Diego Elías and the project in Peru to have more players like him

One case in a million. This is how Diego Elías’ achievement of reaching number one in world squash is seen from the outside. Rising to the top from a country with no track record in the sport is only matched by Thierry Lincou, a Frenchman who grew up on Réunion Island, east of Madagascar, where there was only one squash court, the one built by Lincou’s father. he.

But for those who know and have closely followed Diego’s career, the fact that he already appears at the top of the PSA ranking is due to his effort, his determination and the work of his father José Manuel Elías to get him to where he is.

“It is the product of developing talent, of living squash, of having such a demanding father and that Diego always had this objective”; tells us Alejandro Ballón, president of the Squash Federation.

Part of the story of Diego Elías is known, that of that little boy who went to play with his father’s students, the one who cried at any defeat and the one who decided to do school virtually to have time to travel to any tournament youthful could.

The same determination that great figures such as Edwin Vásquez, the only Peruvian Olympic gold medalist, or Sofía Mulanovich, who with her 2004 WSL title gave a great boost to national surfing, had at the time. Kina Malpartida, Nicolás Fuchs, Cecilia Tait, Ricardo Duarte, among others, also left the country in style.

Now those who also shine in style are Kimberly García, with titles and records, and Angélica Espinoza in parataekwondo. Giuliana Poveda and Pilar Jáuregui are not far behind in parabadminton and sailors like Jean Paul de Trazegnies, among others.

-The project-

The Squash Federation also has a great challenge, knowing how to take advantage of the momentum that news such as Diego Elías give. The phenomenon makes many children want to discover this sport and follow in their footsteps.

According to Ballón, in the country there are up to a thousand people who practice squash sporadically and some 120 game courts, but the vast majority of them are established in private clubs. “It has been an exclusive sport in the capital, but now we have 12 courts in the provinces, in the north,” he explains.

Trujillo (5 courts), Piura (5) and Chiclayo have opened their doors to squash, always in clubs, but it is a big step. Arequipa, where there are courts halfway built, and Ica, are the next places to conquer, in addition to having more high-altitude cities. “Half of our youth team comes from the north,” the manager tells us as a sign that the decentralization of this sport is working. “Not everything is Lima anymore,” he says about it.

And the great project points to the recent CAR inaugurated at the Villa El Salvador Sports Center. “We want to carry out an urban project, so that the children sign up for scholarships at universities abroad”, the manager tells us. This is the model that Colombia applies to its players, to professionalize them through the universities.

We know this figure in tennis -cases of Nicolás Álvarez, Ignacio Buse-, who play university tournaments in the United States before becoming professionals. “Universities are looking for squash players and there are scholarship possibilities. One of our selected, Andrés Duany, did it”, Alejandro Ballón tells us.

The federation has an academy in Lawn Tennis and now with the CAR in VES they are looking for the great objective of massification. Already in Trujillo a youth South American was held a few weeks ago and in Lima tournaments are held at least twice a month.

The Squash Federation’s plan is to combine the practice of the sport with English studies so that the boys from Villa El Salvador are initially interested in squash and thus be able to discover talents. “Right now there are no new Diegos Elías… we have Alonso Escudero, who is over 30, and Rafael Gálvez, who trains in Spain. Where I see a lot of future is in girls. We are working there, we have won gold in Sub 11 and silver in Sub 13″, the manager tells us.

Successes like that of Diego Elías should illuminate the paths to follow.

—