Havana, May 17 (JIT) - Cuba will host one of the taekwondo qualifying competitions for the Asuncion 2025 Pan American Junior Games.

The Pan American Taekwondo Union (Patu) established a classification system based on a rigorous ranking for the event to be organized by Paraguay next year.

The ranking will begin in July with an event scheduled for Querétaro, Mexico, in the kyorugi and poomsae modalities.

According to Patu, for poomsae, the sum of points in the freestyle couple divisions, as well as in the traditional individual categories, male and female, will determine who will get their pass to the Junior Pan American Games.

After the Mexican competition, one will be held in Peru in September and another in Cuba in October. In 2025, the Costa Rican and Puerto Rican competitions will be held in March and April, respectively.

"It is an honor and a recognition to the Cuban taekwondo family," Ivan Fernandez, president of the Cuban taekwondo federation, told JIT.

The seventh Dan added that Cuba is preparing a quartet of taekwondocas for the qualifiers and to get the tickets for the Asuncion Games, which will take place from July 11 to 20, 2025.

To ensure their participation in that event, they will have to attend at least four of the five events mentioned above, demonstrating their consistency and ability throughout this demanding series of competitions.

The qualifier in Cuba will take place as part of the III Havana Taekwondo Open, with G1 category, which increases its quality every year.

The foundational edition of these Junior Games was held in Cali-Valle, Colombia, in 2021. Then Cuba placed fifth with 70 medals (29-19-22).