The Best Badminton Player in America Focuses On the Olympic Games
The Guatemalan Kevin Cordón, double Pan-American champion of badminton and better classified of the continent in the world ranking (48), dreams of going for the third time to the Olympic Games and thus improve his participation in London 2012, where he was among the first 16 players of the planet.
The 28-year-old sportsman said in an interview with Efe, his satisfaction with the recent gold medal obtained at the Toronto Pan American Games, but also warned that he has a new goal and that his dreams and hopes are focused on the Olympic event. of Rio de Janeiro 2016.
"I never think I'm the best player on the continent, it's good to celebrate the moment, but staying on the podium is a mistake," said the athlete, originally from a town in the department of Zacapa, located 185 kilometers northeast of the city. Guatemala.
"The dream of every athlete is to qualify for an Olympic Games." Winning an Olympic medal is something I do not think about, but not because of something bad, but because it would be unforgettable, "said Cordón, who will have to look for his ticket to Rio de Janeiro. 2016 through its classification in the ranking of the World Badminton Federation.
Cordón was eliminated in the first round of the Olympic Games in Beijing 2008 but at the London 2012 event his luck changed and he was among the 16 best players in the world after passing the initial phase of the competition, although he was eliminated in the second round. final by the Japanese Sho Sasaki, ranked on the seventh step at that time.
"The sacrifices have been hard, but in the end, you do not do them out of obligation, but to reach a goal," says the Guatemalan, who has practically dominated badminton in America during the last decade.
Cordón was credited with the silver medal at the 2007 Pan-American Games in Rio de Janeiro and later, in the editions of Guadalajara 2011 and Toronto 2015, he confirmed his dominance with two gold medals.
"The main thing is training, it is part of the life that one chooses," admits the athlete, who sees in leaving the family one of the greatest sacrifices involved in the high-level sport.
"It hurts to leave them, that's the first sacrifice, then the routine tires and causes stress, but if you love what you do and have clear commitments, obstacles are overcome," explained the lefty, who first took a racket at 15 years and he forgot professionally about his other passion, soccer.
The path of Cordón has not been easy: in 2013 his brother Marvin died in a traffic accident and a total rupture of the cruciate ligament in his left knee threatened the continuity of his career in the same year.
With tears of joy, the Guatemalan certified his return to the sport of high level at the end of 2014, when winning the gold medal of the Central American and Caribbean Games in Veracruz 2014, a step forward in his goal to return to play an Olympic Games.
"As life goes by, you learn many things, many values," says Cordón, who confesses that he only takes time off on Sundays, a day in which he rarely trains.
"In the end, that's what counts: how one grows and what he learns as a person The athlete has a long or short life, but it ends." The person continues, "concluded the Zacapaneco, aware that fame is not going to get lift the feet of the earth.
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