Cuba Triumph in Doha: Full List of World 2015 Amateur Champions
The 2015 World Boxing Championships ended in Doha, Qatar with 4 golds for Cuba, 2 for Russia and one apiece for Azerbaijan, France, Ireland and Morocco, with the latter two making history with their first ever AIBA World golds.
Cuban flyweight Yosbany Veitia and European Games Champion Elvin Mamishzada displayed similar game-plans early on in the fight, but it was the Azeri who’s patient tactics paid off. Veitia was left chasing the match, and Mamishzada chose his moments well to precision counter and take the title.
Defending World Champion Lazaro Alvarez started cautiously against unbeaten Azeri Albert Selimov. With the Selimov struggling to get close enough to the Cuban to threaten, he was cut at the end of the second round, leaving the referee no choice but to award a technical knockout - and deserved third World Championship gold - to Alvarez.
Irish light heavyweight Joe Ward presented Julio la Cruz with the biggest test of his Doha campaign so far, but the AIBA Boxer of the Year looked focused on a third successive world title. After the Cuban captain took the first two rounds, Ward’s late rally wasn’t enough, and la Cruz, with his champion material throughout the tournament, retained the gold in style.
The winners in Doha:
49 kg: Joahnys Oscar Argilagos Perez, Cuba
52 kg: Elvin Mamishzada, Azerbaijan
56 kg: Michael Conlan, Ireland
60 kg: Lazaro Alvarez, Cuba
64 kg: Vitaly Dunaytsev, Russia
69 kg: Mohammed Rabii, Morocco
75 kg: Arlen Lopez, Cuba
81 kg: Julio Cesar La Cruz, Cuba
91 kg: Evgeny Tishchenko, Russia
+91 kg: Tony Yoka, France
Baseball
Cuba announced the team that will participate in the World Baseball Championship Premier 12, called from November 8th to the 21st in several cities of Taipei China and Japan.
Coached by Victor Mesa, the squad is made up of three catchers, seven infielders, five outfielders and 13 pitchers, and five athletes that will be in reserve, according to the National Baseball Commission.
Osvaldo Vazquez, Yosvani Alarcon and Frank Camilo Morejón will be behind the plate, while Yasiel Santoya, Alexander Malleta, Yorbis Borroto, Yordan Manduley, Yurisbel Gracial, Yulieski Gourriel and Rudy Reyes will defend the infield.
The slugger Alfredo Despaigne, who is currently involved in the postseason of the Japanese professional circuit, highlights in the outfield, which also includes Julio Pablo Martinez, Styler Hernandez, Lourdes Y. Gourriel and Yunieski Gourriel.
Finally, the pitching staff is made up of Yosvani Torres, Yoanni Yera (L), Danny Betancourt, Freddy Asiel Alvarez, Frank Monthiet, Alberto Bicet, Yoalkis Cruz, Jonder Martínez, Norberto Gonzalez (L), Livan Moinelo (L), Yunier Cano, Jose Angel Garcia and Hector Manuel Mendoza.
These players will be training from October 28 at the Latinoamericano stadium in Havana, and later they will travel to South Korea to play a match with the team of that country.
The pre-match preparation will include five reserve players who are catcher Yulexis La Rosa, infielders Guillermo Aviles and Yunior Paumier, along with pitchers Miguel Lahera and Yadier Hechavarría.
Cuba will debut in the World Baseball Championship Premier 12 on November 10 against Canada, in match corresponding to group A, and then will face Netherlands, Puerto Rico, host Taipei China and Italy.
The demanding group B includes Japan and USA, 1st and 2 nd in that order of the world ranking, plus Dominican Republic -WBC 2013 monarch-, South Korea, Mexico and Venezuela.
FIFA U-17 World Cup at about to Open in Chile
It is a fact, 24 teams, 504 players and an extensive calendar from October 17 to November 8 comprise the FIFA U-17 World Cup which begins on Saturday at the National Stadium in Santiago de Chile.
The opening date will not be, however, a simple day of ceremonies and speeches. On the contrary, besides the main course for locals, with the Chile-Croatia match, three matches in Group A are settled.
There will be watchful eyes on the Nigeria-United States match as the Africans are the current champs in the category and come with expectations to repeat the result. Brazil-South Korea and England-Guinea will also be interesting games.
Nigerians will debut hours before the match Chile-Croatia on the same stage of the National Stadium. Emmanuel Amuneke, former player of FC Barcelona, will be in charge of all the African super eagles.
Four times champions at this level, they have the ambition to regain the title in the final of the competition, to be held in the beautiful resort of Vina del Mar, on November 8.
The idea is to hang another trophy in their showcases that already account for China 1985, Japan 1993, South Korea 2007 and United Arab Emirates 2013, where they defeated Mexico in the final.
Apart from names such as Luca Zidane, the smallest of Zizou Dynasty, the former French star of Real Madrid, Chile will be a place that will not leave indifferent headhunters.
The U-17 soccer cup also has a group of death. This is the C key, that includes Mexico, runner-up in the previous competition and twice champion, which will match Germany, Argentina and Australia, in the city of Chillan.
