Pilar Jáuregui: ‘I feel that regardless of the achievements that we parathletes have, we continue to be ignored’ | jauregui | for badminton | sport | peru | equality | SPORTS

Pilar You have just arrived in the country of your trip to spain after getting 3 out of 8 medals that the Peruvian badminton team won in the Spanish To Badminton International Vitoria 2023. Once again, the athlete was decisive in the national team, since she played and also coached her teammates. “Experience allows us to help others.” tells us. However, it seems that all the achievements he obtains are not enough for a country that is reluctant to look beyond soccer.

2019 was very important for Jáuregui beyond sports. The Pan American Games in Lima developed extensive sports infrastructure in the capital, but the social value of the competition transcends the courts. “Empathy allows us to grow as a country, and that is more valuable to me than anything else. It’s more important than my gold medal.”, says. Sports such as parabadminton, soccer for people with low vision, parashooting, and parataekwondo allowed society to broaden its outlook a bit on the disciplines that have potential in Peru, although that did not last long.

“I have felt invisible. I feel that they did not respect my rights many times, as well as my space. Sport has made us a little more visible, it showed that just because we have a disability doesn’t mean we don’t have the same rights as others. For that I am grateful to the national para sport.”, delimits Pilar.

As a woman who has characteristics of functional diversity, the stronghold of Peruvian parabadminton found it extremely difficult to integrate into the sport in this country. Jáuregui had to leave basketball and tennis because she was not given the opportunity to demonstrate her talent. In fact, in order to compete at a competitive level, she had to switch to the men’s basketball team because there were very few women on the basketball team.

“So far those limitations continue. In badminton it was the opposite, because I was the only woman who competed against men, and I used to lose due to speed and strength. Now I’m the one who beats the boys. This was thanks to the Federation that did not make any exclusion. I like to play mixed because that’s how I learned to play better, but doing parasports in Peru is very complicated.”Pilar comments.

MIRA: Pilar Jáuregui, world para badminton champion: “I don’t feel I received fair recognition for my achievements”

However, when the athlete travels to represent Peru, she forgets the entire context of forgetfulness and neglect in which she lives. She tries to give her best and win to continue giving achievements to her homeland.

Thanks to the medals of Pilar, Giulana Poveda and the other members of the badminton national team, the discipline is becoming more popular in the country. In this sense, the badminton and parabadminton federation implemented a national circuit to promote competition at the local level. An advantage is that both modalities practice and play on the same courts.

Only decentralization allows massification and, therefore, progress in the level of competition of Sport in general. Tingo María, Tacna and Ayacucho have parabadminton clubs to give athletes greater opportunities at the regional level. The discipline does not require complex infrastructure and being an individual sport it is more attractive.

Pilar Jáuregui was chosen the best parathlete of the year in 2022, in the same year that she was world champion. However, the differences are marked. The para-athletes returned with Pan American and World medals but did not receive any type of recognition. “We are left with the feeling that no matter what we do, we are still invisible.”reflects the athlete.

Parabadminton teams travel with full teams, with doctors and coaches who allow them to work with the team as a whole. The Peruvian team traveled to Spain without a doctor and thus won 8 medals; however, several of the athletes returned with minor injuries due to competition wear and tear.

But the competition must continue. Pilar plans to be on the podium in Santiago 2023, as well as in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. That is the ‘thorn’ with which she remains so far, but she is training harder than ever to achieve this goal.

“Let’s not limit ourselves. Let’s show what we are made of. I, being a woman and being in a wheelchair, have all the strength and will to do what I set out to do. We all go through difficult times, but they are just that, we must not lose faith in oneself. Always keep going.”

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