The story of Cuban volleyball player Melissa Vargas could be told in a movie. In just six years, she went from being sanctioned by her country's sports federation to being named the best player in the world in 2023.
Melissa, who has been living and competing in Turkey since 2018, is a key athlete for the country to win a medal at the Paris event.
The 24-year-old from Cienfuegos had a great 2023, with wins for the Tianjin club in the Chinese Super League and Fenerbahçe in the Turkish League. Additionally, she was awarded a gold medal and the MVP award in the Nations League, and achieved the same results at the European Championship, in both cases with Turkey.
Now the national team, which is attending the Olympic Games for the third time, hopes that the Cuban will finally be able to take them to the podium. Vargas was called up for the first time to be part of the team last year, a decision that was highly anticipated since she obtained Turkish citizenship in 2021.
Since her incorporation, the so-called "Sultanas de la Red" began to improve their level of play, especially in offense.
Melissa has been playing in Turkish clubs since 2018, after being sanctioned by the Cuban Volleyball Federation, which imposed a four-year ban on her for signing with the Swiss club Volero behind the backs of the Cuban authorities.
That was not her first sanction. In 2016, she received one after suffering a shoulder injury that forced her to undergo surgery. Her parents disagreed with the recovery proposed by the Federation at the National Volleyball School and took her back to Cienfuegos. Then the sports authorities downgraded her category, which prevented her from competing in international tournaments.
A year earlier, Vargas had received permission to play with the Czech team, VK Prostejov, at just 15 years old. In 2014, she was named the standout player of the Central American and Caribbean Games. Vargas made her debut with the Cuba team at only 13 years old, in 2013.
What do you think?
COMMENTFiled under: