Controversy over the exclusion of boxer Arlén López from the 10 most outstanding athletes of the year in Cuba

The exclusion of boxer Arlén López from the list of the 10 most outstanding Cuban athletes of 2021 has generated controversy among followers and specialized journalists.

The Guantanamo boxer won this year with thegold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in the 81 kilograms, which constitutes his second title after thecrown achieved in Rio de Janeiro 2016, in the 75 kilogram category.

"While it is unjustifiable that Arlen did not even receive a mention, it is even more so that until the closing of this edition the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation, and no person linked to boxing and sports in general, has explained the reason why the award-winning gladiator did not appear among the recognized athletes, despite his ample merits for it," the newspaper stressed.We will win.

The weekly spoke with INDER directors in the territory, who assured him that "they were in the process of claiming."

Journalist Adriel Bosch Cascaret questioned that Arlen's Olympic gold was not enough to be selected among the best Cuban athletes, while others who failed to obtain any medal in Japan were, although they won other lower-ranking events.

"Not even among the consolation mentions did they place Arlen. Such injustices always hurt athletes. In Guantánamo, where he is proposed as the best male athlete in the province, and his second gold appears as a possible event of the year, even in the provincial direction of sports, as I already saw, there was astonishment at the news," he said.

The reporter asked for transparency and fairness when preparing this type of lists.

"The members of the provincial sports reporters' circles have no voice or vote, apparently there is doubt about our objectivity and impartiality, or they are afraid of organizing a process of such size," he alleged.

For his part, Alberto Puig de la Barca, national boxing commissioner, explained that Arlen's exclusion is due to his position taken in view of the World Championship in Belgrade, held between October 25 and November 6.

"His non-participation in that event was the result of a personal decision, based on opinions about his sporting form, contrary to those of the technical group and announced by him when his registration was already official and we lacked time to replace him," he told the portal. digitalJit.

"The analysis left as a result the recognition of the error by the athlete, who had been offered the possibility of not aspiring to integrate it, as we did with all those attending the Tokyo Olympic Games," he stated.

"There was consensus in considering that his mistake undermined the team's commitment, and as an educational measure his presence in that relationship was not endorsed, even though he has the very high merit of having won his second Olympic gold," he concluded.

This week the sports authorities of Pinar del Río had torectify his decision not to select the fighter Mijaín López as athlete of the year, despite the fact that in Tokyo 2020 he became the top title winner in the history of Greco-Roman wrestling, by obtaining his fourth gold medal.

The INDER in the western province chose to share the award between Mijaín and the boxer Roniel Iglesias, after recognizing that there was a misinterpretation of the methodology approved for the selection process.

Initially the only one distinguished had been Iglesias, who was crowned champion in the welterweight division at the Olympics, but after protests from fans and the specialized press, the decision was reversed.

"They selected me as the best athlete in Cuba, in America, in the Olympic Games...,How can my province not recognize me? I have no disagreement because those who deserve do not ask, but I believe that the authorities and you (referring to the press) have to put each person in their place," Mijaín told journalist Ernesto Amaya Esquivel upon learning of the injustice committed against him. .