France-based T&T player Rheann Chung secured a spot at the upcoming Pan American Games Table Tennis Tournament when she qualified among the top six at the end of the Special Singles Qualification Event to the Pan American Games on Saturday in Lima, Peru.
Competing in Santiago, Chile at the Villa Deportiva Nacional Videna last weekend, Chung served off her eight-player competition by beating Ecuadorean Angelica Arellano 11-5, 12-10, 11-9, 12-10 in their quarterfinal clash and followed up with another comfortable victory, 11-6, 10-12, 11-6, 11-6, 12-10 triumph against Peruvian Isabel Duffoo 11-6, 10-12, 11-6, 11-6, 12-10 to reach the final and cement her Pan American Games spot.
However, on the other side of the draw, Guyana’s Chelsea Edghill went under to Peru’s Maria Maldonado 7-11, 11-8, 2-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-8 in her quarterfinal, before winning 12-10, 12-10, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9 over El Salvadorean Gabriela Suarez in the losers draw, only to go under to Nathaly Paredes of Ecuador, 5-11, 8-11, 4-11, 9-11 in their semifinal.
Joining Chung in qualifying for the Pan American Games were Maldonado, Daniel Fonseca (Cuba), Arellano, Parades, Paraguay’s Lucero Ovelar, and Duffoo.
Among the men, Caribbean duo, Shemar Britton of Guyana who competes locally for Queen’sable Tennis Club, and Barbadian Tyrese Knight also secured his passage to the Pan American Games along with Colombian duo, Santiago Montes, and Julian Ramos, Argentina’s Santiago Lorenzo, Dominican Republic’s Jiaji Wu, and Venezuelan, Cesar Augusto Castillo.
Following her successful campaign in Peru, Chung, a five-time Caribbean Singles champion will spearhead this country’s campaign at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in San Salvador, El Salvador.
Chung will be joined by teenager starlet Chloe Fraser and Imani Edwards-Taylor as well as the inform Ambika Sitram, the national women’s Classified champion, on the women’s team.
Leading the medal hopes for the men’s team is USA-based Khaleel Asgarali who like Chung, is also in El Salvador where he will be joined by the other members of the four-member team in top locally-based player Aaron Wilson, Yuvraaj Dookram, and USA-based Derron Douglas.
The duo of Aaron Edwards, and Dave Williams will serve as team coaches while T&T Table Tennis Association President, Dr Shellyanne Wilson travels as team manager.
The table tennis competition will begin on Wednesday (June 22) with the teams competitions for both men and women.
T&T will compete in the men's tournament with Barbados, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela.
In the women’s segment, T&T competes with Colombia, Barbados, Guatemala, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guyana, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela.
