Six Cuban taekwondokas won this Thursday quotas for the upcoming ones Panamerican Games from Santiago de Chile, during the closing day of the qualifying tournament held at the Olympic Park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
In the men’s segment, the bronze medalist at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Raphael Alba (+80 kg), Ormis Daniel Lagar (68 kg) and Yunier Alexis Noa (80 kg), according to a note published by the sports portal Hit.
Six taekwondokas qualify for Games of #Santiago2023
He also got direct quotas in the TK3 modality in both sexes. #Cuba #Taekwondo https://t.co/vRe7yY3BY9 pic.twitter.com/fS9wZkQM3H— JIT Cuban Sport (@jit_digital) March 24, 2023
The only one who did not win the ticket in the Rio de Janeiro contest was the young Akely Matos.
They were joined by Dalila Oneida Villmil (49 kg), Arlettys de la Caridad Acosta (67 kg) and Elianet María Crespo (+73 kg), who will be among the contenders for the titles of their divisions in the contest in the Chilean capital.
In the Pan American tournament, Cuba will also compete in the free modality of poomsae, through Pedro Pablo Escalona and Tania Indira Delgado, while Idalianna Quintero (65 kg) and Dayán Sosa reserved their space in the call for this sport in the Parapan American tournament. (+80kg).
The Cuban group was close to adding another ticket but its representative in the 57-kilogram division, Tamara Robles, had to abandon her fight due to injury when she had an advantage on the scoreboard, according to what Iván Fernández Quirós, president of the Cuban Taekwondo Federation, explained to the outlet. .
The federation assured that all steps will be taken before the technical committee of the Pan American Taekwondo Union (Patu) to grant her the classification, “because she is a Pan American runner-up.”
Cuban Rafael Alba goes for gold in the World Taekwondo Championship
Cuba also achieved quotas for each sex in the specialty of TK3 (team combat), which will be released beforehand at the Central Caribbean Games in San Salvador, scheduled for the middle of this year.
The group of Cuban taekwondokas that competed in the qualifying tournament plans to enter the Pan-Am Series II this weekend, which will also take place at the Olympic Park in Rio de Janeiro.
