by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Manager
Full distance five match contests were the order of proceedings as Guatemala beat the Dominican Republic and Venezuela accounted for Mexico.
Hero of the hour for Guatemala was Hector Gatica, he accounted for both Samuel Galvez (11-4, 11-6, 9-11, 11-8) and in the decisive fifth match of the engagement Isaac Vila (11-5, 15-13, 11-7).
The one further win for Guatemala was recorded in the doubles when Kevin Montufar and Heber Moscoso overcame Isaac Vila and Samuel Galvez (11-4, 11-7, 11-6). The wins for the Dominican Republic were both recorded by Emil Santos. In the opening match of the engagement he beat Heber Moscoso (11-4, 10-12, 11-6, 11-7), prior to accounting for Kevin Montufar (11-5, 13-11, 5-11, 11-9) in the second match to level matters..
Two wins for Emil Santos but in vain; it was the same in the Women’s Team final for Yadira Silva. She beat both Carmen Rivas (11-8, 9-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-1) and Neridee Niño (11-7, 7-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-4) but it was not enough to guide her team to victory.
Gremlis Arvelo accounted for Monica Muñoz (7-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-7) before teaming with Neridee Niño to secure the doubles in the what with the benefit of hindsight was the crucial contest. They overcame the pairing of Marbella Aceves and Monica Nuñez by the very narrowest of decisions (8-11, 2-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-9). The one further win for Venezuela came in the fifth and decisive match of the engagement when Carmen Riva accounted for Marbela Aceves (12-10, 11-7, 7-11, 8-11, 11-4).
Meanwhile, in the Men’s Singles event Honduras enjoyed notable success with both José Urbina and Alfredo Lopez booking semi-final places; in the round of the last eight, José Urbina overcame Devesh Hukmani of Belize (12-14, 11-8, 11-8, 11-4, 11-7), Alfredo Lopez beat Aruba’s Benny Chung (13-11, 11-4, 7-11, 11-8, 9-11, 12-10).
At the semi-final stage José Urbina meets Mathilda Jeandry, like Benny Chung from Aruba, Alfredo Lopez confronts Haiti’s Donika St Fleur. In the round of the last eight Mathilda Jeandry beat Oscar Valeriano of Honduras (7-11, 10-12, 11-6, 11-6, 12-10, 11-5), Donika St Fleur defeated Taye Parkinson of Belize (11-6, 11-6, 12-10, 11-7).
Play concludes on Saturday 3rd March with the individual events.
Qualification
Men – Qualified teams (alphabetical order): Barbados, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela
Men – Direct entries by ranking (alphabetical order): Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico
Men – Direct entry, host nation: Colombia
Women – Qualified teams (alphabetical order): Barbados, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela
Women – Direct entries by ranking (alphabetical order): Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico
Women – Direct entry, host nation: Colombia
Results
Central American and Caribbean Games Qualification Tournament: Participating Associations (Wednesday 28th February)
Central American and Caribbean Games Qualification Tournament: Men’s Team & Women’s Team – Seeding (Wednesday 28th February)
Central American and Caribbean Games Qualification Tournament: Final Positions – Men’s Team (Friday 2nd March)
Central American and Caribbean Games Qualification Tournament: Detailed Results – Men’s Team (Friday 2nd March)
Central American and Caribbean Games Qualification Tournament: Final Positions – Women’s Team (Friday 2nd March)
Central American and Caribbean Games Qualification Tournament: Detailed Results – Women’s Team (Friday 2nd March)
Central American and Caribbean Games Qualification Tournament: Results – Men’s Singles (Friday 2nd March)