MADRID, 2 (EUROPA PRESS)
The Spanish karate fighter Damián Quintero aims to “enjoy” the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, something that if he fulfills it will surely bring him a “perfect kata” with which to opt for the medals after “hard work”.
“I have promised myself to come and enjoy these Games. The pressure exists, but the work is already done, I want to enjoy myself and if I enjoy it, that perfect kata will come out,” he said this Monday in a videoconference with the media organized by the Committee. Spanish Olympic (COE).
Quintero, number one in the world, was confident that the work will pay off at the Nippon Budokan. “If the medal does not come, nothing happens, but I am convinced of the hard work we have done to be on the podium,” he commented.
The man from Malaga recognized a special feeling for being in the Games, his debut for karate, although it has already been ruled out for Paris 2024. “They are an accumulation of emotions, it is something different, a different scenario. The competition and the work are the same, but yesterday I saw swimming on TV and today I have seen the champion here eating. We look strong and powerful, “he said.
“In Fujinomiya they have treated us very well. We have trained very well, a very good coupling, the hard and strong work we had already done,” he said about adapting in a city they know well.
Quintero referred to the doubts about arbitration criteria in the cradle of this sport and with the Japanese at stake. “It is an external factor that should not affect us. We should not lose a second. There are the best referees in the world and they will be objective,” he concluded.