Cuba with a reduced delegation at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

With 69 athletes, the delegation that attended the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games was the most decimated since 1964. The next gathering under the five rings in Paris will take that spot away, as Cuba only has 46 representatives qualified, although more possibilities are still open.

According to José Antonio Miranda Carrera, General Director of High Performance at the Institute of Sports, Physical Education, and Recreation (INDER), in a Round Table dedicated to the topic, to date the Cuban delegation is composed of 46 athletes in 14 sports.

The executive himself acknowledged that it is "a number lower than the one taken to Tokyo, being the fourth smallest delegation after the triumph of the Revolution in an Olympic Games."

However, he pointed out that until the 30th of this month, the possibilities of qualifying are still open and commented that "there are 15 athletes with chances of being in Paris."

The greatest chances of spots are in athletics; one in diving; swimming (2); and the confirmation of judo with four athletes (two male and two female).

About the recent defeat of the men's volleyball team, he expressed that it was "one of the goals we had set for ourselves," however, the team had a good performance but it was not enough to secure a ticket to the French capital.

We all knew that it was a very difficult qualification process and, if achieved, the delegation would exceed 70 athletes. Failing to do so, the delegation must consist of 60 to 61 athletes," he added.

On the other hand, he pointed out that each sport, outside the country, goes through different stages of preparation.

"We have seen good results in athletics, table tennis, shooting, cycling, and boxing," he said.

While adding that athletes display positive emotional states and are focused on their results.

The High Performance Director of INDER, José Luis Miranda, warned fans that "we should not expect great results in the first week, but starting from August 2, the main opportunities will begin to arrive. In the case of Mijaín López, for example, the final is scheduled for August 6."

The recent wave of defections by Cuban athletes casts doubt on encouraging forecasts for the performances of local athletes.

Only in 2023, the maximum number of athletes who left Cuba was 103. The list includes prominent names in Cuban elite sports such as Olympic medalist Denia Caballero, who left the sports delegation of the island competing in the Diputación de Castellón Meeting in Spain, to others less recognized but who were part of the talent pool being developed in disciplines such as baseball, hockey, or handball, just to name a few.

A special mention deserves the XIX Pan American Games held in Santiago, Chile, in October of last year. A total of 13 athletes left the Cuban delegation, mainly due to the lack of resources to practice their sports on the island and the lack of personal freedom, as several members of the women's field hockey team revealed.

In Santiago, sports like basketball, field hockey, rowing, and athletics, the latter with the bronze escape in the 400-meter hurdles by Yoao Illas, contributed to the statistics that did not exclude the abandonment of blind swimmer Yunerki Ortega Ponce in the Parapan American Games.