Cuba wins the gold medal at the Blind Baseball World Championship.

The Cuba blind baseball team broke the medal drought for Cuban players in any category by defeating Italy 2-1, thus winning the title of the second WBSC International Blind Baseball Cup held in London, Great Britain, from September 27 to 29.

This final game was tied at one run until the fourth inning, when the Caribbean players scored the winning run with two consecutive hits, along with a ground ball by Maikel Barroso.

In the group stage, the Cubans and Italians had tied in their match at six runs each, so the final game had the nuance of seeing who was better than the other, especially since Italy held the title of world champion.

The team led by Roberto Carmona showcased a draw against Italy and three victories during the tournament held at Farnham Park Stadium in London since last Friday, beating the Netherlands (8-1), the People's Republic of China (8-0), and the British hosts (5-0).

For the bronze medal, early on Saturday, the Pakistanis asserted their favoritism and defeated the locals 6-0.

Before the competition began, the Italian manager Mauro Corazza had identified the Cubans as strong rivals in the competition.

"Many teams have improved [since 2022]. I believe that our strongest rival will be Cuba," he pointed out to wbsc.org, highlighting a high level in the tournament.

Cuba's debut in this type of events

Cuba, like China, Pakistan, and Hungary, made its first appearance in the WBSC International Blind Baseball Cup.

Maikel Merino, captain of Cuba, received the national flag from José Antonio Miranda, director of High Performance at the Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (INDER) on September 23.

The players had been concentrated since the 19th of the same month at the Changa Mederos Stadium in Havana. "Our goal is to compete for the gold medal in the final on Sunday," Merino stated to the digital site JIT.

The head of the delegation, Enrique Cepeda, added that the preparation has focused on defense: "We believe that defense can make the difference. Still, we have a very good striking ability."