Diverse Spain continues to grow. There are almost thirty athletes in the Spanish Olympic team that were born in another country. Some are immigrants or children of immigrants who have grown up in Spain. Others are professional players who one day came to Spain and in Spain they stayed. As the Chinese He Zhi Wen, who yesterday traced three sleeves in his debut in the table tennis tournament. Or the Cuban Iván Pérez, who scored one of the goals in the easy victory of Spain against Kazakhstan. His name is Zhi Wen but, how could it be otherwise living in Andalusia, He Zhi Wen Spanishized the name immediately and knows him as Juanito. He arrived in Spain in 1990 as a professional table tennis player and in 1996 he adopted Spanish nationality. Olympic in Athens and Beijing, he debuted in London giving a lycous shower: he lost the first three sleeves against another player of Chinese origin, who defended the colors of Poland, Wang Zen Gyi, but won the next four.
It may seem heroicity, taking into account that Juanito is already 51 years old and Wang only 29. But he sees it differently. “I have played very badly. At first I did not touch her well, it failed a lot. But in the room, he has played very badly and I have gradually played better,” he explains.
Juanito does not remember that one day he was Chinese. “I consider myself Granada because I've been here for 23 years,” he explains. He came as a table tennis professional, an immensely popular sport in China. “I came to Spain because I signed the Granada box and there I was 20 years. But with the problems of the economy there was no money and I went to France and then to another country and now I am in Córdoba,” he adds.
Juanito no longer remembers that one day he was Chinese
Although it takes great care, it implies that there will be no others after London: “It is possible that they are the last Olympics because it is already very difficult: there is a very high level.” “Now I have a Romanian who has a much higher level than this,” he accepts.
Juanito's case is very similar to that of Waterpolista Iván Pérez, who arrived in Spain in 1995. His first idea, however, was to continue playing national team games. “I wanted to play for Cuba but they told me they didn't want professionals,” he explains. “I did not feel despised because it is her tradition and they want to continue having it,” he adds.
“I came here to win life as a professional, I told them that if they wanted I could go to play with them and they told me no. Well, I stay here playing. Although Spain's proposal did not come that year. That was in 1995 and I played with Spain since the end of 1997,” he warns.
Does that mean that he plays more for the team than for the country? “I have been here 16 or 17 years. Here are my classmates, my family lives. In addition, my grandmother is Spanish. My mother is the daughter of Spaniards born in Cuba,” he says.
