Artemisa, June 25 (ACN) The Artemisa province will be able to get on the podium in the badminton competition of the 60th National School Games, which Cienfuegos will organize in July, and very soon it will once again be one of the mainstays of Cuba, said Orlando Cala Martínez, commissioner of this discipline in the country.
It is even intended to hold a national cup in the territory in November, based on the availability of a new court, soon to be completed at the Julio Díaz González Sports Initiation School (EIDE), the director declared to ACN.
He added that in accordance with the opportunities that the provincial authorities have provided, it is also being analyzed to move the permanent training base of the main team of the largest of the Antilles to that facility in Artemisia.
His badminton players have reached a considerably high level, despite resource limitations, he maintained, noting that it is due to systematic work in recent years, aimed at pioneer, school and youth ages, to the point of having athletes in the national team. and with prospects of integrating it.
By force of will, technique and mentality, Alina Sanz Rizo, from the youth category, has already been promoted, she said.
Cala Martínez alluded to the quality of the most recent provincial pioneering competition, which he said would qualify as a national and even Central American final.
They are essential tournaments to develop and popularize badminton in Cuba, he stressed.
Former athlete René Camerota Álvarez, current provincial commissioner, recalled the national badminton championship and the handball, basketball, volleyball and rhythmic gymnastics competitions, held decades ago in the room that occupied that same site.
He pointed out that they were a power at that time and, with the deterioration of the facility, they lost numerous medals, since the differences are great when they play in an unsuitable one, at an insufficient height, where the shuttlecock remains in the air for less time, as it collides in ceiling.
The plank had to be properly cared for: it began to leak, get wet and deteriorate; Now it is resurfacing and will be a success for the sport: it will help make Artemisa a powerhouse again, with another athlete on the way to making it to the Cuban team, he assured.
It is Angely Pita Sánchez, who moves, hits the shuttlecock backhanded, jumps, hits it hard and laughs satisfied, no matter how much she has sweated; No one will cut her wings to fly over the net and win medals, as she has dreamed of since she was a child.
