“I believe this is a historic moment for the growth of padel“. A chat with the first person in the Iberian movement, Spanish Olympic Committee President Alejandro Blanco Bravo The game started on the sidelines of Krakow’s Ksos Stadium, where the national team jerseys of the 24 participating countries interweave in thousands of colors into a veritable mural.
Blanco continued to reflect, “Padel is the fastest growing sport in recent years in terms of players and spectators, and being able to participate in the European Games is undoubtedly a huge success.If EG2023 represents a turning point in the relationship between weights and measures on the world sports chessboard, the mixed event demonstrates that cricket is a sport that knows how to look to the future while keeping in mind the dynamics of amateurs and social structures. Considering mixed doubles is the sport’s greatness. classic. This aspect rhymes with the five circles of ambition, the breath of the Olympics. “The introduction of mixed mixed competitions at these European Games is a real step forward for the requirements of the Olympic Movement.It is true that padel is going through an extraordinary moment, but I think the sport’s best moment is yet to come, as we face unlimited growth“.
Alejandro Blanco acknowledged the work of the past few years, “I would like to say to my friend Luigi Carraro that padel has grown a lot thanks to his work with the International Federation and that the future of the sport cannot be seen only in short or medium term goals, because it has to be projected in depth. We see this every day as people all over the world enjoy the spectacle of padel and at the same time they love playing padel.“
EG2023 paid tribute to an aspect that the International Padel Federation has been working on for some time, namely team competitions, as a particularly interesting avenue for the future:“no doubt“was the idea of President Blanco,”Because in all sports, people’s feelings about their country’s flag or jersey are very strong and emotional. Wearing the national team’s “camisole” is an achievement for every athlete. By the way, we Spaniards, like Italians and many others around the world, are particularly passionate about this, and I don’t just mean athletes or coaches and staff, but people who love sports.“
And Spain’s number one sport, reflecting the dream of becoming an Olympic sport:”I don’t think it’s important to get to a particular goal quickly, but how and by what means to get there. I speak from our experience of living and living in Spain, padel is a step forward every day. Then we saw the growth of the gobale movement, including the number of masters, players, practitioners and amateurs.So, we can’t think about what to achieve, but how we can do it step by step, which is crucial in aspiring to the Olympics, always thinking about how cricket has become the fastest growing sport, and in the shortest time in recent years“.
With Spain being the North Star of world sport and the yardstick for other countries like Argentina, the question is “When will we get to Spain’s level?” It was one of the most overblown lines in the interview. Blanco smiled and said: “It is a matter of pride for us to be the benchmark of the sport, however, I stress that the growth aspect is inherent in the strictest meaning of each discipline and that the immediate consequences of this are the ever-changing gaps between players, teams, nation. We are faced with a constant shift in weights and gaps between countries because everyone grows, progresses, progresses and changes anyway, this is also happening in Spain, we have to keep growing or others will catch up on us!“
Blanco has a big smile on his face as an athlete who puts his athleticism above all else:”It’s true that catching up to other countries is not good for us, but it is very good for global cricket. On the other hand, fluctuations in technology levels are changing weights and measures all the time, as athletes, coaches, athletes or simply fans explore new training methods, using videos, analytical studies, recordings, data, artificial intelligence. As I have already told FIP president Luigi Carraro and our federation president Ramon Morcillo the level of padel is growing rapidly.“
Krakow’s Market Square is one of the most beautiful and historically rich squares in the world, and the final and semi-final performances will be the perfect setting for padel. “I haven’t seen it yet, but Luigi (Editor-in-Chief Carraro) told me it will be a spectacle, I know this square well, it’s beautiful,” Blanco explained, “We must never forget that sports not only Only the created athletes are a fundamental part of it, but everything around it contributes to an extraordinary atmosphere. The more beautiful the place where the event is held, the more attractive it will be to the public. A path firmly followed by padel: “I think the padel movement is working in this direction, and doing it very well. I feel like a great ambassador for the padel movement because I believe in the sport and bringing it to a square like Krakow not only provides good visibility but also enhances not only live performances but also TV shows.“
