Four Cuban karate fighters have left the team while they were in Guatemala. As confirmed Full Swing this MondayThey are Darío Díaz, Yaidel Hernández, Sunilda Ventosa and Gerardo Almenares, almost half of the group made up of nine athletes and the coach, Eliecer Llamos.
All of them arrived in Guatemala last Wednesday to carry out “a training base” in the cities of Escuintla and Mazatenango.
The publication indicates that the athletes “decided to leave the group before the end of the event” that began this Sunday, will end on the 20th and will serve as preparation for the Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador in 2023.
The team’s trip was financed by the Executive Committee of the Guatemalan Olympic Committee with 11,186.12 dollars, so that the Cuban athletes could cover the cost of airfare, food, hydration and travel insurance.
Cuban karate fighter Elisabet Vasallo had warned in March of this year that this discipline was in “decadence.” The athlete reported through their social networks: “For a long time, generations of high-performance karate fighters, talented athletes and special conditions have been destroyed.”
The team’s trip was financed by the Executive Committee of the Guatemalan Olympic Committee with $11,186.12
The bronze medalist at the Central American and Caribbean Games Barranquilla 2018 pointed to the selection “coaches” for considering that they were not “fair or neutral” in the choice of athletes.
Although the specific day of the escape of the four karate fighters is not known, on his Facebook account, Eliecer Llamos published a message on Thursday, June 9, in which he refers to those who “for one reason or another” decided to leave them and to those who he wishes that “life smiles on them”. Of the nine who traveled to Guatemala, Vivian Prada, Baurelys Torres, Bárbara Lynn, Maikel Noriega and Lázaro Chapman remain.
Originally from Cienfuegos, Darío Díaz, one of the escapees, was selected as the best karate fighter on the island in 2020. That year he also won gold in the Cardín Cup and won the Elite National Tournament.
The karate commissioner in Cienfuegos, Bernaldo Pérez Román, highlighted the work of Yaidel Hernández, which led him to be one of the four outstanding representatives of the province.
Cuban sport is experiencing an alarming bloodletting. The flight of players has spread to other disciplines. In May, the abandonment of five members of the wrestling team was confirmed: the two-time world champion Ismael Borrero, Leonardo Herrera, Amanda Hernandez, Cristian Solenzal and Yolanda Corderoduring his stay in Mexico for the Pan American Wrestling Championship.
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