Luis Orta, the great revelation of the Greco-Roman struggle at the Tokyo Olympics, is to participate in the world championships in Belgrade this year. Photo: Reuters.

Havana, January 21 (ACN) - The Cerro Pelado-Granma International Wrestling Tournament, to be held at the Ciudad Deportiva coliseum in Havana from February 15 to 20, will be the first challenge of the current year 2023 for Cuban freestyle gladiators.

Julio Mendieta, head coach of the men's team of that specialty, told the Cuban News Agency via WhatsApp that unfortunately they will not attend the Grand Prix of France, to be held from today until Sunday, the 22nd.

The idea was to debut in that competition, but it was not possible, so we will make our competitive debut here in the national territory, in the traditional Cerro Pelado-Granma event, he added.

Referring to other issues, he said that they are confident of making their contribution at international level in the current year, in which there will be two multisport games in the American continent.

He added that the preparation will be directed first to the Central Caribbean Games in San Salvador, from June 23 to July 8, and then they will focus on the Pan American Games in Santiago de Chile, to be held from October 20 to November 5.

Regarding the results in 2022, he highlighted that last December they achieved the goal of reaching the six tickets to the Central American and Caribbean Games, in the qualifying tournament hosted by the Dominican Republic.

He highlighted that in that competition Alejandro Valdés (65 kg), Yurieski Torreblanca (86 kg), Arturo Silot (97 kg) and Reineris Salas (125 kg) won the gold medals, while Reineri Andreu (57 kg) won silver and Geandry Garzón (74 kg) won bronze.

As for the qualification to the continental multisport event in the Chilean capital, he explained that right now they still have two tickets left to obtain in the 65 and 125 kg divisions, so they already have four places assured.

He also pointed out that the remaining places will be sought in a Pan American tournament to be held in the first half of this year, which should be achieved without too many problems, he said.

The seasoned coach assured that the intention is to attend with a full team of six wrestlers to Santiago de Chile, and there try to get as many medals as possible, in tough competition with athletes from the United States and Canada, in addition to other individuals, he said.