Badminton player Uriel Canjura, an athlete from our Effort and Glory Program, became the first Salvadoran athlete to qualify directly for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Saturday.
The historic classification of the greatest figure of Salvadoran badminton, which was already confirmed by the Olympic Committee of El Salvador (COES), was achieved with the silver medal that the native of Suchitoto obtained at the XXVII Yonex Pan Am Individual Championships Guatemala 2024.
In the individual final, the Salvadoran fell 21-14, 17-21 and 13-21 against local Kevin Cordón, but with this result, Canjura added 5,950 points to the Olympic ranking, in which he is in 28th place. which is decisive for the badminton player to be among those classified for Paris 2024.
Thus, Uriel will be the first representative of Salvadoran badminton to participate in the Olympic Games and, for the moment, the first athlete from El Salvador to obtain a place in Paris 2024.
It was a great tournament for Uriel who in the semifinals beat the Canadian and Pan American champion, Brian Yang, 21-16 and 21-15. This was also Canjura’s first victory against the American in his career.
What does qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games mean?
It is a very great emotion, it has been a very long process because in badminton the classification began a year ago and we played a minimum of 10 tournaments scoring for the classification, there are ups and downs, not all the tournaments were good, but I am excited to to be able to bring this joy for badminton and for the federation. In one year many things can happen and there are many athletes who seek classification.
Since when did you visualize this moment of qualifying for the Olympic Games?
The dream of every athlete is to qualify for the Olympic Games, but I began to see it more seriously after the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires (2018). Since then we saw with the federation that it was possible to qualify for the Senior Olympic Games and we continued working to do it in the best way and planning helped a lot.
What does it mean to you to be the first badminton athlete from El Salvador to compete in the Olympic Games?
I am excited because we had the classification between our eyebrows, we were fighting to be the first Salvadoran badminton player to compete in the Olympic Games, it is a great emotion and it is an honor to represent El Salvador in this event and putting on the national shirt is a pride that we all feel.
What have been the main aspects that have made qualifying for Paris 2024 possible?
I think that the planning helped a lot, the training bases, the support of the INDES, the support of the COES and the federation, my family, who were always there so that I could prepare in the best way and in the end that makes the classification possible as well. .
The planning, the support, the sacrifice, the dedication of the family, there are many things, but those have mainly helped me achieve this classification.
After getting the Olympic ticket, what do you have on your agenda?
Now I want to go and have a physical check-up to avoid having physical problems with my knee again and I will visit the INDES High Performance Athlete Comprehensive Care Clinic, I will have some exams and check-ups so that there are no problems, and after That, returning to training because in two weeks I have a tournament in Mexico, it is a Challenge, and then the specific preparation for the Olympic Games.
There will probably be a training base before participating in Paris 2024, we must prepare well to represent the country in the best way.
What is your goal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games?
We are going to fight for everything, it is not going to be easy, these are my first Olympic games and we have to enjoy it too. But we are going to give everything and fight, we are going to try to advance as far as we can.
In Paris there will be groups of three or four players and first place advances to the main bracket.
The competition in Paris is going to be tough, we can face rivals that I am almost encountering in other tournaments such as the first from America, which is Canadian Brian Yang; Kevin Cordón, from Guatemala, and I just faced him, the Brazilian Ygor Coelho and the Mexican Luis Garrido. With me there are five from America who are going to be in Paris.
How has INDES support and being part of the Effort and Glory Program helped you in this classification process?
The support of INDES has helped a lot, having support from INDES is important to be able to finance certain things, that has helped me to be able to train better, better sports equipment, better food and many things.
Who do you dedicate this triumph to?
I dedicate this classification to God, to my family, INDES, COES, to the federation and to all the people who have supported me.
How do you summarize your sporting career since you started playing in Suchitoto until you obtained the ticket to Paris 2024?
It has been a great satisfaction and that all the sacrifice that has been made has been worth it, sometimes the distances, the training, which are hard, but everything has its reward and everything comes when it has to come.
After the Pan American Games in Santiago 2023 I realized that I was very close to qualifying, that medal lifted my spirits a lot and I saw the classification closer and I saw that I was one step away from achieving it.
You can’t imagine this moment when I started playing badminton, at that moment I only thought about enjoying myself, I couldn’t imagine qualifying for the Olympic Games and it is a different feeling.
It has been a satisfactory journey and everything comes when it has to come and God’s plans are perfect
#ConstruyendoElCamino
2024-04-14 21:23:42
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