The cuban badminton It barely had international competitions in 2021. This sport did not reach medals at the Cali 2021 Junior Pan American Games, but the youth of its athletes fills the directors of this sport with optimism.
Cubahora could converse with Alexis Ramirez, National Commissioner and President of the Cuban Federation, who made a summary about what happened with this sport and future plans.
—Give me an account of 2021 so marked by the pandemic.
—The year 2021 has been marked by the limitations imposed by COVID-19. They are logistical, participation, calendar and financial limitations as well. We have been limited in almost everything. Also in access to resources that guarantee preparation, such as sports equipment and specialized sports footwear.
—Tell me about Cuban badminton at the Cali 2021 Pan American Games.
“It was the most significant of the year for us.” This event came to save the year from a competitive point of view, and also brought competitive satisfaction to the athletes. We cannot speak only of evaluation of results because after two years without competing it was very difficult to make predictions about relevant results. The objective was to evaluate how the athletes were at the beginning of the Olympic cycle, and the level of the rivals.
—How do you rate the reserve in this sport?
—In the framework of the national team the potentialities are manifested as we had raised them. Two years have been lost. They are athletes who should have already had a competitive edge. We were practically two years behind, which in sport is a long time. But it was like that for everyone. It is not something to complain about, but to project into the future, organize work, and set goals.
—What can you tell me about the next Olympic cycle?
—Next year will be practically dead, but we have to maximize these young figures, obtain the classifications because the two qualifying periods are almost going to coincide. The goal is to attend the Central American and Caribbean teams with a full team, and with the largest number of athletes to the Santiago de Chile 2023 Pan American Games. We are ambitiously planning to maintain primacy in the Central Caribbean, although we know that it will be a challenge. difficult to meet because of the youth of the athletes we have.
—What are the projections of these athletes, and of Osleni Guerrero?
—Osleni Guerrero is our main figure and we will try to redirect him to the doubles modality, which is less demanding from a physical point of view, because he is already a bit old from a competitive point of view. We have potential with Leodanis Martínez, and the young Roberto Carlos Herrera, who participated in Cali.
“However, in the female sector the athletes are very young, like Yeily Ortiz with 21 years who is the main figure, and she will have to assume that responsibility, despite her youth. The other figures are very young like Thalía González, Marianne González, who are athletes who will have to prevail ”.
—Optimistic?
—In sports you always have to be optimistic. Sport is optimism and we have to be optimistic. With all the limitations we have, which are many, but all the potential of our technicians, of the entire Inder system from which we receive a lot of support in community sport, and at the beginning of high performance with our Eide.
“We have a lot of confidence in our coaches, in their creativity, in how they can overcome obstacles, with our research centers that support the sport so much. The task that lies ahead is not easy, but we are optimistic that with all the strengths we have we can meet the objectives set. “
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