Cayey celebrates once again with table tennis player Edmarie León

Edmarie León began playing table tennis during her childhood in a grassroots program in Cayey, motivated by a suggestion from a classmate.

By THE STAR STAFF

On behalf of the entire town of Cayey, Mayor Rolando Ortiz Velázquez earlier this week celebrated the achievements of table tennis player Edmarie León, a graduate of the Sports Development Program established by the municipality. 

“These have been incredible months for the table tennis player from Cayey, marked by admirable discipline and a heart that never gives up,” the mayor noted on Monday. “Thank you for being an inspiration and a source of pride for the youth of Cayey and all of Puerto Rico.”

Edmarie León’s notable international engagements include the Preparatory Tournament in Venezuela, the WTT Feeder Asunción 2026 in Paraguay, and the WTT Contender events in Skopje and Zagreb (North Macedonia and Croatia). She also competed in the 2026 World Team Championships in London and the Central American and Caribbean Championships.

Ortiz Velázquez noted that perseverance, long training sessions, and a desire to succeed on the international stage previously led León to a standout performance at the 2025 Junior Pan American Games in Asunción, where she became the top medal winner for the Puerto Rican delegation by earning four medals.

León -- who was also the U-19 singles champion at the WTT Youth Contender Montería 2025 -- said she began playing table tennis during her childhood, motivated by a suggestion from a classmate. She recalled participating in various extracurricular activities at the time, until she was eventually selected to join a national team.

“From a young age, my mom enrolled me in many activities. I was the typical girl who was taken to modeling, ballet, and everything else,” León noted in a past interview. “One day, a friend told me about table tennis, so I went to a practice session [in a grassroots sports program in Cayey]. I did a bit of everything, but focused on table tennis -- until I made the national team at age 10. That’s when I had to make a choice: the sport or everything else.”

As part of her development as a player, León has had the opportunity to train in Sweden, France, Portugal and China.