Artemisa

An outpost of the Cuban athletes who will participate in the next Tokyo Olympic Games leaves this Wednesday from Havana to the Japanese capital.

Led by headlines under the five rings like Idalys Ortiz and Leuris Pupo, the entourage includes representatives from table tennis, swimming, artistic gymnastics, weightlifting, as well as the rest of the sports shooting and judo qualifiers.

Before embarking on the trip, Leuris himself praised the 54 days of preparation that the five classified shooters had in Spain and reaffirmed "the desire and the desire to do the best possible during the competition".

It is the spirit that the Cuban delegation has. "The difficulties caused by the blockade kept us for a long time without ammunition to train, but we overcome that and in each tournament we demonstrate the value of Cuban sports shooting. Now in Tokyo we are also ready to do a good job," explained the head of London 2012.

Participant in his sixth Olympic Games, a historic figure for Cuban athletes, Pupo confesses that the claw, the will, the desire and the sacrifice are some of his weapons to stay in the elite. "When I was little I dreamed of playing games, and now that I am six it is a great achievement."

For her part, a debutant like tenimesista Daniela Fonseca assured that Cuban athletes will be in each competition with their hearts. "What each one of us does will be the greatest effort of all of us. I tell my teammates not to give up in the face of difficulties and give everything. Only in this way will good results be achieved."

She knows it well, after spending almost eight months without training and achieving a qualification tinged with feats for Antillean table tennis. With only one victory in the Olympic Games, this sport has in her and hers duet of hers with Jorge Moisés Campos the hope of achieving another success under the five rings.

"A victory for us would be something very big and it would confirm that nothing is impossible. After so much sacrifice, that is what we will seek, to fight for everything we have done in the midst of the pandemic. Whether we win or not we prepare to represent Cuba." , he sentenced.

Regarding the current scenario, the Matanzas sent a message of tranquility and confidence to her province. "I tell them to beware of Covid-19, but also of all the lies that circulate on the networks. It is true that we have difficulties, but they are not resolved with violence. That only damages the image of Cuba and that of themselves." .

For her part, the triple Olympic medalist Idalys Ortiz confirmed her intention to reach her fourth summer medal. According to her she said, her greatest rival is herself although she does not underestimate any opponent.

A distinguished figure within the Cuban delegation, Idalys explained that there is no concern after she left the last world event without medals. "I had only trained for three weeks, in an extremely complex season due to the pandemic. Those who beat me did it in overtime, so I can say that this was a good competition for me. On the way to Tokyo, my biggest rival is me."

The group of Cubans traveling to Tokyo is also made up of trainers, commissioners, medical personnel, and the accredited press. After a stopover in Paris, everyone must arrive in Japan on the 16th to serve a three-day quarantine as part of the anticovid protocols implemented by the Japanese authorities.

In turn, representatives of athletics, canoeing and wrestling will travel to Tokyo directly from preparation bases in Europe. For their part, other groups of athletes will undertake a trip in the coming days, to complete a delegation of 69 athletes who will seek in Tokyo to keep Cuba among the top 20 nations of the medal table.

CUBADEBATE