Cuban Heidy Casanova shines at U20 World Championship

CORDOBA/BOCA DEL RIO, Mexico, July17, 2017 - Cuba opposite Heidy Casanova has shined in each of her performances at the FIVB Volleyball Women’s U20 World Championship in Mexico.

Only eighteen years old, Heidy has gained a lot of experience in her five-year career as a member of Cuba’s national team. “I am part of a young group of players who have major events in our list of competitions at youth, junior and senior level. I have played in Continental Championships, at the World Cup and World Grand Prix”.

She started in sports in her home town Havana as an athlete in javelin, but got interested in volleyball learning about Cuban legends Regla Torres and Mireya Luis. “I decided to try out volleyball and immediately fell in love with the game; these two players were my inspiration,” she said.

Her commanding presence on the court is immediately visible. She explains that for her every performance is like a medal match. “I fight for every point in dispute; my entire energy is set on performing to my fullest and keeping my team on the winning track.”

Casanova has her eyes set on the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020.

“Being at the Olympics would be the peak of my career, but I have no rush in making it happen, I can feel it is coming. My goal is to be in Tokyo but there is hard work ahead for us.”

Speaking about her team’s results at the Women's U20 World Championship and her injury against Brazil, she said: “It is painful not to see Cuba advancing into the second round. I will patiently recover and just being among the top players in the world is an honour for me.”

“I see myself representing Cuba for a long time,” she added. “For now, I watch other opposite players perform in order to improve myself and limit my errors for my next turn on the court.”