The four Table Tennis players representing Guyana at the Latin American Singles and Mixed Doubles in Argentina, which serves as a qualification event for the Games of the XXXII Olympiad Tokyo 2020, lost their opening matches in contrasting fashion, but will have one final chance to qualify on Thursday.
After the first round of matches, two males and two females have qualified for the Olympic Games, and on Thursday the final two spots for males and one for females will be filled.
The breakdown means two males out of 22 and one female from the remaining 19 will advance.
Chelsea Edghill, who was touted to have the best chance by a Guyanese, narrowly lost to Mexican Monica Munoz in a seven-set thriller in the Women’s Singles Round of 32 on Tuesday.
Munoz took the first two sets 11-5, 11-8 before the Guyanese stormed back to level the game 2-2 with 11-9, 11-4 successes.
Munoz took the lead with an 11-6 win in the fifth set, but Edghill maintained her focus to again draw level with an 11-8 win. The final set was hotly contested, with Munoz emerging winner with an 11-9 scoreline.
Earlier on Tuesday, Shemar Britton lost 4-2 to Alejandro Toranzos of Paraguay and Joel Alleyne succumbed 4-0 to Gustavo Gomez in the Men’s Singles Round of 32.
Guyana’s national champion Natalie Cummings lost 9-11, 6-11, 7-11, 8-11 to Lucia Cordero of the host nation Argentina.
Coach Idi Lewis stated, “We’re just up against much better-prepared teams. There’s a lot that goes into getting comfortable in these arenas if you’re not actively practicing and competing in them, but I expect better results on Thursday God’s willing. Thanks for all the love and support.”
Britton and Edghill will have a chance to qualify in the Mixed Doubles on Saturday when they battle a team from Ecuador. They are one of the 13 teams battling for a spot.
