Nikte Sotomayor, made history for the sport in her country and her name has been recorded as a symbol of Guatemalan sport. She managed to fulfill her dreams, but also this whole process exceeded her sporting expectations.
“Being the first woman from Guatemala to win a medal at the Pan Am Games and to qualify for the Olympic Games in badminton has been a dream come true. I am very grateful to be born in Guatemala because all the beautiful people in my country have always supported me. ”
Qualifying for the Olympics was something Nikte had fought for throughout the cycle, and although the pandemic put a stop to the processes and the return to the courts was difficult, she was always expectant to be able to get the qualification.
“There was always the dream, and I was clear that I wanted to qualify for the Olympic Games, after the medal in the Pan Am Games, I had more chances to qualify, but there were still some tournaments to play, and I was expecting to be able to achieve it. I think in the end the qualification was the product of the effort made during those 4 years and it was great to see the result after so much sacrifice.”
An athlete usually sacrifices many things to achieve the goals set. One of the sacrifices is not being able to spend so much time with the family. However, in Nikte’s life, the time of quarantine gave her the opportunity to share with her own.
“For me it was very motivating to be able to share that time with my family since before I had little time to share with them. So that time also served me for it and to be able to finish some slopes of my career, I started a new one and I was able to focus also on what comes after badminton, what I want to do and what process I want to follow.”
Nikte not only excels in badminton, but also in studies. She has a bachelor’s degree in Sports Entity Management and is also studying a master’s degree in Nutrition and Applied Sports Sciences and another bachelor’s degree in Legal and Social Sciences. All this focused on her future, a future that will surely continue to be linked to badminton.
“I think everything I do alongside the sport is geared to what I’m going to do after badminton. I have always believed that a person should be successful in various aspects of life. And for me the other area of my life is the study and therefore this career that I am studying. As a woman, in Guatemala, it has been a bit difficult to have the support and that support that is often given to men, not only in sport but in general. So I would very much like to be able to help the woman in any problem or difficulty she is going through. I had a hard time getting the results I’ve had, and I wish fewer women would struggle with this kind of thing.”
She is currently training with a view on the Bolivarian Games, the first event of the Olympic cycle but she also has her eyes on Paris 2024, the next big goal for Nikte.
“I loved the experience in Tokyo, and I want to represent my country again in other Olympic Games, I want to perform differently, so I’m happy and with everything to look for the qualification.”
But Nikte’s career has also had moments of anguish, of pain, of discouragement. A few years ago, she suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon and had to leave the courts for several months.
“The most complicated thing in badminton has been the injury I had 5 or 6 years ago where I was several months without being able to walk. And that’s when I wondered if it’s worth pursuing in the sport. But I thank God who got me ahead of my injury and my family who have been the support in that time, they encouraged me to move forward for that dream of qualifying for an Olympic Games.”
“I think I’ve had a lot of happy moments in badminton, but one of the moments I remember the most is when I qualified for the Olympics. I was with my family, at a family meal, we weren’t waiting for that news, and we usually put the phones aside to chat with each other, but I just picked up the phone to see something and saw the message. I was paralyzed and just said ‘I qualified for the Olympics’. My whole family screamed and I sensed that feeling that it wasn’t just me, but my whole family was involved with me in the sport and the results I’ve had. That has been one of the most emotional moments of my career.”
A story of perseverance, of dreams fulfilled, of frustrations and successes. Nikte is an authorized voice to encourage all those people who have dreams and even if the road is difficult, they can persist to achieve them.
“Fight for your dreams. Fight for everything you want. Everything is possible. Sometimes you set limits yourself that don’t really exist. For me it has been important to never give up and think that things can be achieved, even if other people tell you otherwise. Fight for your dreams, all dreams can come true.”
“I thank God, I believe in him a lot and I think he has many things prepared for my life. I say thank you to my family, they are the most important thing I have now and because of them I am who I am right now. I also thank all the people who supported me, who have always been with me, different institutions among them: the COG, Badminton Pan Am, CDAG, which are sports entities that also help athletes who do not have many resources and have supported us in different tournaments, to show that although we do not have the same conditions in our country we can still compete internationally and obtain good results. ”
