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The judo teams from Cuba won five gold medals at the Central American and Caribbean Senior Cup held in Guatemala, the final qualifying tournament for the Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo 2026.
According to the official site Cubadebate, the 15 Cuban athletes —eight men and seven women— concluded the competition with a total of 13 medals: five gold, four silver, and four bronze, under the guidance of coaches Julio Alderete, Boennys Chang, and Antonio Becali.
The five Cuban champions in Guatemala were Orlando Polanco (66 kg), Andy Granda (+100 kg), Dali Semanat (52 kg), Maylin del Toro (63 kg), and Dayanara Curbelo (+78 kg).
The silver medals were awarded to Iván Felipe Silva (100 kg), Yainet Coronado (48 kg), Lianet Cardona (78 kg), and Naysdel Cardoso (90 kg).
The bronzes went to Jonathan Charón (60 kg), Marlon Herrera (73 kg), Rubén Romero (81 kg), and Anisleidys Ur López (70 kg).
In the competition, 14 countries participated in the 14 men's and women's divisions, with Mexico being the most represented delegation, featuring 17 representatives.
Colombia led the overall medal count with six golds, five silvers, and three bronzes, while Cuba came in second in gold medals with five titles.
It is noteworthy that Cuba only attended two out of the six qualifying tournaments in the regional circuit: those in Panama and Guatemala.
In the Panamanian Cup, held weeks earlier, the Cubans had dominated with six golds, four silvers, and one bronze, leading the medal table of that event.
According to the updated ranking for Santo Domingo following the results from Panama, Andy Granda, Yainet Coronado, and Anisleidys Ur López were in fifth place in their respective divisions, making them the best positioned members of the Cuban team.
Granda is also the world judo champion in Tashkent 2022 and won the Pan American gold in Santiago, Chile in April 2025, making him the central figure of the delegation.
In the men's ranking, Naysdel Cardoso (90 kg) stands out in seventh place, Rubén Romero (81 kg) and Iván Felipe Silva (100 kg) are in eighth, Orlando Polanco (66 kg) is in tenth, Jonathan Charón (60 kg) is in eleventh, and Marlon Herrera (73 kg) is in fourteenth.
In the women's category, Lianet Cardona (78 kg) is ranked sixth, Maylín del Toro (63 kg) and Daili Sentmanat (52 kg) are seventh, Dayanara Curbelo (+78 kg) is eighth, and Lian Benavides (57 kg) is tenth.
The upcoming commitment for the Cuban team is the Pan American Senior Championship, scheduled for April 18 in Panama, before the final meeting in Santo Domingo.
Judo is one of the sports with good medal prospects for Cuba in the Central American and Caribbean Games scheduled to take place in the capital of the Dominican Republic.
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