# Jonathan Fernández Places Eighth at the 2026 Junior World Taekwondo Championship

**Date:** 04/18/2026

Jonathan Fernández (63 kg), Cuba's sole representative at the Junior World Taekwondo Championship Taekwon't2026, finished among the top eight in his division, marking Cuba's return to the competition after 16 years of absence.

The Cuban taekwondo athlete, who is based in Mexico, delivered an outstanding performance in his first three bouts: he defeated Serghei Borovic of Moldova, Ioannis Kourouyiannis of Cyprus, and Victor Settvik of Sweden without dropping a single round in any of those contests. However, in the quarterfinals, Fernández fell 2-1 to South Korea's Youngjin Ji, who ultimately claimed the bronze medal at the championship.

The Taekwon't2026 tournament marks Cuba's return to the junior world stage in taekwondo. The country's most recent previous participation had been in Tijuana in 2010, when José Ángel Cobas (55 kg) and Daniel Miranda (63 kg) earned silver and bronze, respectively, in one of Cuban taekwondo's most celebrated moments at this competition.

With this historic result, Jonathan Fernández has established himself as one of the top hopes in Cuban taekwondo ahead of the Youth Olympic Games in Senegal 2026 and the Olympic Games in Los Angeles 2028, signaling the start of a promising new chapter for the sport in Cuba.