With three European bronze medals and two diplomas in three Paralympic Games (Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000), María Cinta Campiña has been the most successful Spanish adapted table tennis player. In 2002, in Chinese Taipei, she was the last woman to play in a World Cup. 20 years later, Spain is back in the elite with the participation of two players in the world championship to be held in Granada (6-12 November): Cris Rubio and Pilar González, two dike breakers with the shovel that return the brilliance to the female category of this sport.
In recent years there has been constant growth with the appearance of new ambassadors of this modality who are already beginning to reap the fruits of the work invested. In 2018 Cris Rubio (class 4) won a gold medal at the Almería Open, thus ending a drought of more than two decades without an international gold medal for a Spanish woman. And now she will be one of those who reopen the World Cup path, only explored by Huelva’s Campiña.
“The wait is over, it is very satisfying and a pride to have come this far after all the work. It’s one more step and we hope that it won’t take so many years for a woman to reach something as big as she is a World Cup. We break that barrier again, being one of those who helps table tennis is one more reason to get up every day and go to train, ”says she, who lives in Andalusia from Madrid.
He was the first baby admitted to the Toledo Paraplegic Hospital in the early 1990s. He was born with congenital heart disease for which he underwent surgery when he was one year old and medical negligence caused him a spinal cord injury that forced him to live with a wheelchair. wheel. “It was my second home, there they helped me to face life differently. My situation never paralyzed me, ”she confesses. He grew up imitating the elders, he tried basketball and volleyball, but his heart prevented him from doing activities that required greater physical effort.
He discovered table tennis, although it didn’t catch his attention, “he just played ball boy for the others,” he laughs. Living in Chiclana (Cádiz) he started playing and shortly after, in Carmona (Seville), he created the ‘Team Warriors’, an inclusive sports club. In these six years that he has been hitting the ball he has experienced a great technical evolution. “It has cost me, in high performance you have expectations and you have to give 100% at all times. I have had to row against the tide and open the way in things where much remains to be done. Being one of the few women who practices this sport they look at you with a magnifying glass, I have felt pressure, but it has helped me to never relax and try a little harder every day, ”she explains.
The World Cup, which for the first time will take place in a direct knockout format, faces it with great enthusiasm and motivation. “My best moment is always now, I still have room to improve and I know I’m not at a top level, but if I’m among the best it’s for something, I’ll try to go as far as possible. I see it as more viable to pass rounds in mixed doubles together with Iker González”, says Cris, who would like to attend the Paralympic Games. “I’m not ruling out Paris 2024, but I’m realistic and it’s complicated because of the level that’s required. I would be more prepared to get to Los Angeles 2028, ”he adds.
Another player who takes over from María Cinta Campiña is Pilar González (class 7), who welcomes the takeoff of women’s table tennis. “We are in a good moment, eight girls participated in the last Spanish Championship, something that had never happened before. We are all in a moment of development at a sporting level, which augurs a great future for us. Qualifying for the World Cup is a great joy and on top of that it will be at home, so I will have my family and my fellow Paralympic promises in the stands”, she underlines.
Seven years ago he stood out with two silver medals at the European Youth Games in Croatia, but an injury stopped his progress. She underwent surgery for an infection in the calcaneal bone caused by an ankle brace that she was wearing. “I spent five years without playing or almost being able to walk, it was very hard. I went from having a good projection to putting the shovel aside and staying home, ”she laments. The Madrilenian, who was born with spina bifida, but plays on her feet and without using crutches, did not have it easy at the beginning since in Spain she had no female rivals.
“I have always had to play against boys and although there are more women now, there are none of my class and therefore I prefer to face them so that I can develop my true game in competitions. It has been a very hard road, of many hours of training, but I have improved in stability, mobility, confidence and technique”, she emphasizes.
Go to the World Cup with the intention of making it difficult for the favorites and give some bell. He will also accompany José Manuel Ruiz from Granada in doubles: “My idea is to go all out whoever is on the other side of the table. In doubles I am lucky to play with an athlete with so much experience and with so many achievements that he has been helping me a lot”. Now that he has reached a high goal in his career, the next step is to reach the Games. “It will be two very hard years, right now I am number 13 in the ranking, I will do everything possible to qualify for Paris 2024. It would be great news if a Spanish woman returned to the Paralympic Games, it is a goal that we will try to make a reality”, he adds .
