Baseball
After echoes of the 54th National Baseball Series, Cuban baseball is now going through a period of apparent calm, marked by preparation for the key commitments in the international arena.
In the immediate future, the baseball tournament of the Toronto-2015 Pan-American Games especially stands out, slated for July 10th to the 26th in that Canadian city where the Cuban team will attend with the purpose of recovering the crown lost in Guadalajara 2011, in Mexico.
Heriberto Suarez, national commissioner of this sport, told in recent statements the local press that Cuba will participate in the Canadian continental fair with a luxury team, made up by leading figures to occupy a prominent space on the podium.
Parallel, Toronto 2015, based on the modernized Pan-American Baseball and Softball Center of Ajax President's Choice, the Cuban side will debut on July 11th against Colombia.
Prior to the Canadian fair, Cuba will have another vital commitment in its preparation, the match against the US national college team in the first days of July in several US cities.
Then the development of the 55th National Series will begin in late August, to finally attend a demanding challenge --from November 8 to 21-- with the first edition of Premier 12, new version of the World Championship agreed to Taipei China, while the semifinal and final rounds will be at the majestic Tokyo Dome, in the Japanese capital.
Boxing
After the end of the Regular Season in the World Series of Boxing (WSB), all 6 franchises who have qualified for the playoff have now been determined; thus, the first quarterfinal will take place on May 6th-7th, as Azerbaijan Baku Fires host Mexico's Los Guerreros.
All 10 weight categories will compete during 2 nights, and if there is a draw after every bout has been completed, a tiebreaker bout in the Light flyweight (49 kg) division will determine the winner.
Azerbaijan finished 2nd in Group B with 10 wins from 14 matches, while Mexico overtook Ukraine Otamans in the last week of the group stages to qualify 3rd in Group A with the same record as the Baku Fires.
Whichever teams wins will travel to Season IV Champions Cuba's Los Domadores in the semi-finals on May 21st-22nd, following the same format as the quarter-finals, with the tiebreaker at Flyweight (52 kg).
The 2nd quarter-final will take place on May 10th-11th where Russian Boxing Team, which goes 2nd in Group A with 10 wins out of 14 matches, will host Italia Thunder across 2 legs, and the Tie-Breaker Bout will take place at Light welterweight (64 kg) if required.
The winners of both semi-finals will meet in the WSB Season V Final, across 10 bouts held over 2 nights with the Tie-Breaker Bout at Bantamweight (56 kg).
World Series of Boxing (WSB) Season IV champions Cuba's Los Domadores continued their dominance in the 5th installment of the competition with a 5-0 home win over Ukraine's Otamans.
Chess
The Chinese team gave Cuba its 4th defeat in a row 1-3 at the World Team Chess Championship based in the city of Tsakhkadzor, Armenia.
Cubans Dominguez and Quesada drew their matches against rivals that average over 2,700 ELO points, but Bruzon and Gonzalez couldn't avoid being overwhelmed.
Previously, Cuba lost 1.5-2.5 versus India and suffered its 3rd loss in line, when 2 days remain for the end of the tournament.
On the first board, Leinier Dominguez (2 729 ELO points) drew with white pieces with Pentala Harikrishna (2731) in just 27 moves.
His team-mates Lazaro Bruzon (2691) and Yuniesky Quesada (2629) also signed peace with Panayappan Sethuraman (2634) and Krishnan Sasikiran (2654), respectively.
After 8 days, Ukraine and China shared the top with 11 points, escorted by Cuba, Israel, Armenia, India and Hungary, all with 7 units. The standings are completed with the United States and Russia (6) and Egypt (1).
The Medals at Toronto 2015
The medals to be awarded to the top athletes competing at the Toronto-2015 Pan-Am/Parapan Am Games were designed and produced by one of the largest and most versatile mints in the world, the Royal Canadian Mint.
As the Official Medals Design and Production Supplier for the Games, the Royal Canadian Mint will produce 4,283 competition medals and 15,664 participation medals.
Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corporation, the Official Mining and Metals Supplier for the medals, sourced the metal from across the Americas: copper from its Zaldivar mine in Chile, silver from its Pueblo Viejo mine in the Dominican Republic and gold from its Hemlo mine in Ontario.
The competition medals were on a temporary exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum last March, and during the Games, they will be available for public viewing at the Royal Canadian Mint exhibition space at CIBC Pan-Am Park.
