Ana María Gómez Rodríguez, before completely deciding on rackets, combined her passion for sport with the disciplines of karate and soccer. But at the time of competing it was very exhausting to perform in all three areas and he decided to stay only in table tennis.
“Great decision,” says the player who has been training and competing for 10 years, and is a national champion, a South American champion in Intercollegiate and a Pan American champion, among other achievements in international events in which she has participated.
Now, at 15 years old, this young woman who was born in Rionegro is one of the members of the Colombian National Team that is preparing for a period of time during the season in Portugal (see attached note).
His life is currently filled with concentrations, games, training and virtual school, since he is in tenth grade and wants to continue with his study. He appreciates the facilities that the cyber school teachers allow him to present his work, since he dedicates between five and six hours a day practicing table tennis.
She has lived this week intensely, because playing at home, with her parents and siblings in the stands, and with her friends and neighbors cheering her on, is something that will remain in her memory forever.
And she responded to all that support and love with a title: she was crowned mixed doubles champion along with Rafael Quintero from Bogotá, beating the big favorites Emanuel Otálvaro and Gabriela Campo 3-1, who were also acting as locals in the Series. World.
“It’s curious because I won the title in a modality that I hardly play (doubles) and with a teammate with whom I had not paired. But winning at home was something very nice and in the end that is the important thing, because my family cannot see me or accompany me in international tournaments. “I am very happy with this achievement,” commented the woman from Antioquia.
Outside Colombia
She says this because since last year, Ana María has been away from home: first in Spain where she trained and competed in that country’s League to continue improving her level and this year she was in Portugal, where she stayed for a month perfecting his game.
“Both in Spain and in Portugal I have learned a lot, being outside the country has been wonderful, because it allows me to compete with high-level athletes and that helps me improve.”
The Paisa athlete is clear that she wants to be with Colombia in the Olympic Games. That is why he trains hard and takes advantage of his stay in Europe to abide by what the coaches recommend in regards to agility and speed in movement.
Among her strengths are power and a good hand, which allows her to be competitive. That preparation led her to be champion in the WTT Youth Contender World Series in Rionegro, and now she is getting ready for the National Youth Games in the Coffee Region, where she hopes to be champion in singles, doubles and teams. “That’s what we’re preparing for,” he said.
Ana María Gómez Rodríguez, Before completely deciding to use rackets, he combined his passion for sports with the disciplines of karate and soccer. But at the time of competing it was very exhausting to perform in all three areas and he decided to stay only in table tennis.
“Great decision,” says the player who has been training and competing for 10 years, and is a national champion, a South American champion in Intercollegiate and a Pan American champion, among other achievements in international events in which she has participated.
Now, at 15 years old, this young woman who was born in Rionegro is one of the members of the Colombian National Team that is preparing for a period of time during the season in Portugal (see attached note).
His life is currently filled with concentrations, games, training and virtual school, since he is in tenth grade and wants to continue with his study. He appreciates the facilities that the cyber school teachers allow him to present his work, since he dedicates between five and six hours a day practicing table tennis.
You can read: Colombia’s historic four gold medals in table tennis
She has lived this week intensely, because playing at home, with her parents and siblings in the stands, and with her friends and neighbors cheering her on, is something that will remain in her memory forever.
And she responded to all that support and love with a title: she was crowned mixed doubles champion, along with the Bogota native. Rafael Quinterobeating the big favorites 3-1 Emanuel Otálvaro y Gabriela Campowho also acted as home team in the World Series.
You may be interested in: A treasure! Emanuel Otálvaro was crowned champion of the World Table Tennis Circuit
“It’s curious because I won the title in a modality that I hardly play (doubles) and with a teammate with whom I had not paired. But winning at home was something very nice and in the end that is the important thing, because my family cannot see me or accompany me in international tournaments. “I am very happy with this achievement,” commented the woman from Antioquia.
Outside Colombia
She says this because since last year, Ana María has been away from home: first in Spain, where she trained and competed in that country’s League to continue improving her level, and this year she was in Portugal, where she stayed for a month perfecting his game.
“In both Spain and Portugal I have learned a lot, being outside the country has been wonderfulbecause it allows me to compete with high-level athletes and that helps me improve.”
The Paisa athlete is clear that she wants to be with Colombia in the Olympic Games. That is why he trains hard and takes advantage of his stay in Europe to abide by what the coaches recommend in regards to agility and speed in movement.
Among her strengths are power and a good hand, which allows her to be competitive. That preparation led her to be champion in the WTT Youth Contender World Series in Rionegro, and now she is getting ready for the National Youth Games in the Coffee Region, where she hopes to be champion in singles, doubles and teams. “That’s what we’re preparing for,” he said.
Colombia House in Portugal
The Colombian Table Tennis Federation is carrying out an international preparation program with promising athletes with a view to the Olympic Games.
Technician Luis Escobar is responsible for this project. He directs the Colombia house in Portugal, which has the support of the Ministry of Sports and provides training and competition spaces in that country to national talents. “The idea is to have a group of between 9 and 12 national players who have great projection in this sport, so that they can live the experience of training in the old continent, specifically in Portugal, which is one of the countries that has the most development in this discipline” Escobar commented.
In the group, which stays in the Portuguese country for between 6, 4 or 3 months, are Emanuel Otálvaro from Antioquia, who lives there all year round, and Sebastián Bedoya, who has been partnering with Emanuel in international tournaments. Ana María Gómez, Ana María Isaza, Mariana Rodríguez, Juan M. Jiménez and Mariana Ruiz have been with them for 3 months or more.
