A decade has passed since Diana Corleto Soto was recruited by the National Badminton Federation and today she is one of the most outstanding players in the country.
Diana, a doubles specialist, learned about the sport of her loves in a vacation course at the Retalhuleu Sports Complex, the department where she grew up and lived with her family until she was 15 years old.
From a restless girl who tried several sports, to a young fighter who has achieved some of her goals as a high-performance athlete and dreams of continuing to grow as a player and as a person.
The 25-year-old badminton player and triple gold medalist at the Lima-Ayacucho 2025 Bolivarian Games attended the interview with CDAG at the Sports Coliseum headquarters.
This year, its key event will be the Central American and Caribbean Games, which will be held between July and August in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Play for fun
Diana first picked up a badminton racket when she was 10 years old, after trying herself in various sports such as handball, tennis, athletics and soccer.
“When I was little I was very restless and had a lot of energy, that’s why my parents wanted me to play sports with my brother. I started in Reu, in the vacation courses they gave at the CDAG Complex,” she remembers.
Diana preferred badminton because it was played indoors, she found it more fun and easier to learn because of the lightness of the racket.
“I stayed playing for several months because luckily my coach, Juan Antonio Granados, convinced my mother that we should continue training,” Diana details.
And although Diana admits that at first she had difficulty hitting the steering wheel, her coach trusted her talent and motivated her by telling her that one day she could represent Guatemala abroad.
A sacrifice in search of excellence
Diana says that her level of play improved thanks to the requirement of training with older players, in addition to beginning to show positive results in national events.
In 2016 came a crucial moment in Diana’s career, when the Federation offered her to be part of the group of scholarship players at the headquarters in the capital city.
“It was a difficult decision, since I had to move alone at the age of 15. But since I was little I liked challenges and I was always competitive,” she reflects.
A year before, Diana lived one of her best experiences when she was part of the badminton delegation that participated in the Pan American Games in Toronto.
“In those Games I realized that badminton was going to be part of my life. It was an experience that marked me, because of the wonderful venues, the public and the size of the event,” he says.
Continuous learning
Diana admits that being part of the senior team comes with pressure to deliver results and is the most difficult part to face.
“There are demands from the coach and the environment, but at the same time I like it because I always push myself to give the extra effort in achieving the objectives set,” he says.
As an example, Diana refers to the recent experience at the Central American Games held in Guatemala.
“I arrived with a lot of pressure to win and that affected my performance. In the first games I felt nervous and stressed, but despite that the goal was achieved,” she admits.
But Diana learned her lessons: “I learned that I had to be more relaxed, to enjoy the moment and let myself go on the court. My coach was key in helping us stay focused,” she explained.
And he assures that this experience helped him face the Bolivarian Games weeks later: “in that competition with the strongest level, I managed the pressure better despite the number of games and little time,” he analyzed.
Diana also spoke about a moment of adversity that she had to overcome. “I thought about getting away from the courts at a time when I felt overwhelmed, since my life only revolved around badminton and I had pressure to finish my career at the University,” she says.
But Diana affirms that she remained resilient and found spaces with friends and family, which helped her distract herself and get out of the routine.
Look ahead
Diana, who hopes to stand out in her second Olympic cycle, details the particularities of badminton training.
“The reaction and reflexes are trained, since badminton is an explosive sport. So we don’t do as much force and we don’t waste our muscles running either. We do intervals, movements on the court and volleys,” he explains.
Speaking of short-term goals, she says that this year she longs for medals at the Central American and Caribbean Games, in which she would compete in women’s doubles with Nikté Sotomayor and in mixed with Christopher Martínez.
In the future, he says that he will focus on qualifying for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games: “the process is very complicated, but I want to fight for the big goal,” he says.
To close, Diana confesses about her dedication to badminton: “I started very young and I don’t see my life without this sport, without it I think my life would be boring.”
Photo gallery:
