in the first round, to defeat his Venezuelan rival in the remaining two. «I really enjoyed the fight, despite having the majority of the public against it. It’s something I’m used to. I always prepare for worst case scenarios.” In addition, the Cuban affirmed, she remained focused on the match and on the indications of her coach.
Precisely, he thanked his technical team for the sacrifice and the day-to-day accompaniment. About his preparation for these and the next international tournaments that the national team will have, Cortés explained that he had several fights with high-level English and Spanish athletes.
On the other hand, regarding her victory, Arlettys Acosta, 67 kg medalist, remarked that although “it was a difficult competition”, she felt confident thanks to constant training.
These medals are added to the gold and silver medals from Saturday, which corresponded to Marlyn Pérez (49) and Akely Ramos (58), respectively. For today, the Cuban taekwondo delegation will seek medals in the modalities of traditional individual poomsae for men and women, in mixed pair freestyle and in the team competition.
2023-04-24 02:12:03
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