14ymedio, Havana, 14 May 2023 — Cuba said goodbye to the Tashkent 2023 Boxing World Cup with a result far below expectations: one gold medal, three silver and two bronze. The pro-government media Jit downplayed the failure of the Cuban team in the competition and blamed the judges.
The hope of the Domadores de Cuba was centered on Saidel Horta (125 pounds), but this 21-year-old boxer could not beat the Uzbek Abdumalik Khalokov, who surpassed him 5-0. According to the official newspaper, this was a “gift from the officials who decided he was better” in the first round.
After the setback in Uzbekistan of Julio César La Cruz, Arlen López, Lázaro Álvarez and Roniel Iglesias, the sports site tried to make the defeats less chaotic. “The work of the judges affected Roniel and Julio as part of a phenomenon that was felt again in the Humo Arena,” the same official media published on Sunday, rejecting the idea that the rivals of the Cuban pugilists were superior.
Although Cubadebate acknowledged last Wednesday that with the defeats of its medalists, Cuban boxing “took a nose-dive in the quarterfinals,” for Jit “the negative thing” was that “the response of the leaders (medalists) left doubts.”
Saidel Horta regretted not being able to reach the gold medal and give the achievement as a gift to the mothers on the Island. “I worked hard to give the title to my mom and to all the mothers in Cuba, but I still dedicate this silver medal to them.”
Horta could not match the performances of Ángel Herrera (Belgrade 1978) and Adolfo Horta (Munich 1982), both with gold medals. Cuba’s performance leaves several questions for the Domadores team in a tournament organized since 1974, where it has won 81 gold, 38 silver and 30 bronze medals.
Yoenlis Hernández (165 pounds) regained the reign exercised in Belgrade 2021, while Erislandy Álvarez (132 pounds) and Fernando Arzola (203 pounds) took silver medals on Saturday. Yosbany Veitía (119 pounds) and Alejandro Claro (106 pounds) won bronze.
Someone else worth mentioning is Arlen López, since the Olympic medalist was surpassed by the Chinese Tanglatihan Tuohetaerbieke. Behind this Asian boxer is Cuban coach Maikro Romero, gold medalist at the Olympic Games in Atlanta (1996) and bronze medalist in Sydney (2000).
Translated by Regina Anavy
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