Tiríka, a wild cat dressed in a white and red uniform, is the mascot of the Asunción 2022 South American Games, which Paraguay will host from October 1 to 15.
Source: Efe
Inspired by this species that inhabits the entire Paraguayan territory and in some areas of its neighboring countries, Tiríka will be the symbol of the XII edition of this competition, which was held for the first time in Bolivia, in 1978.
Asunción will debut as the venue and expects to bring together around 4,500 athletes from the 15 countries that make up the South American Sports Organization (Odesur).
This without counting the members of the technical bodies of each participating delegation, the volunteers and the public.
“Everyone is invited to come to this great party,” Diógenes De Urquiza, general director of the XII Asunción 2022 South American Games, told Efe. In Paraguay, 34 sports and 53 modalities will be played.
The National Sports Secretariat and the Paraguayan Olympic Committee will be the main stages of the competitions and there will be a total of 36 spaces throughout the country, according to the organization.
“We are working very hard,” said De Urquiza, who assured that every day more people join to get everything ready.
For De Urquiza, who comes from Argentine sports, the focus will be on the athletes.
“We don’t want anything to be missing,” he anticipated. We want the athlete to be well housed, for him to have good food, for him to have ice when he needs it, for the water to be cold when he has to be, for him to have a towel to dry off with”.
In these games, in which the manager estimated around 78 million dollars will be invested, the medical part will also be essential, for which it will have a “very large” department, given the challenge that the covid-19 pandemic still poses. 19.
For the Paraguayan athletes, who will be the hosts, the ASU 2022 South American Games represent not only the excitement of a competition of regional importance, but also an opportunity to receive encouragement from family and friends.
Nicolás Leguizamón, who has been practicing fencing for four years, said he hopes that this event will promote other sports in Paraguay, a country where soccer is “the priority.”
In turn, César Almirón, who changed football for the 100-meter dash, pointed out that hosting these games is a “pride for Paraguayans” and he hoped that the visitors will take away the best image of their compatriots, whom he described as as good and kind.
