Student and military, Haramara Gaitan Fausto, a prominent Mexican badminton player who fights for a quota for Tokyo 2020, and who would like to contribute to make badminton more popular in her country.
Haramara met our sport a few years ago, when she was playing another sport, but she fell in love with badminton because it was a little harder than she thought.
“I met badminton because some people practiced it next to where I was training basketball. I saw it and I loved how hard it is. From there I started practicing it and I really enjoy playing badminton.”
The commitment and discipline that sport helps you develop influence every area of your life. Haramara has learned, with badminton, to be able to overcome adversity situations to achieve her goals.
“The sport helped me to open my eyes. I see sport as a platform to achieve my goals and have been able to assess the situation I find myself in thanks to traveling to different countries through badminton. And most importantly, badminton has taught me to be patient and how to overcome any adversity.”
In this past year, Haramara set out to reach a quota to participate in her first Olympic Games, but her goals with our sport go beyond her personal goals. What badminton means to her makes her think about her country, and the benefits it can bring to those who practice it.
“My goals with badminton in my country begin with achieving the levels that I want for myself. Later on, I would love to contribute to making it a more popular sport like in Europe, and that universities and clubs join in playing badminton leagues and so we can have high performance badminton but also recreational.”
Many times society or the environment limits people to continue fighting for their dreams. Social, racial, or other limitations can make you desist. Haramara is undoubtedly an example of determination. She is a military woman and athlete with great aspirations. And she shares a message for all women this month.
“What I would say to women is that it is definitely difficult to forge a career in sports, due to the culture that we have in many Latin American countries, but that pursuing your goals is far beyond a gender perspective. Most importantly it is not how you are born but the determination we have to achieve what we seek. ”
These months of constant competition and effort have led Haramara to travel to different countries of the world to continue adding points in the World Ranking. This process has taught her to value our sport much more and the people and institutions that contribute to her sports development.
“I have learned to enjoy the process, and I am totally grateful to the people I have come across this past year who helped me and are my team. We keep going.”
