The Cuban Baseball5 team defeated Kenya 2-0 today in the semi-final and advanced to tomorrow’s final of this sport at the fourth edition of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, a multidisciplinary event that will conclude on 13 November in the Senegalese capital.
After also beating France 2-0 (3-2 and 5-1) this Monday in the quarter-finals, the Cubans secured a place in the title match by overcoming the Kenyans with sets of 14-7 and 11-1.
Now the mixed team of the largest island of the Antilles awaits the winner of the other semi-final, between Chinese Taipei and Mexico.
This Sunday, Cuba fell 0-2 to the Taipei side in an unbeaten clash in Group A with sets of 3-5 and 4-5, after defeating Turkey 2-0 (6-0 and 3-2), and the hosts 2-0 (17-0 and 13-0).
With those results, the mixed team of the largest island of the Antilles, a two-time world champion, could not go straight through to the semi-final, a goal that Chinese Taipei, the current world runners-up, did achieve.
The other four teams in competition are France, Mexico, Kenya and Syria, who appear in section B.
According to the announced programme and with the Stade Abdoulaye Wade in Diamniadio as the venue, the winners of each bracket will advance directly to the semi-finals, while those classified second and third will contest the quarter-finals.
The second-placed team in section A will face the third in B, while the second in B will play the third in A.
The quarter-finals and semi-finals are being played on 2 November, and the final day, scheduled for tomorrow, 3 November, will begin with placement matches and then move on to the medal-deciding phase.
Cuba is taking part in Dakar with 12 athletes, eight in Baseball5, the recent youth Pan American champion of Barquisimeto, three in athletics and one in judo.
The athletics representatives are Adriana González in the discus, Daniselis Reyes in the high jump, and Vanessa Velazco in the 200 metres flat, while in judo Kayla Lazaret Pita will compete in +78 kilogrammes, facing Australia’s Hannah McHenry, champion at the 2025 European Junior and Cadet Cups, in her first bout in Dakar.
Cuba has accumulated 30 medals, 19 gold, four silver and seven bronze, in the three previous editions, placing tenth, in which it participated with larger delegations of athletes and sports.
In Singapore 2010, it finished in fifth place (9-3-2; in Nanjing 2014, in 35th (2-1-1); and in Buenos Aires 2018, in 16th (4-0-2).
The all-time medal table is headed by China, with 152 medals, 86 gold, 38 silver and 28 bronze, followed by Russia (159/74-51-34), mixed team (184/61-59-64), Japan (115/45-38-32), Hungary (86/36-24-26), Italy (108/34-37-37), Ukraine (92/26-31-35), the United States (79/26-24-29), France (89/24-35-30), Australia (81/20-31-30) and Cuba (30/19-4-7), in that order.
The organisers announced that 1,700 athletes are taking part, 1,350 men and 1,350 women, aged 15 to 17, from 200 countries, competing in 25 disciplines.
