”They’ve treated the athletes brilliantly, conditions have been incredible» | OneFootball

Gustavo Gómez, Guilherme Teodoro, Giulia Takahashi, and Daniela Ortega, leading figures in table tennis, share how family, years of training, and life away from home shaped their sporting careers.

The table tennis competition at the 13th South American Games Santa Fe 2026 is taking place in Rosario, where representatives from different countries in the region are facing off at the Salvador Bonilla Stadium of Club Atlético Provincial, in Parque de la Independencia.

The Mixed Doubles matches played this Tuesday offered a display of dynamism: the Chilean pair of Daniela Ortega and Gustavo Gómez managed to come back from 0-2 against Brazil and won 3-2 in a showdown marked by shifts in pace and great intensity.

Anticipating the opponent

Table tennis requires players to combine technique and reaction time within very limited time frames. The ball constantly changes direction, and every return requires anticipating the opponent’s next move.

But there is also a decisive mental component. For Guilherme Teodoro, a member of the Brazilian pair that reached the final, one of the main characteristics of this sport is precisely “resilience.”

The Brazilian explained that the dynamics of the matches force players to stay confident even when the course of the game changes suddenly: “It’s a sport where everything can change very quickly. You can feel very good, and in 10 minutes everything can change.”

His partner, Giulia Takahashi, also chose a word to define what she considers essential in the discipline: “The best thing about table tennis is not giving up. Always believing in every point.”

A family passion

Behind many high-performance athletes there is a story that began long before the big competitions. In Daniela Ortega’s case, her connection to table tennis began within her own family.

Her brother was already playing when she started getting involved in the sport at the age of four. “We’re 9 years apart. And ever since I was in my mom’s belly, I was already there listening to ping pong,” she said.

Her compatriot, Gustavo Gómez, also had his first contact with the sport at home. “My dad taught me how to play. My sister played too, my whole life has been linked to table tennis,” he recalled. Over the years, it became a professional career: “It’s my job, and my whole life will always be connected to this.”

The challenge of competing

The path of a high-performance player also involves travel, training, and long periods away from the family environment. It is a reality especially familiar to those who develop much of their careers outside their home countries.

Ortega said that several members of the Chilean national team live and train in Europe. “We live far from our family. Sometimes we find ourselves alone and have to push through. We work very hard for this,” she said.

A growing sport

The South American Games also offer an opportunity to bring table tennis closer to new spectators. The presence of the crowd in the stadium was one of the aspects highlighted by the competition’s main figures.

Gómez especially appreciated the support received in Rosario. “The people have been very warm. They have treated the athletes very well, the conditions have been incredible,” he said.

Teodoro, meanwhile, emphasized the importance of the crowd for a sport that is looking to keep growing in the region: “The crowd is very important for the sport in South America because it’s very difficult for people to go watch table tennis, and it filled up a lot.”

The activity will continue until Saturday, September 26, at the Salvador Bonilla Stadium with the different events scheduled for the tournament.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.