by Ian Marshall, Editor
Represented by Gustavo Gomez, Juan Lamadrid and Manuel Moya, a 3-0 defeat was experienced against the no.8 seeds, the Cuban combination of Jorge Campos, Livan Martinez and Juan Lamadrid, before a 3-1 reverse was the end result in opposition to the no.7 seeds, the Dominican Republic combination of Gustavo Gomez, Juan Lamadrid and Wu Jiaji.
Cuba and the Dominican Republic are both assured of quarter-final places; they now meet to decide first position.
Meanwhile, in the women’s team event, the no.4 seeds, represented by Judith Morales, Daniela Ortega and Paulina Vega, the Chilean trio made the ideal start; they recorded a 3-0 win against the no.12 seeds, the Peruvian outfit comprising Isabel Duffoo, Angela Mori and Francesca Vargas. Success in their opening encounter, on their next visit to the table it was defeat for the Chile; by the same margin as they had beaten the host nation selection earlier in the day, they suffered at the hands of the no.5 seeds, Canada’s Alicia Côté, Ivy Liao and Zhang Mo.
Canada and Peru now meet to determine the group final order.
Otherwise, the top seeded teams all completed the group stage unbeaten and thus is first position; the effect being that in the remaining fixtures on the penultimate day of action, the battle in the majority is for second position and progress to the last eight.
In the men’s team event, the top seeds, Brazil’s Hugo Calderano, Eric Jouti and Gustavo Tsuboi secured first place in their group, as did the no.3 seeds, the United States combination of Kanak Jha, Nikhil Kumar and Nicholas Tio.
Likewise, it was top spot for the no.4 seeds, the Argentine formation of Gaston Alto, Horacio Cifuentes and Pablo Tabachnik but not without moments of trepidation. They needed the full five matches to beat the no.5 seeds, the Paraguayan combination of Marcelo Aguirre, Alejandro Toranzos and Santiago Osorio. The player to cause the problems being Marcelo Aguirre; he accounted for both Pablo Tabachnik (11-5, 11-7, 11-13, 11-4) and Horacio Cifuentes (12-10, 3-11, 11-8, 11-6).
Meanwhile, in the women’s team events, the top three seeded outfits responded, first group places being secured without the need for a deciding fifth match. Top seeds, the United States combination of Amy Wang, Wu Yue and Lily Zhang, secured first place in their group, as did the no.2 seeds, the Puerto Rican trio of Adriana Diaz, Melanie Diaz and Daniely Rios. Similarly, not to be upstaged, the no.3 seeds, Brazil’s Caroline Kumahara, Bruna Takahashi and Jessica Yamada duly reserved pole position.
The concluding group stages and quarter-finals of the men’s team and women’s team events form the schedule for Friday 9th August, the penultimate day of play in Lima.
