It is not a secret that padel is one of the most fashionable sports in Catalonia. The level of its Circuit does not stop growing, the pearls of its quarry every time shine with more forces ... And no fan wants to lose the dispute of the first test of the season of the Paddle World Tour, which is being held in the facilities of the Real Club de Polo de Barcelona.
Padel World Press .- These were just some of the highlights during the Official Presentation of the Estrella Damm Barcelona Open, an event that took place in the marvelous halls of the prestigious Barcelona venue.
With the presence of numerous media outlets and representatives of the sponsors, the test took place that will serve to raise the curtain of the 2014 campaign. Mónica Espadaler, President of the Pádel section of the Real Club de Polo, was in charge of welcoming and, in her speech, she highlighted the importance that this tournament has for the club. We should not forget that the so-called Internationals of Catalonia are celebrating their XVIth Edition.
During his speech, Espadaler referred to the great work that has been developing for many years with the padel in the club and, of course, outlined the importance of having two luxury 'partners' throughout the year, such as Fernando Belasteguin, current number 1 of the world; and Lucía Sainz, member of the 7 couple of the WPT ranking.
Just below, Javier Porras, General Director of World Padel Tour, had words of thanks to Catalonia for hosting this first event of the year. Very excited about the challenge they have just started, he listed the novelties presented by the Professional Circuit for this season. Once again, he stressed that from the day of Thursday, 22 May day, fans can see all the matches, live and by videostreaming, through the official website.
On the other hand, wanted to assess the contribution of the Catalan Federation: "That has given us the volunteers who will be in the tournament. All of them can become important players in our circuit in the future and, of course, this shows that we are committed to the quarry ".
Catalonia, sports and paddle
As it could not be otherwise, at the table there was also representation of the political sector. Iván Tibau, Secretary of Sports of the Generalitat, spoke about the importance and growth of this sport. "In Catalonia we have 10.00 federated padel licenses, which represents an 25% of the total of Spain. The paddle has lost the label of elitist and has become popular. "
For his part, Xavier Amador, Head of Institutional Relations in the area of Quality of Life, Equality and Sports of the City of Barcelona, said: "The padel is distinguished from other sports by the large number of brands that support it. I would like to emphasize the large number of sporting events that have taken place recently in Barcelona, it is special thanks to the support of companies such as Estrella Damm. "
Finally, Daniel Laga, Coordinator of Sports of the Diputación de Barcelona, said: "The Real Polo Club has become a sporting reference with horse riding, polo, tennis ... From here they promote sports and that It is magnificent for our city. Barcelona is still a benchmark and let's not forget that sport collaborates to project Catalonia ".
What did the players have to say?
Fernando Belasteguin and Lucía Sainz were in charge of closing the conference with their opinions regarding the competition. The player said: “I am coming off an injury and both Martita Ortega and I have set ourselves the goal of going game by game. We want to reach our final goal, which is the Madrid Masters ”.
For his part, Bela said he expects a very difficult season: "It may be the most equal in recent years. Juan Martín and I hope to repeat here, in a test that we have won in 10 of the 11 times that we have played it ".
The season is already underway ... Little by little, the competition is approaching the start of the Final Men's Draw and we can only say ... Enjoy the Game !!!!
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