Mexican Archers Find Strength in Unity Despite Defeat
Mexican archery team debuts at Paris Olympics, falling to Japan in round of 16. Despite defeat, athletes highlight emotional experience and team unity, vowing to improve for individual competitions.
The men's archery team made up of Matías Grande, Carlos Rojas and Bruno Martínez competed this Monday in the round of 16 on the esplanade of Les Invalides at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The Mexicans closed their performance in this modality after falling to the Japanese squad 5-1; however, Matías Grande assured that every moment of this, their first participation in the summer competition for the three archers, has been a great experience.
"There is a lot of emotion, joy, we are living it to the fullest, striving for each arrow, happy to be here, we train a lot for these moments so that emotions do not extinguish these moments," he commented.
"We are happy with the result, we know that it could have been better, but we gave it our all, we are happy with that, there will be things to improve, and we will talk about that with the coach, we are strong for what follows," he added.
As the Mexican trio made their Olympic debut, Carlos Rojas said that it became something unforgettable, accentuated by the support of the fans who did not stop shouting “Mexico, Mexico.”
“It was great to go out on stage with the public, it is something beautiful, the view, all the people who came to support us and that is what we take away most from today, knowing that we did well, that we stayed strong despite all the emotions that occur on the field and that is the good thing that we have left because this continues,” he commented.
For Mexican archery, there is still a way to go in Paris 2024 with the individual events in both branches and the mixed team in charge of Matías Grande and Alejandra Valencia, competitions scheduled from July 30.
“We have the individual event left for the three of us, what we learned today will be very useful, that we know how to manage emotions and that we will get to those individual rounds better,” said Matías Grande.
"We are proud of the work we have done and the team unity we have, the effort we have put into preparing for this stage, we continue to enjoy it and this is not over yet," said Bruno Martínez.
The men's team was eliminated in the round of 16 and will now compete in singles. Credit: CONADE
