Karate

Cuban karatecas Lismar Licea and Yoandra Moreno obtained gold medals at the XV Central-American and Caribbean Championship of Karate-do held in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, qualifying tournament for XXII Central-American and Caribbean Games, Veracruz 2014.

According to their coach, Francisco García Almenares, Licea first got his ticket to Veracruz and then won the title of this regional tournament by defeating 4-1 to Colombian famed Andrés Rendón, Guadalajara-2011 monarch and holder of the World Games Cali-2013 while Moreno won in more than 68 kg in a lid dominated by Venezuela with 6-7-6.

Cuban squad also won through its women representatives of Yanelsis Góngora (55), Yanet Franquiz (61), and Cirelis Martinez (68), while Leodán Hernández (67), Lester Zamora (75), Dennis Pelayo (84) Jander and Guillermo Tiril (over 84), among men, where Franquiz and Gongora took silver and Martinez, Tiril and the men's team closed with bronze.

The event featured 105 contestants from Colombia, Belize, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama, Venezuela and the hosts, and was hosted at Maria Dolores Hotel.

Boxing

The teams of Kazakhstan's Astana Arlans and Baku Fires of Azerbaijan acceded to the semifinal of the World Series of Boxing while Russia's and Cuba's Los Domadores are one step away from achieving it.

The Kazakhs, defending monarchs, sealed with global balance of 8-2 after sweeping 5-0 to Germany.

Cuba blanked the USA Knockouts last Friday and comes up again next Saturday in the U.S. city of Salem in the 49, 56, 64, 75 and 91 kilos.

The semifinal will be on April 25th and May 2nd, while the struggle for the crown is agreed for May 30th and 31st at the stage yet undefined.

Wrestling

Cuba reaffirmed its status as the regional power in wrestling to win the Greco-Roman and free styles modes of male and free for women at the Wrestling Tournament held at the Pedrín Zorrilla Coliseum of San Juan, Puerto Rico, a Veracruz-2014 qualifier.

Aleyner Hernández at 57 kilos, Luis Esteban Quintana, 74 kg, Abraham Jesus Coyendo, 97 kilos, and Andres Ramos Dinza at 125 kilos, took  gold medals while Lázaro Dayron in the 65 kg and Luis Mario Miranda at 86 closed with bronze in free style.

Thus, Cuba classified all its athletes to Veracruz-2014 and suffered only 3 casualties, with the defection of international referee Yorkiel Pérez Riverón, and female athlete, Aray Saenz, bronze at 48 kilos in free style, and Pedro Isaac Mulens, global plurimedallist and Guadalajara 2011 champion in the 66 kg., Greco-Roman style, and who didn't even go to the medical examination, the organizing committee told AFP.

Cuba dominated the overall score with 166 points, followed by Venezuela with 138, Colombia 133, Puerto Rico 109, and Mexico 107.

Volleyball

At least 12 Cuban players will be included in next season men's teams of the Mexican Volleyball League, which will start later this 2014, it was officially said in Mexico City.

Jesus Perales Navarro and Ariel Sáenz, presidents of the FIVB-NORCECA Federations of Indoors Volleyball of Mexico and Cuba, signed a historic agreement that will seek to raise the level of the sport in both countries.

The agreement gives full responsibility to both federations to share experiences to improve their level of volleyball, including the possibility to insert the Cuban coaches, and depending on the results, the experience will be extended to the insertion of women, and the beach volleyball mode.
Under the agreement, the Cuban reinforcements will remain in Mexico until 2015, and Mexico will take care of their transfer, accommodation, food and security.

Chess

Cuban GM Leinier Dominguez faces with black pieces today Monday his Russian counterpart Anton Shomoev in the 1st round of the Team Championship of that country, to be held at 7 rounds until Sunday.

Dominguez, ranked 12th in the world list with 2757 Elo points, defends today the 2nd board of St. Petersburg team before the Russian Shomoev, owner of 2587 Elo points and 56th in the Russian ranking, who will defend the Polytechnic team.
The fair has the participation of 10 teams and takes place in the Russian region of Krasnodar.