RHC Olympic Update no.11-26 Sept 2000 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - Olympics Update no.11 - 26 September 2000 CUBAN BASEBALL SQUAD TO GO FOR GOLD AGAINST U.S.A. AT SYDNEY OLYMPICS Sydney, September 26(RHC)-- Cuba, which defeated Japan 3 runs to nothing in baseball semifinals today, is ready to face the U.S. for the gold. The U.S.-South Korea clash had been adjourned due to rain when the game was tied at two in the 8th inning, but then thanks to a homer in the 9th inning, the U.S. team got the upper head. Cuba's Orestes Kindelan was one of the heroes of the game, along with pitcher Jose Ariel Contreras. Kindelan produced the three runs of the encounter, while Contreras stayed on the mound from beginning to end with 6 strike outs and allowing only six hits. The rain stopped the game for nearly an hour. Japan will face south Korea for the bronze. This was Jose Ariel Contreras' second game at the Olympic tournament and he has described it as the best of his life. However, he admitted that his teammates were key in the victory over Japan. Contreras felt a little bit of pressure only in the 7th inning. His previous presentation was against Australia, also with a victory. That was a crucial game, since Cuba had lost the day before against Holland. Regarding the upcoming game, Antonio Pacheco said: "It's a game. It's another game and we need to be concentrated. There is not a question of pressure to win the gold. We just want to play baseball, good baseball as we always do. I do believe in my team. It's well prepared and knows what to do in difficult moments. We suffered a setback at the hands of Holland, but we were able to recover from that, and everyday the team plays better. I do believe in my team and I think we are ready for that game." Player Yasser Gomez, center field, has been a revelation in this tournament. Right after the Cuba-Japan tournament he said: "It was a very tight game. Japanese baseball is very strong and gets better every year. Cuba, as a team, plays very coherent. Every player has a very clear objective: to win and to give the Cuban people the medal they are longing for. Tomorrow's game is going to be very tough and the last word is said at the competition. However, I believe we are going out there with the same courage." Pitcher Jose Ariel Contrera: "When I pitched against Australia I knew I had to pitch in semifinals, therefore I prepared myself well for this game: physically and psychologically. Since the moment I knew Japan was the rival I began studying the team and this allowed me to pitch exactly as I had to. Regarding pitching in general, I felt fine and in control. I kept my cool and won. The most difficult hitter was the 4th batter who is a very strong batter, but I managed to control the situation with good use of the slider and fork." ONCE AGAIN THE CUBAN WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL TEAM AMONG THE BIG FOUR Sydney, September 26(RHC)-- The Cuban women's volleyball team needed only 60 minutes to dominate Croatia 3 sets to nothing and now will be facing Brazil in semifinals. Cuba has lost only one game in preliminaries against Russia and accumulates five victories. The island is among the favorites to fight for the gold medal, which would represent its third consecutive title, but Brazil is a very hard nut to crack. Croatia, despite its star player Barbara Jelic, was unable to do much and found an insurmountable wall in the Cuban defense, specially with blockers Regla Torres and Regla Bell. Bell was the most outstanding player of the day. GRECOROMAN WRESTLING: TWO SILVER MEDALS FOR THE ISLAND Sydney, September 26(RHC)-- For any athlete an Olympic silver medal is a great satisfaction and the culmination of years of hard work. However, despite giving the island two more silver medals, wrestlers Lazaro Rivas in 54 and Juan Luis Maren in 63 are not totally happy. Failing to win the title in their respective divisions, both gladiators -- who said they very well prepared for the games -- disapproved of the work carried out by judges at the competitions. Maren lost 3 points to nothing and according to trainer Pedro Val this is the first time in the history of the Olympic Games that a judge decides the winner in a very tight bout in over time and claiming passivity on the part of the Cuban competitor. Val called the decision unbelievable and cruel. While criticizing the referee's work, Maren admitted the quality of his Russian rival, Varteres Samourgachev. With a bronze in Barcelona and silver in Atlanta, Maren said his dream was to win gold in Sydney. Regarding Rivas' bout, who lost 0-8, head coach Val said that though the fight was different from that of Maren, the arbitration work was not good either. Rivas, current world champ, pointed out that his opponent, Ho Sim Kwon from South Korea was a very strong contender and was well prepared. The South Korean gladiator was gold in Atlanta and defeated Rivas in 1997. He admitted being a bit overconfident in his possibilities. Cuba hopes to win at least one gold medal in wrestling with the presentation of Filiberto Azcuy or Luis Mendez. With these two silver medals and a possible gold, Cuba would improve its Atlanta result of one gold and one silver. BOXING: FIVE IN FIVE Sydney, September 26(RHC)-- Cuban boxers had a remarkably good performance in Sydney today with five victories in five presentations. The five men that climbed into the ring today beat their opponents by clear superiority. Maikro Romero in 48, Guillermo Rigondeaux in 54, Mario Kindelan in 60, Jorge Gutierrez in 75 and Felix Savon in 91. That was precisely the bout that attracted the largest number of reporters to the site of competition, for it was a sort of revenge fight. Savon faced Michael Bennet from the U.S.A. who crowned himself world champ last year, when the Cuban team abandoned the Huston tournament in protests a series of irregularities that stripped Cuban boxers of clear victories. Everyone was waiting for the bout in which Savon was superior from beginning to end. The six times world champion defeated Bennet in the third round by technical RSC, securing the bronze medal for the island. He is to face German Sebastian Kober who won over Canadian Mark Simmons from Canada by identical result. This German boxer does not seem to be a pushover, for he defeated Simmons, a favorite in this division. Mario Kindelan in the 60 kilo division opened up the Cuban winning streak over Greek Tigkran Ouslian while Jorge Gutierrez sent Rumanian Adrian Diaconu to the canvas in the first round and the bout was over. FAIR PERFORMANCE OF CUBAN DIVER YOENDIS SALAZAR Sydney, September 26(RHC)-- Yoendis Salazar was not bad in men's diving considering that this sport does not have a strong tradition on the island. He concluded in place 18 in men's 3 meter platform, where Chinese Ni Xiong was first. The 23 year old athlete managed to get to the semifinals along with two other Latin American divers. Outclassing Salazar were Mexican Fernando Platas, who entered the finals, and Brazilian Cassius Duran who were third and 14th in preliminaries. Cuba has never won a medal in this discipline and its best card is Jose Antonio Guerra in men's platform who debuts today. He recently won gold at a grand prix tournament held in Sicily, Italy. His strongest rivals will be German, Russian and Chinese athletes. Cuba is present in Sydney with six divers, including Jesus Aballi, Yolanda Ortiz and Johana Cruz. CANOEING MAKES ITS WAY TO THE FINALS Sydney, September 26(RHC)-- Cubans Leobaldo Pereira and Ibrahim Rojas in men's C-2 finished third and got their ticket for the finals in a very tight competition. Also reaching the medal fight was Ledy Frank Balseiro in C-1, entering first in his preliminary heat. CUBAN WOMEN'S BASKETBALL LANDS IN THE 9TH NOTCH Sydney, September 26(RHC)-- Cuban women's basketball reached place number nine in the discipline after defeating Canada 67-58. The Cubans won the first half of the game by a tight 34-35, but the Canadian players were disorganized, allowing the island's team to improve its game strategy. Jaquelin Plutin was a key player for the Cuban squad. Both teams have been face to face several times and at the Pan-American Games, Cuba defeated the host country. This 9th place in Olympic basketball competitions represents the poorest performance for the island at Olympic Games in 15 years. In Moscow, Cuba was 5th, in Barcelona it climbed one notch, while finishing 6th in Atlanta. The Cuban women's basketball team registered victories against New Zealand and Canada and defeats against Russia, the U.S. and Poland. IN MEN'S HANDBALL CUBA FINISHES 11 Sydney, September 26(RHC)-- Cuba was the only Latin American country that took part in Olympic handball competitions for men. And though on Tuesday it defeated Australia 26 to 24, the team landed in place 11. In women's Cuba goes against Brazil, the current Pan-American champion, in quarter finals on Thursday. OLYMPIC SOCCER FINALISTS READY TO FIGHT FOR THE GOLD Sydney, September 26 (RHC) -- Africa once again proved Tuesday to be the scourge of South America in men's Olympic soccer events when Cameroon defeated Chile in semifinals 2-1. This result has revived the memory of Nigeria's performance in the 1996 Atlanta Games when the African team beat Brazil 4-3 in semifinals and then took the title over Argentina 3-2. On this occasion, Cameroon's first surprise took place in quarterfinals when it left Brazil out of the medal dispute with a 2-1 victory over the South American nation. In the gold medal dispute, Cameroon will face Spain which, in the other match of semifinals, defeated the United States 3-1. Raul scored the first goal in minute 16 and also Spanish Angel Angulo followed him in the 25th minute for the 2-0 lead. The US's Pete Vagenas scored a penalty in the 42nd minute but Jose Mari sealed the final score in the 87th. Chile and the United States will face off for the bronze Friday while Cameroon will take on Spain -a team that will try to repeat its performance at the 1992 Barcelona Games when they earned the title. Meanwhile, in women's, the United States will try to revalidate the title earned in 1996 after beating Brazil 1-0 in semifinals. On this occasion, the rival will be Norway, winner over Germany in semifinals also 1-0. The United States and Norway already played each other in the preliminary round in a match in which the Americans shut out the Europeans 2-0. THE UNITED STATES CLAIMS GOLD IN OLYMPIC SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT Sydney, September 26 (RHC) -- The U.S.'s women's sotfball team proclaimed itself Olympic champion Tuesday after defeating Japan 2-1 in extra-innings. Japan, which had reached the finals undefeated and had also cut a 112-game U.S. winning streak during the preliminary round, scored first in the fourth inning. The United States then tied in the fifth and scored the decisive run in the eighth thanks to an error of the Japanese defense. Host Australia finished third after winning over China in the bronze dispute. The Cuban team made its debut in the Olympics and finished seventh tied with Canada. TWO WOMEN MAKE TUESDAY'S HEADLINES IN SYDNEY Sydney, September 26 (RHC) -- Two women made Tuesday's headlines in the venue of the 27th Olympic Games -but for very different reasons. Dutch cyclist Leontien van Moorsel had taken her first gold in Sydney in the track individual pursuit a few days ago and Tuesday she repeated her performance -on this occasion in the road event- for her second Olympic title. Van Moorsel still hopes to get a third gold medal in the individual time trial and if she succeeds, she would have tied the performance of her compatriot, swimmer Inge de Bruijn, who earned golds in 50 and 100 meters freestyle and also in the 100-meter butterfly event. But, if the Dutch atlete made headlines with her victory, Romanian gymnast did it with her failure -after the triumph. IOC Executive Director, Francois Carrard, announced Tuesday that Raducan was stripped of her gold medal for having tested positive in an anti-doping control after the competition that revealed the presence of pseudoephedrine. According to Romanian sports authorities, the substance was found in the athlete's body as a result of medication she took for a cold. This was the sixth case of doping during the games, and the fourth in which a medal-winning athlete is involved. MEN'S HANDBALL FAVORITES ADVANCE TO SEMIFINALS Sydney, September 26 (RHC) -- Spain, Russia, Sweden and Yugoslavia got their tickets to semifinals in the men's Olympic handball tournament after their victories Tuesday. The Swedish team, silver in Atlanta four years ago, did away with the aspirations of the only non-Europeran team in quarterfinals and took a win 27-23. The Spanish athletes, for their part, -stimulated by the presence of Queen Sofia and Prince Felipe- stood in Germany's way to semifinals for the third time in Olympic Games with a tight victory of 27-26 in the last 12 seconds of the match. Russia, in the meantime, had an easier game against Slovenia and walked away with the trimph 33-22. Finally, Yugoslavia defeated France -1997 world champions- with a final score of 26-21. On Thursday, Russia will face Yugoslavia and Spain will try get its ticket to the finals versus Sweden. (c) 2000 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. Todos los derechos reservados. ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= rhc-eng-30880 2000-Sep-27 04:44:36