Baseball
Penn State lost 2-0 on Wednesday to the defending Cuban league champion, Ciego de Ávila, as its bats were again stifled by some of the best pitchers this country has to offer.
The game was the 2nd of a 4-game tour for Penn State in Cuba, a rare opportunity for a U.S. college team. Previously, the Nittany Lions lost 2-1 Monday to the nation's most famous club, the Industriales, but that squad was largely made up of subs and young prospects.
This time out, Penn State faced the starters on a team that is the defending league champion and currently holds the best record in Cuba at 30 wins and 12 losses. Los Tigres' pitcher Vladimir Garcia, who is the ace of the staff with a 1.94 ERA on the season, dominated through 5 innings, giving 9 strikeouts, recording 5 in a row between the 2nd and 3rd innings.
“He’s not just one of the best in Cuba, he’s one of the best in the world,” said Penn State head coach Rob Cooper. “Our guys showed no fear and I am proud of that.”
The Nittany Lions' best players were Greg Guers and Tyler Kendall. “Off the bat, I thought it was a tie ball game... It’s a great experience overall, but it’s an even better baseball experience,” Guers said.
AFIDE-2015_IOC Wants to Attract Young People to Sport
Discussions on participatory sports were centered on Wednesday's debates at the 6th International Convention on Physical Activity and Sports (AFIDE-2015), taking place at the Havana's Convention Center.
The conference Current Challenges of Sports for All in Cuba, by Vice-President of the Cuban Sports Institute (INDER), Gladys Bequer, opened the day at the Congress, after which papers of Germany, Spain, Australia, as well as the representative of the United Nations Fund for Children (UNICEF) in the region, were also presented. At the same time, the 3rd Workshop on Sports, Environment and Society, one of the most important of this session at AFIDE-2015, also took place.
Attracting most of the young people to sports is one of the fundamental objectives of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), according to the director of this organization, South African Sam Ramsamy. "We have to attract young people, as most are enslaved by technology, said Ramsamy, president of the Sports Commission for all IOC during his speech at the 6th International Convention on Physical Activity and Sports, based at the Convention Center in Havana.
Before starting his lecture 'Sports for all from the perspective of the IOC,' the director of the international organization said the importance of sports for the Cubans, which he said '...take the sport in their DNA'.
The best example for young Cubans are the results of international athletes, said the South African official.
Ramsamy also recalled the importance of physical activity to improve the health of individuals, but also as a way to relieve stress and leave daily routines, saying that "...We have to do sports and fun to educate on their benefits, and make it accessible to the majority."
Mr. Ramsamy lately highlighted the main points of the IOC Agenda 2020 aimed at providing advice and expertise to encourage sports practice.
The chairman of the Committee of Sports for All, said that these programs should also promote environmental care, and above all be credible and attract young people.
In his speech, the IOC executive highlighted the Active Cities Project, which seeks to mobilize citizens and develop a healthy legacy for the cities worldwide.
Mr. Ramsamy noted that the United Nations includes sports as one of the important factors to be developed in the world. "We must promote sports as much as possible. We know that is not good only for individuals, but for the society in general," concluded.
Finally, the conference the Study on Environmental Impact on Sports, delivered by Japanese Katsuya Otsude, project director of the Global Sports Alliance and member of the Olympic Academy of his country, was also presented on Wednesday.
The 6th International Convention of Athletics and exercise will be in session until tomorrow, Friday, at the Convention Center in the Cuban capital, with the participation of 760 delegates representing 40 countries.
Judo
Repeating the 5th place achieved by Dayaris Mestre in the 48 kg was the most prominent note of Cuba on the opening day at the Grand Prix of Judo in Jeju, South Korea, where more than 400 judokas from 70 countries met.
Mestre, who took a similar seat at previous Grand Prix in Qingdao, China, won the semi-final Pool A, but lost by ippon against Hungarian Eva Csernoviczki, just 28 sec. for the final 4 regulatory minutes.
Then in the playoff for bronze she only yielded by the Golden Rule by Shido (penalty) to the Turkish Dilara Lokmanhekim, winner of bronze, like the South Korean Bo-Kieong Jeong in a division won by the Kazakh Otgontsetseg Galbadrahk to overcome Csernoviczki.
This action gave Mestre 60 points in the world ranking overlooking Rio de Janeiro 2016.
Meanwhile, in the 57 kg division the also Cuban Aliuska Ojeda had little luck because in the 2nd match she had to dealt with Jan-Di Kim from South Korea, gold in the end, and winner in her 4 outings.
The other gold medals on Thursday were the Romanian Andrea Chitu at 52 kg, the South Korean Jin Won Kim at 60, and Russian Mikhail Pulyaeven at 66.
This Friday Cuba will present other 3 of the 10 judokas competing in the lid: 63 kg Maricet Espinosa, and among men, Magdiel Estrada at 73 and Iván Silva at 81 kg.
Russia Accepts Full Suspension From IAAF
The All-Russia Athletic Federation (ARAF) has been fully suspended as an International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Member, the sport’s world governing body announced on Thursday.
IAAF Council members had voted 22-1 in favor of Russia being provisionally suspended at a meeting on November 13th, with that meeting coming after a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Independent Commission report published 4 days before detailed findings including a “deeply rooted culture of cheating” in Russian athletics.
On Wednesday, November 25th, ARAF general secretary Mikhail Butov wrote to the IAAF to confirm that the governing body would be accepting full suspension without a hearing.
“IAAF Council was today informed that written confirmation had been received yesterday from ARAF accepting their full suspension without requesting a hearing as was their constitutional right,” read an IAAF statement.
“ARAF confirmed they understood that Council would only accept their reinstatement as an IAAF Member following the recommendation of the IAAF inspection team who will decide if the verification criteria have been fulfilled. ARAF confirmed they will cooperate fully and actively with the team.”
