The competition has a G4 category that awards 40 points to the winner for the World Taekwondo ranking.

Cubans Rafael Alba and Arlettys de la Caridad Acosta will compete this Thursday in the Pan American Taekwondo Championships in Rio de Janeiro 2024, with G4 category.

Rafael Alba is a double world champion and bronze medallist at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, and Arlettys is a double queen of the Central Caribbean Games (Barranquilla 2018 and San Salvador 2023) and bronze medallist at the XIX Pan American Games in Santiago 2023.

This continental call is after the qualifier in which Alba and Arlettys won their tickets to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the most important tournament of our sport in America, Ivan Fernandez Quiros, president of the federation of this sport on the island, told JIT from the headquarters.

It is the second most important tournament of the year as it is a G4 category that awards 40 points to the winner for the World Taekwondo ranking.

«Alba will compete on this occasion in the 87 kg and Acosta in 73 kg,» said the national commissioner, who will also act as the events officer of the continental entity that governs the Korean martial art in the Pan American Championships, which includes duels in the poomsae.

After Rio 2024, there will be an open with G1 category right there, in the Carioca 1 Arena, located in the Olympic Park of the famous carioca city.

After thanking the Pan American Sports Union for the courtesy of paying for the tickets for the Cubans who qualified for taekwondo in Paris 2024, Fernández said that once the main event was over, they would evaluate the presence of Cuban fighters in the Open.

«It depends on the taekwondocas who come in their divisions and what they can bring us more bouts here, because we have to take care of the boys from possible injuries at such an important time in their preparation for Paris 2024,» he concluded.