This Thursday (), para-athlete Denilson Souza, aged , embarks for the city of Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, to compete in the rd World Military Archery Championship, which takes place between this Sunday () and Thursday of next week (). Representative of UFSM, Santa Maria and Brazil, this will be the first time that the archer, who trains at the Center for Physical Education and Sports (CEFD), will be present in an international competition. A retired Army corporal two decades ago, the Santa Maria native was called up in December and, six days a week since January this year, he prepared to participate in the championship that starts this weekend. On the Asian continent, he will meet another competitors, of whom are fellow Brazilians. In total, only three people with disabilities were selected for the tournament. Souza's relationship with UFSM has existed since , when he joined the wheelchair handball team, a project created by the Adapted Physical Education Support and Studies Center (NAEEFA), a group coordinated by professor Luciana Palma. In , the para-athlete fell from a roof and became paraplegic, learning about the existence of adapted sports just a few months after the accident. The Santa Maria native was called up and played for the Brazilian Wheelchair Handball Team, but, due to the CEFD gym having to undergo renovations at the time, he needed to find other practices.
With experiences in Greece Phone Number weightlifting (weight lifting), street running and canoeing, all lived side by side with the University, the archer's main objective is, in addition to participating in an edition of the Paralympics, to encourage people to achieve their dreams through sport. To better understand how Souza prepared for the competition and his relationship with the activity, the News Agency spoke with the athlete about the sport, his training routine, the University's support, the challenges and expectations for the championship. Check out what he said: The beginning of his career in adapted sports was a UFSM initiative. How was the transition between the modalities until you got to archery? When I received the diagnosis that I would be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life, it wasn't even considered that I could do any activity. I started with handball, but I started to participate in other sports with the aim of encouraging people. What I felt after I discovered it and started practicing can be summed up in one word: freedom. Today there are a lot of people, including people with disabilities, practicing physical activity. The idea is always to encourage. Archery was the same thing. I took a course seven years ago and, at the invitation of the Army, I participated in a military camp in , in the city of Campinas, São Paulo. I liked the modality and I'm still practicing today. I had good results, I was camping champion and Brazilian doubles champion. What is your target shooting training routine like at UFSM? I formed a partnership with NAEEFA, coordinated by professor Luciana Palma, with the aim of using the CEFD facilities six days a week for my training.
The sport requires a space with a distance of meters, as well as an advisory group to assist me with archery and physical preparation. But this partnership with NAEEFA is long-standing. When I spoke to the teacher, she introduced me to the possibilities and my training routine, which started in January this year. How does UFSM contribute to your development as an archery athlete? In addition to providing all this structural support so that I can do archery training, the Group of Associated Laboratories (GLASS) participated in the proposal with physical assessments. The team has great care and dedication. The relationship goes far beyond the use of space, support is fundamental for a high-performance athlete. How important is this international competition to you and how do you feel about being called up to represent Brazil? Of these full years that I have been in a wheelchair, have been dedicated to sport, always with the aim of representing Brazil and participating in major national and international competitions. This has a significant weight and importance in my life. I'm very grateful for those around me, since we don't do anything alone. Now, I have to do my part through training, with dedication, to achieve good results and continue on this journey so that more people can come and try archery.