Ingrit Valencia is a strong card for Colombia in the Olympic Games and faces a great challenge. She will have only one chance to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics and she cannot miss it if she wants to repeat her 2016 Olympic medal.
Ingrit, who participated in the Future WBA Champions in Medellín in February 2020, will have to look for her ticket to the Olympic Games between May 10th and 16th, when the qualifying tournament will be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. A few days ago, it was announced that the other tournament that would give quotas and that was supposed to be held in Paris, was cancelled, which creates a great need of urgency for Valencia and all the fighters who will participate in Buenos Aires.
“It’s as simple as that. The only current event to award quotas is the South American Pre-Olympic tournament. If I don’t win there, I’m out,” Valencia told Un Nuevo Día, a newspaper in Tolima, Colombia.
Valencia spoke about the Colombian team and its chances of reaching the Olympic Games: “We are five women and eight men. I will compete in the 51-kilogram category. All of us will be evenly matched. I don’t see one stronger than the other. In fact, the participants will arrive without competition rhythm. We have never had so much time of inactivity, so it is difficult to decipher how each delegation is”.
“My mind is set on getting to Japan. That’s what I’ve been working hard for. I am confident in my abilities and I will apply everything we have prepared with my coach. I am highly motivated,” said the 32-year-old boxer.
