Cuban Veliz won silver at Greco-Roman wrestling at ASU25

HAVANA, Cuba, Aug 21 (ACN) Cuban Yonat Veliz won silver at the 67 kilogram (kg) Greco-Roman wrestling category after losing nine to seven points to Ecuador's Jeremy Peralta during the opening day of wrestling at the Junior Pan American Games.

Veliz, the only Cuban to make the final in the classical style in the Paraguayan capital, threw the reigning continental champion with a suplex, who counterattacked and scored four points, ending the first quarter at five.

In the three-minute second quarter, the Ecuadorian came out extremely offensive, managing to get the Cuban to a four-point position and then applying a four-point technical to the Cuban, making the score nine to five.

The Cali Valle 2021 Pan American Junior Games champion attempted a back pass, which required a second video referee challenge, and after review, the pass failed to count toward the scoreboard on the A line of the CEO Stadium.

In a desperate last-ditch push, the Cuban scored two goals with back passes, but it wasn't enough against an elusive and athletic Ecuadorian, who secured direct qualification for the Lima 2027 Pan American Games.

Veliz advanced to the final by defeating Brazilian Angelo Cafe de Oliveira by an eight-nil advantage. He previously defeated US Brennan Van Hoecke, the bronze medalist in the competition, in a match decided by a tiebreaker after the score was tied at 11.