Taymara Oropesa brings gold and silver in Badminton Giraldilla

Havana, March 18 (JIT) - Taymara Oropesa brought gold and silver medals to Cuba in the XXII International Badminton Tournament Giraldilla de La Habana 2024, which ended this Sunday at the Coliseum of the Sports City.

For the Holguin native, it was her first individual gold medal in the traditional event, which awarded the winners 1,700 points for Olympic qualification.

Taymara, bronze medalist in the XIX Pan American Games of Santiago 2023, defeated in the final the experienced Guatemalan Nikte Sotomayor, in a hard-fought challenge extended to three sets (21-14, 18-21, 21-11) in one hour and five minutes.

They have faced each other on more than eight occasions and the Cuban has lost only once. Last year Oropesa also defeated her by 2-0 sets in the semifinal of the XXIV Central American and Caribbean Games of San Salvador 2023.

The bronze medals were won by Jamaica's Thalia Richardson and Ireland's Sophia Noble.

The Antillean added a silver medal in the women's doubles along with Brazil's Fabiana Silva, as they could not overcome Guatemala's Diana Corleto and Mariana Isabel Paiz, winners in times of 21-15, 19-21 and 21-10.

The Cuban duo of Leyanis Contreras and Maidalis Zamora, and the Peruvian sisters Fernanda and Rafaela Munar, won the bronze medals.

The other silver medal for the hosts was secured by Roberto Carlos Herrera and Leyanis Contreras in the mixed doubles, dominated by Chistopher Martinez and Mariana I. Paiz in the only final duel defined in two sets: 21-12 and 21-13.

The podium was completed by Guatemalan Ramiro Alonso and South American Rafaela Munar, and Canadian siblings Easton and Katie Watson.

In men's singles, the outstanding Jamaican Samuel Ricketts, third in San Salvador 2023, was crowned, defeating another Guatemalan, Yeison del Cid, with scores of 21-18, 7-21 and 21-19.

The host Roberto Carlos Herrera and Matthew Abela, from Malta, won the bronze medals.

Herrera and Juan Carlos Bencomo won bronze medals in the men's doubles, as did Central American Alonso and Peruvian Alejandron Chueca.

In this modality, the pairs of Yeison-Christopher and José Luis Granados-Antonio Emanuel Ortiz, from Guatemala, who attended with their best young players, won eight medals (3-3-2). Cuba followed with 1-2-3.