DeSilva-Andrade: ‘An Honour To Win A Medal’
[Written by Stephen Wright]
Yushae DeSilva-Andrade has described winning the silver medal at the Parapan Am Games in Santiago, Chile, as the proudest moment of her boccia career.
DeSilva-Andrade won two of her three pool A round-robin matches in the women’s individual BC1 division to finish runner-up in her category.
She narrowly missed out on gold after losing on a tie-breaker to Brazilian Andreza de Oliviera in her third and final match yesterday [November 22].
“It’s an honour to win a medal at the Parapan Am Games,” DeSilva-Andrade told Bernews. “I’m proud of myself.
“It was a hard game against [De Oliviera]; we both wanted it so badly. There was a lot of emotion at the end of the game. I’m happy with silver, though.
“I’ve been competing since 2012; this was my third Parapan Am Games. To win a medal was awesome.”
She added: ” It’s been a great experience in Chile to be around people like myself and watch all the different athletes.”
Ranked sixth in the world in her division, DeSilva-Andrade capped off a memorable year with her podium finish in Santiago.
The 30-year-old won gold at the Fortaleza World Boccia Cup in Brazil in September, silver at the World Boccia Challenger in Santiago, Chile, in June, and silver at the Montreal World Boccia Cup in May.
DeSilva-Andrade’s performance at the Parapan Am Games should boost her hopes of reaching the Paralympic Games in Paris next summer, with the qualification deadline on December 31.
