Photo: FIP.
The Mediterranean Games in Taranto have just ended, and they will go down in history for padel. The most popular racket sport hyping The sport was on the program for the very first time, with one ambition: to show that it can find its place in a major multi-sport event. 88 athletes from 18 countries took to the courts at Parco Salinella, and the president of the International Padel Federation (FIP), Luigi Carraro, is confident: his sport emerges even stronger.
"Further confirmation of the growth our sport is experiencing"
High technical level, spectacle, international dimension: the manager believes that all the boxes have been ticked. The debut of padel at the Mediterranean Games was a great thrill and, above all, further confirmation of the boom our sport is experiencing and its continued growth throughout the world. "He told the Ansa news agency. The athletes were able to compete in a men's tournament, a women's tournament, and a mixed tournament. This is another significant point given the growing interest in mixed events within the Olympic Movement."
« Today, there are approximately 38 million players, 85.000 courts and 27.000 clubs spread across 178 countries and territories: figures that, just a few years ago, would have seemed difficult to imagine.Carraro points out. Our presence at the European Games, Mediterranean Games, South American Games, Asian Games, African Games and Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games demonstrates how solid and tangible our progress within the international multisport movement has become. "Padel will once again be in the spotlight at the Asian Games, which open on September 19 in Japan.
« The value of an event like these Games goes beyond the sporting result: padel is a fantastic vehicle for socialization, bringing people together and fostering cultural exchange. Seeing athletes from different countries, speaking different languages and representing different traditions, sharing the court and the same values is one of the most powerful images that sport can offer. “,” continues Carraro, who obviously sees even further ahead: The dream, and at the same time the ultimate goal of the entire international padel family, is to reach the Olympic Games. Every new country, every new athlete, every court, and every participation in a multi-sport event represents a step in that direction. We work every day, in collaboration with national federations and the entire international padel community, to achieve this fundamental objective. »
