Chile women's wheelchair basketball team begin preparations for Santiago 2023
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Loading... - Brielle Durand
- 05 Apr 2023
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Chile's women's wheelchair basketball team have begun to prepare for the Parapan American Games in their home country at the city of Santiago.
The players that will represent the team are due to be selected this month with the National Wheelchair Basketball League already underway.
Martina Olivos, a player for local club Leones and is one of the team's top players, expressed her excitement for the Games, due to take place between November 17 and 26.
“I think I can speak for everyone, because it is a super important event," she said.
"We are excited, motivated, training hard and hoping that things will go well for us.
"We are psyching ourselves up and training a lot from now on."
Olivos was also looking forward to the event being in their country, which allows their loved ones to attend.
"It motivates me a lot, since it means that our family, those close to us, will be able to visit us," she said.
"It allows us to demonstrate, regardless of whether we win or not, that we are representing Chile."
Olivos was involved in a car accident on November 17 in 2019, which left her with spinal cord injuries that caused paralegia.
This led to her choosing to take the path of wheelchair basketball after meeting Daniela Zapata, an advocate of wheelchair basketball and current teammate at Leones, who guided her into competing in the sport.
"I invite and motivate people to go see something new," said Olivos.
"Chair basketball is just as rough as conventional basketball, just as entertaining.
"They are going to have a good time and, in addition, we must support local athletes." Read More…
