Havana International Youth Badminton Tournament begins

Havana, March 6 - The First Havana International Youth Badminton Tournament kicked off this Thursday at the Coliseum of the Sports City with the presence of athletes from five countries.

The competition features three players from Colombia, two of them male; one of each gender from Honduras; two girls from Paraguay; and one man from Bulgaria.

Cuba takes advantage of its status as host and presented 24 racket players, led by Iker Herrera from Granma province and Thalía Roque from Cienfuegos, both members of the national team.

The contestants will battle for podiums in five modalities, namely women's and men's singles, doubles in both sexes, and mixed doubles, as well as points for the world youth ranking in order to qualify for the world event in this category and other important competitions.

On the opening day, hosts Carlos Álvarez, Iker Herrera, Oscar Montano, Carlos Vega, and Roberto Pérez advanced to the quarterfinals in singles, all victorious over domestic rivals.

Among the visitors, the Colombians JerónimoGiraldo, due to his opponent's no-show, and Sebastián Zapata, by defeating local YasselFernández 21-6 and 21-8, secured a spot in that phase.

The Bulgarian TeodorMitev also advanced by dominating Cuban Diego Pérez 21-6 and 21-4, after receiving a bye in the initial round.

In the women's category, five Cubans, two Paraguayans, and one Colombian continued on to the second day scheduled for this Friday, starting at 10 in the morning.

For the largest of the Antilles, YusleidisÁlvarez, Leonor Alvisa, Santa Boche, María Carla Torres, and Marian Carballo reached the quarterfinals.

Semifinals are scheduled for Saturday, and the medal finals in the five events on Sunday, in both cases starting at ten in the morning.

The same main venue of Cuban sports will host two other major tournaments: the traditional Giraldilla de La Habana from March 10 to 15, and from March 31 to April 5, the First International Series, the highest-level event ever organized in Cuba.

Both will award points for the world adult ranking, and the Giraldilla will also award points for the Central American and Caribbean Games Santo Domingo 2026, being the penultimate event in the qualification process for that event, which concludes in April with the conclusion of the continental individual badminton championship to be held in Lima, Peru. (Text and photo: ACN)