Omailyn Alcalá feels proud after making her Olympic debut

Omailyn Alcalá (right) thinks that the judges did not favor her in the fight against Szeremeta / Photo: COV Press

For Venezuelan boxer Omailyn Alcalá, competing in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games was a reason to feel proud, because only the best athletes on the planet attended that event.

In her opinion, the setback she suffered in the first round of the -57 kilogram (kg) category against the Polish Julia Szeremeta should not overshadow the work she did to obtain a place in the great universal competition, which took place from July 26 to August 11 in the capital of France. She expressed this to Aloys Marín, a member of the press department of the Venezuelan Olympic Committee (COV), to whom she told that the Almighty helped her overcome obstacles to participate in the orbital meeting.

“First of all, I have to thank God for every opportunity he has given me and, above all, for having the chance to compete in my first Olympic Games. It was not the result I wanted, but unfortunately I lost in the first round,” she said.

Combat analysis

Although the judges determined that she lost 4-1 to her Polish opponent in the round of 32, Alcalá thinks that in several passages of the fight she deserved to win, to the point of believing that the decision of those in charge of signing the cards did not reflect what really happened in the ring.

“I felt like a winner in the fight. Maybe there were times when I did hold back a bit, but in some passages I felt superior. Unfortunately the judges saw something else and made their decision. That is something that must be respected,” added the boxer who showed her talent in the Arena Norte in Paris. “It was quite sad because I wanted to keep moving forward, but I accepted the result because it was God’s will. If he decided it that way, you have to respect it.”

The reality

Both Alcalá and his colleague Jesús Cova, who stumbled in his first phase fight against the Thai Bunjong Sinsiri in the 63.5 kilo version, tried to leave the name of Venezuela high, but they could not do so because “The Goddess of Fortune” did not accompany them, something they want to change for Los Angeles 2028, where they hope to excel and to achieve this they will try to train as much as possible.

“I want you to know that my teammate Jesús Cova and I gave it our all, but the things we wanted in Paris 2024 didn’t happen. Now we have to work hard to raise our level. It’s something we’ll focus on,” he concluded.

Valencia / Joseph Ñambre