He is short, qualified for the Tokyo World Cup in adapted badminton and sells raffles to pay for the trip

Jonatan Mattos has dreamed of being a high-performance athlete since he was very young. Although the on parabadmint (badminton adapted for short stature) was not a sport that interested him, this soccer lover, who has Achondroplasia Syndrome, decided to practice it four years ago without imagining that it would change his life. Until that moment he played short soccer, but this sport did not give him the possibility to compete with the demand that he wanted. In 2018, he participated in tournaments in Peru with the team, in which he was a striker and met a player from his current discipline.

What seduced him most is that sport adapted for short athletes It had international tournaments like the Pan American Games and also a World Cup. Upon returning from Lima, he looked for a place to play it and found it in his own town. “Since I started it, I was surprised by the level of competitiveness that he has and the possibility of reaching important competitions. That motivates me a lot”, he assures.

He began to train carefully and, without realizing it, to climb in the ranking. So much so in just four years, he managed to qualify for the Badminton World Cup which will take place between November 1 and 6 in the city of Tokyo, Japan, where Argentina arrives for the first time with two representatives, Jonatan and his partner in doubles. But cannot raise the money to cover the expenses.

A week ago, and as encouragement for that classification to the contest that will be held in November in Japan, the Deliberative Council of Florencio Varela gave him a mention in recognition of merit and perseverance in the sport he plays. “I always try to give my best and break down the barriers of disability and make it clear that nothing is impossible and that we can achieve everything we set out to do. Today I am classified for the world championship and I am going to make every last effort to achieve the objective: my dream of competing in a world championship”, said. Despite the diploma the young man has not yet received help from the municipality which will also represent if he manages to raise money for the trip.

your own world

He can hardly sleep. When he tries to close his eyes to fall asleep, she imagines doing her shots on the Tokyo court and smiles alone, but then the big question gnaws at him: will I be able to travel?

Jonatan qualified on his own merit: the points obtained in previous tournaments were enough to be there, but he must pay for the air travel, stay and insertion, for the World Cup. “I was looking for donations or sponsors that could sponsor me,” says the Pan American medalist who longs to “represent the Argentine flag,” he says and says that so far, managed to raise 200 thousand pesos and needs 800 thousand more, according to his calculations. She experienced this situation in April when she was in the same search for the Sao Paulo International Open, because as a parabadminton athlete, does not receive help from any public body.

For the 30-year-old, nothing was simple: he was born with Achondroplasia syndrome and at the age of 10 he had a tibia and fibula operation that “they usually do to all short people”. “My dream was always to play football, to the ball, but well after such an expensive operation and in 2001, my family was very scared because if I hurt myself I ran the risk of being sensitive and the fear of breaking a bone was latent. That’s why I was never able to play competitively. In 2012 I started university and started playing and training with the conventional 11-a-side university football team and that was when I felt the taste for competition”, recalls the Bachelor of Business Administration.

“With my condition I alternated and played in the games I was already half finished, but the boys made me feel part of the squad and I trained with the same demand and the same level as a conventional player. I demanded myself to the fullest. In 2015 I met the adapted football team and joined as a striker. I was doing well and I scored goals that meant important wins for the team, despite that, the activity did not have the competitive level that it was looking for because it did not have much development at an international level”.

At two years old, he came to compete in Peru and met another footballer who practiced on parabadmint. The following year, a friend from Córdoba insisted that he practice it and in March 2018 he was training in his town and in June of that same year he began to compete.

“I started to feel passion for this sport. For November 2018 I had the opportunity to compete in a Pan American and since things were getting more serious, the coach asked me to decide which sport I would stay with, because I was still playing soccer. And I stuck with this one.”

Joni, as her friends call her, did well at the Pan American: achieved a medal and reaped other medals in the South American. In 2019, he was a silver medal in single and doubles in Guayaquil. This year, he started it as a guest of the Pan American Federation to a tournament in São Paulo that was played in April. The tournament gave chances to enter the World Cup, and in August they confirmed that he was qualified to participate in the event in Tokyo thanks to his score.

“Going to the World Cup also gives you the chance to have a place in the Pan American of Santiago 2023I dream of that”, he trusts and is hopeful: “I only hope to have the possibility of being able to fulfill the illusion of playing in a World Cup. To achieve this, I train twice every day, in the activity and in the gym. Also, I started making collections through social networks and raffles from which the money comes out to be able to pay for this trip. An Olympic Games, a Paralympic Games or a World Cup is the dream of every athlete. We work every day to make our dreams come true. I know that what I want is very difficult, but I trust that I will achieve it”.

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