De Sanctis: “Paralympic bowl, now the dream of Paris…”

The Italian national Boccia Paralympic team will be engaged in Portugal, at the World Boccia Paralympic Qualifier Tournament in Coimbra, from 22 to 28 March. Under the orders of the coach Loreno Targa and the head of the delegation, as well as federal councilor Orietta Calonego, the athletes Mirco Garavaglia and Giulia Marchisio competed in the BC3 couple category. With them the assistants Martino Miorelli, Umberto Garavaglia, Roberto Marchisio and Rosaria Caviglia.

At the Portuguese event (BC3 category), valid for obtaining the last pass available to access the Paris 2024 Paralympics, around twenty athletes representing ten countries (Italy, Portugal, Greece, Poland, Colombia, Japan, Peru, Singapore, Sweden and Great Britain).

“In less than six years we have the opportunity to participate in the Paris 2024 Paralympics through a wild card for the good results achieved and it is already a great success” declared the number one of the Federbocce, Marco Giunio De Sanctis – “For this ambitious goal we have made available all the necessary means to help our athletes grow from a technical point of view and make them stronger at an international level. In fact, at the Federal Technical Center in Bergamo, we have offered Boccia practitioners a new playing area.” “Last year – continued De Sanctis – we obtained good results to increase the score for the international ranking, but it was not enough. Now we can’t make any more mistakes. The Portuguese one is the last chance to gain the qualification pass for Paris 2024: ambition, a change of mentality and healthy competitive spirit will be needed, but above all the Azzurri will necessarily have to obtain the first three positions in the pair test reserved for the BC3 category. It is not excluded, even if it is a remote possibility, that they could find our Italian Mirco Garavaglia in the individual test. In the meantime, I wish all the participants my sincere good luck.”

“Our mixed pair worked well, with the right motivation and harmony, demonstrating that they are on par with other nations outside the top five, which for now are clearly superior” declared the head of delegation Orietta Calonego. “I am proud to have been their head of delegation in both previous events that crowned them winners in the Netherlands and second place in Greece and to be so also for the next trip to Coimbra. I thank President De Sanctis for entrusting me with this prestigious role. I thank all my colleagues in the federal council for their precious support. It won’t be easy but I think that with the supervision of the coach Loreno Targa, and the ramp assistants, determining their work, all our will and determination to bring this challenge home will be there. Being able to get a pass for the Paris 2024 Paralympics would be a dream.” “The admission of the BC3 couple to the competition for qualification for the Paris Paralympics, in addition to being an excellent opportunity, demonstrates the great work carried out in recent years by all the Paralympic staff (technical commissioners, coaches, athletes, assistants, family members)” stated coach Loreno Targa. “As a coach I inherit a well-established situation. The same motivation with which the International “WorldBoccia” Federation underlies its choice to admit the Italian couple into this important competition, and not other more famous ones, gives credit to the important work carried out. With the technical pool we continue the planning of meetings aimed at refining the preparation of the Garavaglia Mirco-Marchisio Giulia couple designated to accomplish a decidedly difficult undertaking on paper. In these meetings, the Visconti-Zendron couple is actively collaborating to strengthen preparation and confidence in their teammates who certainly feel the push and incitement of the entire Italian Boccia world they represent. We are all aware that the undertaking is particularly difficult and not to be taken for granted, but there will certainly be maximum commitment from everyone.”

On the eve of the World Boccia Paralympic Qualifier Tournament in Coimbra, Garavaglia and Marchisio, in the international ranking of the BC3 category, are respectively 14th with 51.2 points and 32nd with 13.8 points.