The president of the Chile Badminton Federation, Helio Alvarez, visited the office of the Pan Am Badminton Confederation and shared his impressions less than a year before the Pan Am Games 2023 that will be organized in his country.
“In the last year, more progress and commitments have begun to be seen. We have had constant contact via Zoom with the Pan Am Badminton Confederation, the World Federation and the Organizing Committees in Santiago. As the pandemic has receded a bit, we have returned to face-to-face meetings, that is why today I am in Lima, in meetings with Badminton Pan Am and we are planning the activities that will perhaps remain as a legacy and that will help to have better competition in Santiago 2023, both in badminton and in Para badminton.”
Helio Alvarez met with the Chief Operating Officer of the Pan Am Badminton Confederation, Mr. German Valdez, trying to plan legacy activities for Chilean badminton and Para badminton and that in turn strengthen the competition at the next Pan Am Games.
Chilean badminton has continued to evolve and the plan for Santiago 2023 is underway, where they will seek to represent Chile in the best way. Already with a new coach and a young generation of athletes, Chilean badminton promises to stand out as hosts on and off the courts.
“Today we have achieved a contract with a Cuban coach, Roberto Mollinedo, of a fairly good level, who has already started working with us from the South American Games Asunción 2022, although he did not prepare us for that competition, he was there with the team and had that contact with half of the national team. And we are looking at the long list of players to refine it and reach Santiago 2023 with the ideal number of players who have exclusive dedication to training. We have a young team but with a lot of potential and I think that with the help of Roberto, who has a lot of experience despite his youth, we are going to have a very good presentation, I have no doubt about that.”
In addition, the future of Chilean badminton is assured. Players of young age but with international experience, such as Alonso Medel and the 2018 Youth Olympic Games, are joined by other young athletes who will seek to be the next Chilean stars in badminton.
“In Chile we had a renewal of players as a result of age. The oldest is Ashley Montre with 22 years, then there are Fernando and Alonso with 21 years, Benjamin who turned 18 and the others are between 16 and 17. So the coach has to go viewing the profile to select the team for Santiago 2023. Then, we will deal with the Olympic cycle (South American Games, Bolivarian Games) also getting involved in the various international tournaments to prepare, why not, players to try to qualify for Paris 2024, but with the set goal of reaching Los Angeles 2028.”
Congratulations to Chilean badminton and the best of successes for the great challenges to come.
