\n\t\u201cIn all the championships I participated in in 2019, I managed to win a medal,\u201d says C\u00e1tia Oliveira before the Paralympic individual competition at the 53rd Brazilian Table Tennis Championship. After 4 matches, the statement remained true: the athlete from S\u00e3o Paulo was the class 2 champion and left the S\u00e3o Paulo Paralympic Center with the gold medal on her chest.
\n\t\u201cIt was a very good 2019, not only because of the medals, but because of the matches. I managed to beat the three-time Paralympic champion, who is Jing Liu from China, I was very happy. In China, I managed to beat Su Yeon Seo from Korea, whom I had never beaten before. So I can say it was a very good 2019,\u201d summarizes the 28-year-old athlete.
\n\tC\u00e1tia is the 4th best player in the Paralympic world ranking in class 2. She is behind the Italian Giada Rossi (1st), the Chinese Jing Liu (2nd), and her Korean rival Su Yeon Seo (3rd). The Brazilian is just 6 points away from the third-ranked player.
\n\t\u201cI was dying to play another championship to score points, but there was no way, the year had already passed. I'm right behind the girls, we're all bunched up there. If they aren't careful, I want to be first!\u201d, she jokes.
\n\t(Photo: Reproduction\/Instagram)
\n\tThe dream is to be first in the world. But, before that, the goal is different: \u201cTo be a Paralympic champion. That is my objective. Both dreams are side by side. God willing, I will achieve it.\u201d
\n\tAlready guaranteed for Tokyo 2020, C\u00e1tia will now take a vacation at the end of the year, but in January she returns to training with her eyes set on the competition. It is total focus and heart in hand. \u201cSometimes the heart beats fast, but we are working so that it is at ease so that we can arrive with a clear head, a steady heart, and a firm and strong hand at the Paralympics to get that gold,\u201d projects the player.
\n\tSpeaking of a heart beating fast, the athlete from S\u00e3o Paulo already had an exciting experience last year. C\u00e1tia took silver at the Paralympic World Championships in Slovenia and became the first Brazilian woman to win a medal at a world championship. \u201cIt was a wonderful feeling. I say that to this day people say, \u2018C\u00e1tia, you're the world runner-up,\u2019 and I say, \u2018Wow, I'm a world runner-up.\u2019 To this day it hasn't quite sunk in. It was a wonderful feeling. I hope to get the gold at the Paralympics, because enough with the silver,\u201d she jokes.
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\n\tC\u00e1tia Oliveira was a soccer player before a car accident in 2007 shattered her dreams of playing on the pitch. \u201cI was called up to the national soccer team the very same day I had the accident. I had the accident in the morning and was called up to the national team in the afternoon to play in the U-17 World Cup,\u201d she recalls.
\n\tAfter 6 years, the sports world called her back. \u201cI was introduced to table tennis at a technology fair called Reatech. There was a table with a national team athlete who had been to several Paralympics. The moment I hit a ball, I said, \u2018Man, I want to do this sport.\u2019 Because I need a table and one other person, I don't need another wheelchair user. And when I went to my first championship, the flame was lit and I said, \u2018I want to be an athlete again.\u2019 Then I went to Rio in 2016, and I'm still here today, I fell in love and I'm never letting go.\u201d This is what all of Brazil hopes for as well.
\n\tThe post Ready for Tokyo, C\u00e1tia Oliveira wins gold at the Brazilian Championship appeared first on Olimp\u00edada Todo Dia.\n<\/p>\n
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