Photo taken from Facebook
Havana, April 12 (JIT).- Cuba was left out of the distribution of Olympic quotas for teams that take place in the Pan American Archery Championship in Medellín 2024, in Colombia, where only the owner of the men’s ticket remains to be defined.
In a particularly complicated match, the men’s recurve bow, led by Hugo Franco, fell 3-5 points against the representative of Mexico, ninth in the world ranking, but demanding the maximum to preserve their chances of reaching the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
«We started by winning the first set and then tied the second. “It has been a long time since we managed to score three points against the Mexicans,” coach Reiter Téllez told JIT, partly satisfied with what was shown by the trio completed by Juan José Santiesteban and Javier Vega.
“We did not meet the goal of winning the Olympic place, but the way we saw the boys today leaves me satisfied,” confessed the coach, who has managed to consolidate the group by “expressing” the individual strengths of each member.
Regarding the performance, he agreed with the rest of the group of the Cuban Archery Federation in recognizing Hugo’s attitude throughout the contest.
Despite the complex personal situation due to the death of his father during the competition, the man from Pinar del Río was an important support for the team to improve the national record in the double lap at 70 meters.
«Here and at the Pan American Games in Santiago de Chile he had to face difficult moments and showed dedication, discipline and love for his sport. “He maintains great optimism to shoot arrows in the mixed team event and in the individual event, his last presentations here,” acknowledged Reiter, grateful for having him under his command.
This Wednesday, Hugo achieved 674 units in the double lap at 70 meters, to be only three lines away from the Cuban individual record for that instance, which he maintains in his possession.
In the team competition, the island’s men achieved a 6-0 points victory over Peru before falling to the Aztecs, who also fell by the wayside.
Only the winner of the continental event will enter next summer’s contest in the French capital, so that possibility now appears on the horizon of Canadians and Colombians, animators of the final agreed for Sunday.
In the women’s competition, the Cubans also started on the right foot. Larissa Pagán, Yailín Paredes and Maydenia Sarduy joined forces to defeat El Salvador 6-2, but moments later they capitulated with a similar score against Brazil to say goodbye to the Olympic dream.
The Mexicans managed to advance to the dispute for the scepter, but since they have a safe space in the upcoming call under the five rings, the tickets were in the hands of the Americans, who complete the poster for the final.
2024-04-12 17:24:16
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