At the XIII South American Games Santa Fe 2026, badminton delivered two bronze medals for Venezuela, with athlete Jhonatan Wo Zheng starring in both podium finishes by teaming up with Ricardo Torres in men’s doubles and Mariangel García in mixed doubles.
Men’s Doubles Campaign and Semifinal Finish
In the men’s doubles bracket, Jhonatan Wo Zheng and Ricardo Torres opened their tournament run in the round of 16 by defeating Paraguay’s Marcos Rotela and Mauricio Martínez in straight sets, 21-12 and 21-14. Advancing to the quarterfinals, the pair secured another straight-sets victory against Bolivia’s Gabriel Rosales and Fabrizio Prudencio, posting dominant scores of 21-7 and 21-5.
The duo’s run concluded in the semifinals against Brazil’s Donnians Abreu and Jonathan Santos. The Brazilian pair claimed the match in two sets at 21-9 and 21-12, officially securing the bronze medal for the Venezuelan athletes.
“Although it is not a gold medal, we fought hard for this bronze. We faced two rivals at the beginning who were accessible, but already in the semifinals against the representatives of Brazil, who are a world championship pair like us, we did everything in our hands and it did not happen to us, we are still happy with the result,” Torres said.
Mixed Doubles Podium Run with Mariangel García
In the mixed doubles draw, Jhonatan Wo Zheng partnered with Mariangel García, opening with a round-of-16 victory over Bolivia’s Verónica Condori and Fabrizio Prudencio with identical 21-7 set scores. The battle to secure a spot on the podium came in the quarterfinals, where the Venezuelan pair faced Colombia’s Miguel Quirama and Juliana Giraldo, prevailing 21-19 and 21-15 to reach the semifinals.
The semifinal match placed García and Zheng against Brazil’s Davi Carvalho and Sania Passos. The Brazilian team advanced with 21-9 and 21-12 victories, leaving the Venezuelan duo with their second bronze medal of the games.
Double Podiums and National Representation
With these two preseas, Zheng became a central figure for the delegation by reaching the podium twice in a single edition of the South American Games.
“Although people see me as a Chinese person, I feel very happy to represent Venezuela, and to give this joy by adding one more medal to that medal table that is making history,” Zheng expressed.
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