Source: www.guardian.co.tt
By: Nigel Simon
Arun Roopnarine won both his matches as T&T stunned Brazil 3-1 to begin play at the Third World Junior Table-Tennis Circuit Tournament in Guatemala City, Guatemala, yesterday. Roopnarine, who captured three titles at the recently concluded Solo National Junior Table-Tennis competition and is ranked 426 in the Cadet category defeated Gabriel Pereria 11-6, 11-9, 11-4 to put T&T ahead in the best-of-five series.
However, fellow national treble winner Aaron Wilson (421)lost to Isaac Zauli 11-9, 8-11, 8-11, 3-11 as the South Americans evened the match. The local pair of Roopnarine and Wilson then paired to beat Pereria and Zauli in the doubles 11-8, 11-4, 11-9 before Roopnarine shrugged off the challenge of Zauli in the reverse singles, 12-10, 11-8, 12-10 to seal a 3-1 triumph ahead of their afternoon match with Guatemala ‘B’.
T&T was also involved in another shock result as it combined with Uruguay to edge top seeded El Salvador 3-2 in girls’ encounter thanks to a decisive win by local girl Brittany Joseph. First on the scoreboard though was El Salvador after Margarita Ortiz scolded T&T’s national junior triple crown winner Joseph 11-4, 11-8, 11-9.
El Salvador went 2-0 ahead after Yancy Urias battled past Maria Lorenzotti 1-11, 5-11, 13-11, 11-9, 11-7 to put her team within a win of clinching the tie. However, Ortiz and Urias were upended by Joseph and Lorenzotti in the doubles, 11-7, 11-13, 15-13, 5-11, 7-11 while Ortiz lost to Lorenzotti 2-11, 9-11, 7-11 to send the match into a fifth and deciding match where Joseph showed grit enroute to an 11-9, 11-4, 15-13 victory over Urias.
Joseph and Lorenzotti, seeded fourth were scheduled to face second ranked Guatemala yesterday afternoon The local duo of Catherine Spicer and Renuka Sitram, ranked fifth was blanked by number two seed, Guatemala 3-0 while they came up against fourth rated El Salvador also yesterday.