by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Manager
The no.2 seeds, a three-one semi-final win in opposition to the Colombian trio formed by Paula Medina, Manuela Echeverry and Luisa Zuluaga set the third day of play in motion; the one success for the Colombians, the no.4 seeds, being the doubles win recorded by Paula Medina and Luisa Zuluaga in opposition to Gui Lin and Jessica Yamada (8-11, 10-12, 11-9, 11-6, 13-11).
A testing hurdle negotiated, it was even more exacting in the final when facing Chile, the top seeds; the player to cause the Brazilians problems being the ever reliable Paulina Vega. In the second match of the fixture, she beat Gui Lin (11-8, 11-5, 11-4), prior to teaming with Judith Morales to secure a doubles success in opposition to Gui Lin and Jessica Yamada (11-7, 9-11, 11-5, 11-6).
However, wins from Bruna Takahashi in opposition to Daniela Ortega in the opening match of the fixture (11-7, 6-11, 11-4, 8-11, 11-2) and when facing Judith Morales in the fourth match of the engagement (11-8, 11-4, 10-12, 11-8), set the scene for Jessica Yamada to be centre stage. The spotlight on the 28 year old, she duly responded; she accounted for Daniela Ortega in three straight games (11-8, 13-11, 11-6).
Impressive from Brazil, earlier in the penultimate round it had been equally impressive from Chile; they had recorded a three-nil win in opposition to the no.8 seeds, the Venezuelan combination formed by Gremlis Arvelo, Camila Obando and Neridee Niño; a trio in form. One round earlier they had beaten the no.3 seeds, the Argentine combination of Camila Arguelles, Ana Codina and Agustina Iwasa by three matches to one.
Notably, in addition to Bruna Takahashi, Paulina Vega remained unbeaten throughout the whole of the Women’s Team event.
The Women’s Team event concluded, the focus now turns towards the individual competition; play concludes on Thursday 7th June.
