Cuban Fencer Reynier Henríquez. Photo: Cadena Agramonte

With the participation of two Cuban fencers, the World Fencing Cup, which will run until February 25, opened on Friday, with Italy and Switzerland as venues.

In Italian soil, in the city of Legnano, women will compete, and the island will be represented by Yamilka Rodríguez, while Reynier Henríquez will represent men in the competition hosted by Bern, in Swiss territory, ACN reported on October 23.

For both athletes from the Caribbean island, the competition is very important in their aspirations to score points in qualifying for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

So far, Rodríguez ranks 59 on the world list with 26 points, while Henríquez is in the 55th position, with 35 points.

Alhjadis Bandera, national fencing commissioner, told ACN that the closing of the qualifying process will be in April, with the completion of the Pre-Olympic in each geographic area. That’s the reason why it is vital to accumulate points in the meetings of Italy, Switzerland and Qatar.