Cuba has qualified seven fighters for the Tokyo Olympic Games boxing tournament after receiving their tickets in the distribution among the ranks of those registered for the American contest that was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Tickets were assigned to boxers Yosbany Veitía (52 kg), Lázaro Álvarez (57 kg), Andy Cruz (63 kg), Roniel Iglesias (69 kg), Arlen López (81 kg), Julio César La Cruz (91 kg) and Leinier Peró (+91 kg), as reported this Wednesday by the sports page Jit.
The Pan-American Boxing Pre-Olympic, which was scheduled to take place from May 10 to 16 in Buenos Aires and was canceled due to the coronavirus, had planned 33 spots for men and 16 for women in the American continent.
The distribution of the places for the world championship is still pending, 13 of them for America, where Cuba aspires that boxer Yoenlis Feliciano Hernández, of the 75 kg division, will be qualified.
Cuban boxing won three medals at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and so far has accumulated 37 wins in 13 participations in the Olympic Games.
Boxing, judo, wrestling, shooting and canoeing are disciplines with great chances of winning medals in Tokyo, according to Cuban sports authorities.
In the Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics, Cubans won medals in 12 sports and half achieved titles: 10 were for boxing, 5 for wrestling, 3 for track and field, and one each for judo, baseball and shooting.
In Rio de Janeiro, the Cuban delegation was made up of 123 athletes in 19 sports disciplines, and won 11 medals, of which 5 were gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze.
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