At 22 years old, Inés Castillo has marked an important milestone in the history of Peruvian badminton, by consecrating herself as the best in the Valledupar 2022 Bolivarian Games, winning four gold medals in the individual, doubles, teams and mixed doubles modalities, a success that The athlete points to the infrastructure left by the Legacy of the Lima 2019 Pan American Games as one of the factors.
His performance has ratified the country as a continental power in the pen sport.
Training with that silence and rebellion that characterizes her, Inés continues polishing her technique from the Legado Sports Center 2, with the optimism of successfully completing the Olympic cycle.
Her dream, as she says, is to qualify for Paris 2024, thus marking the second presence of a national badminton player in the history of the Olympic Games, after the performance of Daniela Macías in Tokyo 2020.
Asked about the exponential progress of badminton, including the results she has obtained, competing nationally and internationally, Inés has no doubt that much of it is due to the infrastructure available to athletes at the VIDENA Legacy venue.
“The badminton venues that we have here at Legado have been key for badminton to continue growing, it is very important because it allows us to train different groups, such as juniors, Para badminton, high performance (infrastructure), it allows the sport to grow and that there are more members every time”, he highlighted.
Likewise, he added that currently the “massification of the discipline has been achieved, before we only found it in Lima and in few clubs in the capital, now we see it in provinces such as Ayacucho, Tingo María, Arequipa, etc; what was previously unimaginable. There is currently an increase in the level of badminton.”
This is evidenced by the achievements also being reaped by athletes such as José Guevara, winner of three gold medals and one bronze; Diego Mini, winner of two golds; Paula The Tower; winner of two golds; among others who shone in Valledupar 2022. In turn, we have exponents in Para badminton of the stature of Pilar Jáuregui, Pedro Pablo de Vinatea, Jesús Salvá, Giuliana Póveda, who are considered in the ranking of the best in America.
It is worth noting that Inés Castillo, has among her achievements a silver and bronze medal at the Santa Marta 2017 Bolivarian Games; another silver and two bronzes at the Cochabamba 2018 South American Games.
“In San Marta I wanted to win more medals, but this time in Valledupar I fulfilled my goal. I’m very grateful. We have improved the result, compared to the previous Bolivarian Games. I would like to complete the Olympic cycle, I have South American and Pan American Games from now on”, she added.
The beginning
She began practicing badminton at the age of 10, motivated by her father’s skills. She then went to a sports academy and quickly managed to be selected nationally, managing to represent the country in various international competitions where discipline and perseverance were decisive in achieving her goals.
Legado continues to work hand in hand with sports federations and organizations promoting high performance and establishing Peru as the hub of world sports.
