Baseball
Third baseman Yulieski Gourriel stole the show on Tuesday at the Industriales' 4-1 victory over Pinar del Río to put the capital's team just one win to reach the final of the 53rd Cuban Baseball Series.
Before more than 50,000 fans concentrated in the capital's Latinoamericano Stadium, Gourriel displayed his talent to bind a single and a double in 4 at-bats, with 3 RBIs, just 75% of those made by his team, not to mention he trailed all colleagues he found on bases and stole 1 base.
The clash became an extraordinary pitching duel between rookie right-handed David Mena, for Industriales, and skilled Osmar Carrero, but neither of them had the power of decision and Mena allowed 1 run before handing the mound to lefty Yohandri Portal, winner of the stop while Carrero allowed only 2 hits in 5 and 2/3 innings until he felt discomfort in his elbow and had to leave in the 6th; reliever Jesus Guerra took the loss.
Alexander Rodriguez, who was supported by Raiko Olivares' and Alexander Malleta's offensive, exceptionally closed for the winners.
Wrestling
The hard-working and professional excellence of the Cuban wrestling coach, Erick León, was highlighted by media and personalities in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where the Caribbean expert began with a group of children attracted to this sport and the results began to reap the rewards, as Argentina achieved 6 medals at the recent Odesur Games.
When Erick came to Buenos Aires 6 years ago, the local national team was virtually dismantled by the withdrawal of its figures, and the lack of proper jobs to replace those who said goodbye to the competition mattress changed dramatically for the better, said the local press.
And talking about wrestling, Cuba's wrestling star, Mijaín Lopez, confessed to being excited to participate in the Central American qualifier to be held from tomorrow in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The lid awards 8 tickets by category for the regional fair in November in Veracruz, and will become the first foreign competition of the season for the extra super-complete star after his coronation in London Olympics 2012.
Taekwondo
The taekwondo qualifying tournament for the Central American and Caribbean Games, to be held in November in Veracruz, Mexico, will start tomorrow, in both sexes, with the participation of 160 competitors in the Dominican Republic.
The event, which will host the main taekwondo athletes of the area, grants 10 tickets per division in the men's category, for a total of 80 seats, and 8 berths (64) to the women's sector, according to the digital site www.mastaekwondo.com.
72 women and 88 men, among which stands the Cuban team, 2013 world runner- that seeks to qualify its 16 representatives, will meet together at the Volleyball Palace of Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center, in Santo Domingo, Carlos Banasco, Cuban national commissioner of the discipline, told ACN.
The men are headed by Rafael Alba, world champion in the 87 kilos, and Robelis Despaigne (+87), London 2012 bronze medalist, while the women are led by the universal champion Glehnis Hernández (73).
The men's team is also made up by the twins Osvaldo (58) and Ernesto Llorén (63), Rafael Solís (54), Yosbel Pérez (68), José Ángel Cobas (74) and Erlandis Mustelier (80).
Meanwhile, the women's squad is completed by Yosmari Ferrer (46), Yania Aguirre (49), Yamicel Núnez (53), Yilena Gravel (57), Nidia Muñoz (62), Hilda Benitez (67) and Lisveli Ferran (73).
After completion of the qualifying tournament, the Dominican nation will host from April 3rd to 6th the Taekwondo Open, but the Cuban possible involvement has not yet been confirmed, which would be very helpful for the preparation towards the Central Caribbean competition.
Karate
Athletes from 13 countries will participate from today Wednesday until Friday 4th at the Central American and Caribbean Karate Do Championship, located in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
Karatecas of Colombia, Puerto Rico, Belize, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama, Venezuela and the host country, will seek their qualification berths for the Central American and Caribbean Games in November in Veracruz, said the president of the Mexican Federation of Karate Do and Martial Arts, Roberto Hernández, who noted that in parallel to this event, the IV Central American Children and Youth Championship Karate Do will be held from today until April 6th in the same city.
IOC
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has launched today an a free on-line educational platform called MOOC (Massive Open On-line Course) to facilitate the training of athletes and fits them in well with their careers.
The initiative aims to assist athletes while they try to adjust their physical trainings with their academic preparation.
FIFA Brazil-2014
Tickets remain for only 7 of the 64 World Cup matches, said in Berna, Switzerland, FIFA's Marketing Director, Thierry Weil, who noted that more than 2.5 million tickets have been already sold for the soccer's premier event in Brazil 2014.
FIFA says the World Cup in Brazil is the most successful tournament in terms of ticket requests, and most matches were quickly sold out after tickets became available on March 12th.
The next sales phase opens on April 15th and the only authorize body to sell tickets is www.fifa.com.
