The Escapes of Cristian Solenzal and Yolanda Cordero Bleed the Cuban Wrestling Team

The athletes Yolanda Cordero and Cristian Solenzal were the last to desert the Cuban wrestling team in Mexico. (Collage)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 10 May 2022 – For five Cuban athletes the bay of Acapulco represented the perfect opportunity to defect. Cristian Solenzal and Yolanda Cordero were the last two fighters who left the delegation that traveled to Mexico on Sunday to participate in the Pan American Wrestling Championship, revealed SwingCompleto.

“The exodus of Cubans transcends any category or branch of society,” journalist Francys Romero published after learning that the first “undisciplined” – the term the regime uses to describe ‘deserters’ — was the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic champion and two-time champion World Cup Ismael Borrero.

The flight of talents continues to bleed the sport on the Island. The directors find no other argument for the defections than to point out that those who are the protagonists are committing a “serious indiscipline” and “leaving aside the objectives of their team heading to the Games 2024 Paris Olympics.”

The first defeats for the delegation, made up of 18 athletes, came with the defections of Borrero and Leonardo Herrera (60 Kg) and Amanda Hernández (53 Kg) from Pinar del Río, two young talents who will seek to grow in their sport outside the Island.

Solenzal escaped before his bout against the Peruvian Sixto Miguel Auccapina. The native of Sancti Spíritus was one of the strong cards to get his ticket to the Pan American Games in Santiago de Chile 2023. Sources consulted by 14ymedio assure that the man from Sancti Spíritus had in mind to continue his career in the United States, so they do not rule out that he headed to the border to apply for asylum.

The abandonment of Amanda Hernández occurred after suffering a defeat against the Mexican Alejandra Romero. The native of Granma Province left from the team before her planned return to Cuba.

The Island won ten medals in the fights, divided between the Greco-Roman styles with three gold and one silver; the women got one gold and one silver; and in the free category two silver and two bronze.

Added to these cases is the escape, this Monday, of baseball player Crisptohfer Pérez. Communicator Francys Romero confirmed the arrival of the outfielder in the Dominican Republic. “As a senior in 2019, Perez batted .390 (39 hits in 100 at-bats) with three doubles, five triples, and 29 RBIs, racking up just four strikeouts.”

The young man joined the Cuba team in lower categories and was a starter in the U-15 (15 and under) World Cup held in Panama during the summer of 2018. “In the current Cuban Youth Championship in 2022, he was the leader in hits on his Pinar del Río team with 12 and batting .387 (12-for-31) with a double, a triple and seven RBIs,” Romero noted.

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