He Recreational Badminton IES La Orden he is all endgame expert. The Huelva club, current champion, treasures a long experience dueling for the title. They began by losing their first four finals against Rinconada and have since won seven in a row and are going for their eighth title. He will try to lift the cup once in a classic duel between two teams that know each other very well. The final begins in Huelva territory and the coach Paco Ojeda stresses over and over again that a full Andrés Estrada Pavilion and set is the pillar of victory that they hope to star.
QUESTION.- How does your team get to the first leg of the final physically, emotionally, technically and tactically?
ANSWER.- Physically we are all well and training to the fullest, taking care of everything, as we know how to do when a final arrives. Technically and tactically we are also taking care of the details. We have had the success and luck of having the collaboration of the Huelva City Council Department of Sports, which has allowed us to train this Thursday and Friday on the scene of the meeting and at the same time and under the same conditions. We are going to prepare that detail very well. The facilities are an important issue and we already did it when training at the Palacio Carolina Marín for the semifinals, which is a strange space for us because it is not the usual one. The Department of Sports has understood what we raised and has behaved very well. In addition, we must thank the collaboration of other clubs that regularly train there and have provided it to us. Apart from all this, we are very eager and nervous, tense and struggling with all that to control and focus it, although the important thing is to play as we know how.
Q.- They have played many finals but nerves always appear and they are necessary, right?
R.- I have always said it, nerves are necessary. You have to know how to transform them into energy to put all your badminton on the court. If you are nervous and performance drops, then no. But that activation that it gives you if you transform it to be more focused, play faster and be more efficient, well, nerves are welcome. After the years and playing so many finals we are becoming experts. We lost the first four that we played with Rinconada and then we have won the seven that we have played, with the break of 2020, which would then have been the seventh title, which came last year. This would be the eighth and it would be quite a rush to achieve it. We are still far from the Rinconada titles, which although years ago the format was different, has its merit and must be recognized. Before, no one shaded them.
Q.- What is your assessment of how the regular phase of the season and the semifinals have been?
R.- I would go a little further back. In the 2021-22 season, after a year in the desert, we returned to a league that had evolved and landed and won it. This was another unknown due to the change in regulations, which allows any European athlete to play in the league, whether or not they play in another league. The injection of athletes into the teams has been such that it seems like the UN. This scenario was unknown but the team has done fantastic. We have been first in the regular phase with a great advantage and we managed to get into the final. In it we are going to see a Rinconada with a very competitive squad, reinforced with many players.
Q.- Who is the favorite to win the title?
R.- The result on Saturday will decide favoritism between one side and the other. A priori Rinconada has a higher percentage of favoritism, but opposite is Recre IES La Orden and we will compensate for that strength of the rival with our confidence, history and know-how. They have chosen to play the second leg at home and it is an advantage, but we are capable of turning the tables and by playing at home first if we win we can put pressure on them. If we start the final winning, they may have more doubts. They come to a stage that, said by them, they respect a lot, because of the history that we have been writing here. They come with the confidence of having a competitive squad but with the doubts of being in front of 2,000 people who are going to push a lot and that is going to be a factor in our favor.
Q.- The support of the Huelva fans has been so great in the finals that they are just another player on the court, right?
R.- The response from the fans is fundamental and I hope that all the fans who read this interview become aware that they are one more player and that they will be there and they will also win the final if it is achieved. They are active players in that triumph if it comes and their presence is essential for us. We want you to enjoy and support your team and defend Huelva, because we cannot allow Rinconada-Sevilla to beat us in our land and I appeal to that healthy classic pique between provinces. At the club we identify a lot with the entire province of Huelva and we represent it and it is transcendental, important and definitive that there are many people at the meeting. Let them come to the Andrés Estrada Pavilion, it is not hot, it is well in the shade and they are going to enjoy a sport that links one emotion with another, point by point and match by match. There is no moment of relaxation and there is an emotion in each play.
Q.- What keys would you highlight from the meeting? In which duels does one team have an a priori advantage over the other?
R.– With the signing of Bea Corrales, Rinconada has grown a lot in the women’s singles and women’s doubles. We there have also strengthened a lot with Daniella Gonda and the sporting duel is going to be nice. Our mixed doubles is a classic and Pablo Abián and Haidée are very strong. If we are able to get two or three points in the doubles, we will put the match back on track very well and if not, we will continue fighting. I remember that one year in a final we lost the three doubles and then we won the four individual points. Everything can happen. Logically, if we do good doubles we will go to the individual points with all the confidence in the world and creating doubts for Rinconada, but whatever happens we will fight because it is in our genetics. There are 7 games one day and 7 another and until a team wins eight points this is not over. We have to be very aware of that.
