The Cuban squad that participates in the first edition of the Baseball5 World Cup defeated Chinese Taipei this Saturday (8-0/8-3) and concluded its passage through the Super Round of the event held in Mexico without defeat, where they will discuss the crown with one less exponent in their ranks after it was confirmed the low by Elianni Castellanos.
According to the digital media JIT, the athlete left the delegation on Friday night “in a show of total disrespect for the commitment made.” This is the first negative note for the entourage since they arrived on Aztec soil, where they have sailed without defeat and destroyed their rivals during all phases of the world battle.
Castellanos contributed to this collective performance as the starting third baseman from the first game of the World Cup, but just hours before playing the final he decided to take another course. Now, presumably, he will try to cross the border with the United States, the route that more than 200,000 Cubans have used to emigrate in recent months.
In accordance with published information by the journalist Yasel Porto on the site specialized in baseball, Swing Complete, Castellanos was on Friday at the delegation’s hotel, where a car picked her up.
“Several of them stayed analyzing the final match this Saturday and she and others went to the hotel. Shortly after being in it, she made the decision to leave there and go in a car that went to pick her up,” another member of the team told Porto, who apparently preferred not to reveal his identity, since he did not his name is mentioned in Swing Complete’s note.
Despite the absence of Elianni Castellanos, the Cuban team is favorite to defeat Japan in the final and win the first world crown in dispute in the new discipline. Before traveling to Mexico, the squad had to replace Yanisel Medina, Osvaldo Dueñas and Haila González, included in the original payroll and later separated for testing positive for Covid-19.
Elianni Castellanos joins the long list of Cuban athletes who have decided to leave delegations abroad this year. Almost fifty athletes have opted for this route, including several prominent names such as Olympic champions Fernando Dayán Jorge (canoeing) and Ismael Borrero (wrestling).
