Mother Daughter. Perhaps the most primal and karmic relationship. When the sporting factor enters into this relationship, and mother and daughter become teammates as well as rivals, then the relationship becomes more interesting. Evangelia Psarra, who has competed six times in the Olympic Games, and young athlete Maria Nasula share a home, training and a common dream: to become the first mother and daughter – archery athletes who will take part in the Olympic Games.

“Should we do an interview a bit later because we’re reading about the Panhellenic Games right now?” From the very first words, Mama Gospel’s phrase showed us a special connection with her daughter, also an archery champion, Maria. A 17-year-old girl dreams of becoming a dentist and going with her mother to the Olympic Games in Paris. Her longtime dream is to surpass her mother in participating in the Olympics and also to bring home a big distinction from international competition.

Mother is a champion and father is an archery coach. The first images that Maria Nasula received from her home are bows, arrows, targets and training. “She wanted to take up archery. He has been with us since he was a small child. At first he played with a bow and arrow, then he participated in training, and then he began to go to competitions. In recent years, he has become more serious about the sport.”stated the gospel of Psarra www.kathimerini.gr.

The two athletes are aiming to be the first mother-daughter duo to compete in the archery Olympics. If Evangelia manages to get a “ticket”, she will become the only Greek athlete to compete in seven Olympic Games, and the only one in the world in her sport. To achieve this goal, the process will not be easy. Last year, the Twins won qualification for this year’s European Games. The federation will decide whether one of them or another athlete will use this “ticket”. The Olympic qualification process will also go through other competitions and the only way for both to be present in the Parisian arenas should be for our country to qualify for the team.

“We have a good team within a team, but the level is high. On the other hand, Greece does not support an athlete who can be considered an amateur, but who works like a professional. Our athletes have obligations that they cannot leave behind to engage in sports only, as they know that it is very difficult to achieve any kind of professional rehabilitation with the help of archery,” Evangelia Psarra stressed.

The discussion comes down to the mother-daughter relationship and how it fits into the context of sports. “Sometimes it’s a little weird because my mom and I are always together. In training, at home, on trips. On the other hand, it’s good to be together. In wrestling, I see her not as a mother, but only as a rival. I’m interested in how I’m going to beat her against. I see her the same as other athletes,” 17-year-old Maria told us.

The two gymnasts met each other twice. “I won once, Maria won another time. Of course, I see her as a rival. If you say “thank you” to her, she won’t know. At home, I am her mother. On the playing field, I try to be her teammate. Of course, I do not forget the role of the mother. If something happens, I will try to help her,” Psarra said.

Simultaneous qualification for the Olympics is one of the two women’s dreams. “It would be a unique experience to compete with my mother. We also took part in the Mediterranean Games (Algiers), which, in fact, are a miniature of the Olympics. I really liked them,” said Maria Nasula.