Cuba - Cuba and China increase sports cooperation
Cuba and China are increasing their cooperation in sports as part of the preparation of athletes from both countries for the Olympic Games of Beijing next summer. Speaking to reporters in Havana, Angel Iglesias, vice president of the Cuban Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (INDER), said that groups of Cuban athletes will participate in 19 training camps in the Asian country while Chinese athletes will compete in several tournaments on the island.
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Cuba and China are increasing their cooperation in sports as part of the preparation of athletes from both countries for the Olympic Games of Beijing next summer.
Speaking to reporters in Havana, Angel Iglesias, vice president of the Cuban Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (INDER), said that groups of Cuban athletes will participate in 19 training camps in the Asian country while Chinese athletes will compete in several tournaments on the island.
China will be represented for the first time in the fourth edition of the Cuban Olympiad, which this year is scheduled for April 12-24.
Meanwhile, the training camps of Cuban representatives in China include disciplines such as athletics, baseball and boxing as well as competitions with local athletes.
Also as part of a bilateral sports cooperation agreement, Iglesias said that Chinese trainers will help Cuba in sports such as artistic gymnastics and table tennis while Cuban baseball and boxing trainers will share their knowledge with their Chinese counterparts.
As part of this exchange, a Chinese table tennis trainer has just arrived in Cuba to train local players who will look for their Olympic tickets in an Olympic qualifier in the Dominican Republic next March.
Cuba finished 2007 with 75 Olympic tickets in 13 sports but local sports authorities hope that the island's delegation to the Beijing Olympics will be comprised of some 160 athletes in 20 of the 28 disciplines included in the Olympic program.
Four years ago in Athens, Cuba participated with 152 athletes who walked away with nine crowns, seven silver and 11 bronze medals.