Boxing

With the victory of Julio Cesar La Cruz in 81 kg., Cuba has so far secured 8 berths for the Central American and Caribbean Games, Veracruz 2014.

La Cruz, double world champion, decided by technical knocked out in the 2nd act against Panamanian Melanio Flores in a day where the cruise Cuban Erislandy Savón did the same in the 3rd assault with the host Brandon Olvera.

Previously, the double world runner-up Yasnier Toledo defeated Nicaraguan Hasan Rigby by 3-0 in the 64 kg.

The only Cuban adverse note was given by Gerardo Cervantes in the 52 kg., who was beaten 1-2 by the Puerto Rican youth world runner-up Jeyvier Cintrón.

Volleyball
The women's national volleyball team, Cadet Under-18 category, is holding a friendly stop in Santo Domingo with its local counterpart, which finished 8th in the world top in 2013.

The group covers 10 players aged between 14 and 16, who exhibit good size for the category and excellent physical and technical preparation, said his coach Tomas Fernández.

And also on volleyball, men's volleyball team of Cuba will play 3 friendly matches in Mexico in preparation for the World Volleyball League, the Cuban coach Rodolfo Sanchez said.

Mexico debuts in the World Tournament along with Tunisia and Turkey in Group F, whose favorite is Cuba, according to experts.

The World League, whose Intercontinental Phase begins on May 23rd, will show a new format this year covering 28 teams instead of the 18 that participated in the last year's edition.

Chess
The 49th José Raúl Capablanca In Memoriam International Chess Tournament, begins here today with the official celebration of its competitive program.

With the highest average Elo history, 2721 points, the contest will run until next March 18th at the Habana Riviera Hotel, where 6 GMs struggle to prevail in the Elite Group.

The host Leinier Domínguez, 10th seat in world rankings, stands out as the highest chess rating of the lid with 2768 units, followed by Ukrainian star Vassily Ivanchuck (2,757) who has won 6 Capablanca Tournaments.

A total of 236 chess players will compete, 43 of them foreigners, divided into 4 sections, the Elite, Premier and Open I and II.

The best results will form the Cuban national team to attend the World Chess Olympiad to be played from August 1st to 15th in Tromso, Norway.

Cuban Archers for the Title in Central-Caribbean Games

Cuban archers hope to dispute the title of the men's teams in Veracruz 2014, next November, said Vladimir Quinta, head coach of the Cuban team.

In statements to the Cuban News Agency, the trainer pointed out that the male team should discuss the golden medal with Mexico in the regional contest, while the women will have a little more complicated process, but they also aspire to be included among the medalists.

The national selection includes 5 men and equal amount of women, all with the same options to integrate the trio of competitors, in both sexes, to attend the Mexican lid.

Cliff-Diving

The Morro Castle, at the entrance of Havana Bay, is ready to be the platform for the first stage of the 6th World Cliff-Diving Series.

The cliff-diving season will also include Fort Worth, Texas on June 7th; Inis Mor, Ireland, on June 29th; Norway, on July 12th; Azores Islands, Portugal, on July 26th; Bilbao, Spain, on September 20th and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on October 19th.

A 7-meter platform has been set up at the Morro Castle in Havana for the competition, which will count on renowned cliff-divers such as Brazilians Edivaldo Keda and Jucelino Junior, Mexican Jorge Ferzuli and Colombian Miguel Garcia; however, the favorite competitors are Colombian Orlando Duque, British Gary Hunt, Russian Artem Silchenko and Mexican Jonathan Paredes.