by Ian Marshall, Editor
Carlos Fernandez, who occupied to no.1 spot on the under 15 boys’ world rankings in January 2019 and last year won the cadet boys’ singles title in Chile, is the junior boys’ singles top seed.
He is named ahead of colleague Adolfo Cucho, Brazil’s Kenzo Carmo and Chile’s Matias Pedraza. Similar to Carlos Fernandez, who in addition was the junior boys’ singles runner up last year in North Macedonia, all have experienced international success.
In cadet boys’ singles events, Adopho Cucho was a semi-finalist at the 2017 Latin American Cadet Championships in Guatemala, in the same year on the ITTF World Junior Circuit, Kenzo Carmo won in Paraguay. Equally, in junior boys’ singles events, Kenzo Carmo has reached the later stages; last year he was a quarter-finalist in Slovenia; similarly Matias Pedroza was the runner up in El Salvador.
Similar situation
The situation is not too dissimilar in the junior girls’ singles competition. In 2019, competing in cadet girls’ singles events, Laura Watanabe was a semi-finalist in Slovenia, the winner in Chile.
In Lima on the junior girls’ singles listing, Laura Watanabe is followed by Chile’s Valentina Rios, Brazil’s Livia Lima and Chile’s Jerusalen Flores.
Notably, at the 2017 ITTF Challenge Chile Open, Valentina Rios won the under 21 women’s singles title; in the same year and in 2018, Livia Lima was a semi-finalist in the junior girls’ singles event in Paraguay. Meanwhile at the 2017 Paraguay Junior and Cadet Open, Jerusalen Flores advanced to the quarter-finals of the cadet girls’ singles competition.
Giulia Takahashi top seed
Brazil to the fore, it is the same in the cadet girls’ singles event. Giulia Takahashi tops the seeding ahead of Chile’s Fernanda Araneda.
Last year Giulia Takahashi was member of the Latin American team at the 2019 ITTF World Cadet Challenge and winner of the junior girls’ singles title at Chile Junior and Cadet Open. Fernanda Araneda, like Ecuador’s Diego Piguave and Jeremy Cedeño, the respective top two seeds in the cadet boys’ singles event, has yet to make her present felt on the international stage.
Team events
Prominent in the individual events, Peru tops the junior boys’ team seeding with Adolfo Cucho, Carlos Fernandez, Adria Rubinos and José Zapata on duty; in the counterpart junior girls’ team competition, Brazil selecting from Livia Lima, Laura Watanabe, Lhays Stolarski and Giovanna Grilo head the order.
Likewise in the cadet girls’ team event Giulia Takahashi lines up alongside Beatriz Kanashiro, Karina Shiray and Victoria Strassburger to top the seeding; in the cadet boys’ team competition, Ecuador’s Diego Piguave, Jeremy Cedeño, Joseph Vasquez and Paul Ponce Cedeño form the leading outfit.
The team events commence play.
