Havana, January 15 (JIT) - The performance of Daniel Gregorich was the best of Cuba at the Zagreb Wrestling Open 2024, in Croatia.

The 87 kg wrestler achieved three wins in a row to reach the semifinals, against Turkey's Dogan Kaya (7-4), Sweden's Alex Kessidis (5-2) and Hungary's Istvan Takacs (6-0), in that order.

In the semifinals he could not defeat Milad Valerikovitch Alirzaev (7-8), the eventual champion, and for the bronze medal he lost by superiority against the Serbian Aleksandr Andreevitch Komarov. 

In the 130 kg, Oscar Pino could only win in the round of 16 against the Ukrainian Oleksandr Chernetskyy (11-2). He lost in the quarterfinals to Iran's Fardin Shaban Hedayati, with a score of 2-8, and did not appear in the repechage against Hungary's Laszlo Darabos.

The category was dominated by the Iranian Hedayati, victimizer in the final of the Chinese Lingshe Meng by 3-1 points.

The other Cuban gladiator in the competition, the equally classic Yosvanys Peña (77 kg), lost in his first performance against Pavel Liakh and was not dragged to the consolation area. 

This fight marked the beginning of the season for Cuban gladiators, determined to qualify in as many divisions as possible for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.