by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor

At the 2016 Paraguay Junior and Cadet Open, he was beaten at the final hurdle of the Junior Boys’ Singles event by compatriot, Horacio Fuentes; on Wednesday 22nd March at the 2017 South American Junior and Cadet Championships, he experienced exactly the same fate.

He suffered defeat at the hands of Chile’s Mattias Burgos.

Defeat at the hands of Mattias Burgos, it was the same for the next two names in the 2017 Paraguay Junior and Cadet Open order of merit.

Brazil’s Carlos Ishida experienced defeat in the semi-finals; Martin Bentancor, also from Argentina, departed one round earlier.

The relief for trio is that the name of Mattias Burgos does not appear on the entry list for the ITTF World Junior Circuit tournament but one name present is that of Brazil’s Siddharta Almeida. He is the fourth highest rated player on duty and will no doubt welcome a meeting with Francisco Sanchi.

At the 2017 South American Junior and Cadet Championships, the 17 year Brazilian was beaten by Francisco Sanchi by the very narrowest of margins at the quarter-final stage.

Disappointment for Siddharta Almeida but he does have the prize which Francisco Sanchi craves in Asuncion; last year he won the Junior Boys’ Singles title at the El Salvador Junior and Cadet Open.

Play commences with the team events; the individual competitions begin on Saturday 25th March.