Judoka Ayumi Leiva seeks asylum in Spain but cannot compete for that country in Championship

December 7, 2021

"I felt like my world was collapsing," says Ayumi Leiva, Cuban judoka who recently received political asylum in Spain.

Her sadness is due to the refusal of the Royal Spanish Judo Federation and Associated Sports to allow her to compete in the Spanish Championships held yesterday in Madrid, arguing that she cannot prove she has been practicing this sport for three years.

Ayumi, who is 19 years old, arrived in Spain in August. She was traveling with the Cuban team to the Junior Pan American Championship in Colombia when they became stranded at Barajas airport. She and another teammate took advantage of this circumstance and went to the police station and requested asylum.

While the paperwork is being processed, the Red Cross temporarily placed her in an apartment in Valencia. There she found shelter in the training group led by Sugoi Uriarte, European champion, world silver medalist, and Olympic diploma holder. "I never thought things would go better for me. Now I have everything I want. I have no words to describe how my teammates have been with me. All of them, without exception. From the moment I arrived. That will be a beautiful memory I will always carry in my heart. For me they are not teammates, they are family," she says warmly about Uriarte and his students.

A few days ago Ayumi sent a letter to the president of the RFEJYDA, Juan Carlos Barcos, explaining her situation and requesting permission to participate in the National competitions. She argues that she has been doing judo for eleven years and that she has the papers to prove it, as well as her legal status. In fact, she assures that she wants to obtain Spanish citizenship. "After so much effort and training they give me this news. My dream this year was to compete in that championship," says Leiva, who decided to leave Cuba because there "she was not making progress."

The Valencian Judo Federation (FVJ) selected her to participate in the regional phase (Comunitat Valenciana, Catalonia, and Murcia) and Ayumi came in first.

The Valencian Federation requested that they allow Ayumi to participate in the Spanish Championship. The response was negative just 48 hours before the start of the tournament. Ayumi, who trains at the CEAR in Benimaclet, received the news with disappointment, as she is seeking judo as a way to get ahead.

"I risked losing everything, not seeing my family, my friends... But I had to get ahead," she explains emotionally. To those who did not let her compete, she says: "You will see my potential soon enough."