Giuliana, Para-Badminton World Championships runner-up, plays Badminton since 2 years ago and has won almost everything in 2017. She got a medal in each tournament she played but her triumphs were not only on the field, they were in own her life. Let’s learn more about Giuliana below.
“Badminton has given me a lot of joy. It’s a sport that I love and learn more every day. I had never before thought that somebody with disabilities can play almost as a conventional and that is surprising. I have met nice people from different countries, I have learned a lot and I do not regret having entered badminton.”
A sport lover and with nothing to stop her, Giuliana practiced volleyball for several years. That is why she became part of the short stature volleyball team but unfortunately the other team girls did not attend regularly the training and she did not manage to advance in that sport.
“One day, the president of the Short Stature Federation in Peru invited me to try badminton, I learned how to play it and I loved it, so I made it my favorite sport. At the beginning it was difficult, I had never heard of badminton before and I could not hit the shuttlecock but then, I started to improve and the technique of volleyball helped me a lot.”
It’s been a little more than 2 years since the first time Giuliana picked up a badminton racket and so far she has participated in 12 national and 7 international tournaments, including the World Dwarf Games 2017 and the 2017 Parabadminton World Championships in Ulsan , Korea.
“My best result has been the silver medal al the World Para-Badminton Championships in Korea because I competed against the best and gained enough experience. It was very exciting and impressive, I saw the hard work of each athlete so I had to try my best. Getting a medal for my country was the best for me.”
The badminton has taken Giuliana to travel the world and to know different countries like Colombia, Canada, the United States, Brazil and South Korea. “I enjoyed a little more Canada because it was the World Dwarf Games and it was like be in ‘my world’.”Sharing training and competitions with the daily activities of a young woman is usually demanding for every athlete. Giuliana, in addition to training with the Peruvian Para-Badminton team, is preparing to enter the University, studies English, plays volleyball and plays the guitar.
“It has been difficult to study and train at the same time. I had to leave english classes for a while since the tournaments trips lasted almost a week and I could not miss so many classes. I tried to study at all times, when I arrived early for training, for example. My friends and teachers helped me catch up on my studies and my family has always supported me to be able to comply with training, studies and homework.”
All the effort of Giuliana, her family, friends and coaches has paid off. Poveda, only 16 years old, has become the number one in the region. “It is very exciting to be the best on the continent but that makes me think about trying harder because I want to be the number one in the world. I know I can achieve it because I believed that God is with me.”
Giuliana remembers her beginnings in badminton with a lot of emotion. Her first trainer was Isaac Nuñez, Peruvian trainer with whom she learned every badminton fundament, and she shared training with Pedro Pablo de Vinatea (PER), Panamerican champion SL3.
“I remember my early days in badminton, I played with Pedro Pablo, and the coach had told me that he had won a lot of medals. It was always exciting to see him because he was the best player in Peru, he always appears on television and in other countries he is also known, he is famous. In recent months, that I’ve begun to overcome his achievements, sometimes I was bragging about that (laughs) but I was joking, I respect him a lot and I don’t think I’m better than him because he has more time than me in this sport.”
The story of Giuliana shows a great fight for dreams, a remarkable improvement and a vision of the future without anything that prevents it, that is why Poveda wants to share this message with us: “Everything can be done in this life, nothing is impossible. If you propose it, you will achieve it, with effort and dedication. Everything can be possible with God.”
Giuliana starts this 2018 with the best spirits, ready to stand out and give their best to become the best. International tournaments in Spain, Brazil and Peru are waiting to see the best of the Pan Am Para-Badminton and Giuliana will be part of this.
