Ander Cepas, the debutant who perpetuates the legend and challenges the myth in Paris

Thirty two years. This is the time that passed between the Barcelona 1992 Games and the Paris Games. Since then, there is always at least one Spaniard on the table tennis podium of the Paralympic Games. However, the elimination of a good part of the national bloc on French soil, with veterans Álvaro Valera, José Manuel Ruiz and Jordi Morales at the helm, put an end to that streak.

But the streak will continue. Ander Cepas is one of the Spanish team’s debutants at these Games. At just twenty years old, he was making his debut at a Paralympic event in Paris. Trained in the Verallia Paralympic Promising Team, he has been training for two years at CAR in Madrid with Rafael Taboada. He is one of the promising young Spaniards, with international successes such as the one achieved this year at the Brazil Open. Also, there is a medal hanging around his neck.

Strains are born with right lateral hemiparesisa fact that reduces their mobility. He competes in class 9, where Belgian Laurens Devos is king and reference. This Saturday, Ander, the young debutant of the Spanish team, with bronze assured, will face the master in all the semifinals of a Games. Devos is one of the greatest marvels appeared in table tennis in recent years: gold in Rio and Tokyo, double world champion and six-time European champion.

“I am also very proud of the work that coach Rafa Taboada and I have done, especially in the last two years,” said an excited Cepas. “Devos is the big favorite for gold, a super series. became my idol In my whole sporting career and to face him in the semi-finals without any pressure is a dream,” Ander said.

First time medalist

I dreamed before the Games of a moment that this Saturday (10:00 am) will come true. Trained under the orders of Gorka Fernández, Cepas trained for two years within the national team. “When I came to CAR, more than a technician change I experienced a life change. Until I was eighteen I trained at my club, Atlético de San Sebastián. Going to a national center means a step towards becoming a professional, training in the morning and afternoon every day,” Ander describes.

He’s making his Games debut, but his work has been impeccable so far. “Besides the technique, I prepared a lot for the psychological aspect. I think for big events like this you have to have very clear ideas. Even so, in the doubles the situation overtook us,” says Cepas, who is very demanding of himself. “I’m still frustrated by it because we came to fight for a medal and I can’t change it,” he says about his participation with Jorge Cardona in doubles “We came with aspirations of winning a medal,” he says.

His demands have made a difference so far in the individual team. “Doubles is a great learning experience to play with as many people on the court, with noise and an environment that one is not used to,” he explained. “Although it is true that the pressure of the environment prevailed over us,” he said. Applied, he learned quickly and grew as the days went by. “A few medals eluded us, but the work behind my tournament was huge and not just mine“, said.

The table tennis team has real totems in the general team in Paris. The standard bearer Álvaro Valera, José Manuel Ruiz or Jordi Morales They have been great references for many Olympic cycles. But Cepas is showing in Paris that the new generation is ready to take over. “They taught me a lot. They’ve been great references for me and I try to pick up a little bit,” Ander said. “Living with them was an incredible experience,” he says of what he’s experiencing these days more intense than in previous months.

His rise to the front line has been meteoric. In just a few months, Ander ranked himself number 3 in the world of his discipline. The hobby that started a few years ago has become a sport that has become part of the history of Spanish table tennis. He sought his place in his sport and found it in class 9, where this week he left his mark in Paris.

He wanted to continue leaving it. Ander Cepas is clear that his story is just beginning. With the audacity that youth brings him, this Saturday he will take on one of the best players in the history of his sport as Davos in search of a place in the full final of the Games. He will do it with the network giving him the knowledge that no matter what happens he will be a bronze medalist. That’s why he wants more: The debutant who kept the legend of Spanish table tennis alive at the Paralympic Games is ready to challenge the myth.