Badminton and Water Polo debuted with victory at the Santo Domingo 2026 Central American Games

Published at: 23/07/2026 07:43 PM

Venezuela won two victories this Thursday morning through women's water polo and the mixed badminton duo at the Parque del Este facilities of the Central American Games in Santo Domingo.

The mixed badminton duo, made up of María Rojas and Jhonatan Wo, got off to a good start in the group stage, beating Shae Martin and Sabrina 2-0 (21-10 and 21-19) in the Table Tennis Pavilion.

The Venezuelan pair of the mixed racquet managed to win their first victory, thanks to the good reading of the game they had from the start of the match against their rivals with nine points in the first set and a difference of four in the second set.

“At the beginning of the game we did well, because they were getting used to what we were doing and we used that to our advantage to win the first easy set. In the second set they agreed on the strategy we were using, despite this we were able to overcome it and win the set,” Rojas explained about the development of the match.

Warriors' comeback

In a heart-stopping match, women's water polo scored its first win of the 13-12 preliminary round against the representation of Guatemala.

The Criollas started low on the scoreboard with 6-1 and then embarked on a comeback strategy that led them to command the next three quarters 4-2, 5-2 and 3-2 to consolidate the victory.

“Coming back to a water polo match is difficult and we did it, because we are warriors. The game was starting and just like in life, in water polo, it's not until the last second is over,” explained Dulce Hernández, captain of the national team, about the team's attitude to the game.

The national team equaled ten points in the third quarter and completed the comeback with Hernández's three goals.

“The next game against Puerto Rico will be very tough, because they are fighting for medals, however, we are going to keep fighting,” explained the main figure of the team that scored nine goals.

The tricolor team will rest for the rest of the day to prepare for their next match this Friday against the Puerto Ricans.

“We still have two more games left and we will face them full of energy with this victory,” Hernández said.

Mazo News Team