by Ian Marshall, Editor
Lining up alongside Alberto Miño and Rodrigo Tapia, in the vital contest against the Venezuelan outfit formed by Cecilio Correa, Marcos Navas and Jonathan Pino; Emiliano Riofrio was on the brink of defeat.
Matters level at two matches apiece, the 20 year old from Guayaquil, trailed Jonathan Pino by two games to nil; fighting for the nation’s cause, he performed a quite remarkable recovery. At the crucial stages he kept mind, body and soul together to emerge successful (8-11, 4-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-7). The win came after the ever reliable Alberto Miño had accounted for Jonathan Pino (11-7, 11-6, 11-9) and Cecilio Correa (9-11, 11-2, 11-3, 11-6) to set the scene for Emiliano Riofrio’s heroics.
“It was a crazy match! crazy! I think it was like a four hour match, we planned well before the match. I had to win my two singles matches and we had to win the doubles but we lost the doubles, so it was difficult from the very first moment. I won my first singles match. Rodrigo against Marcos Navas was crazy game; in the fourth game Marcos twisted his ankle. Marcos won; I won my second match, then Emiliano was 0-2 down! He managed to win 3-2; it was great match and for us tactically good. Anyone could won; today we made it!” Albert Miño
Notably, earlier at the semi-final stage; Ecuador fielding the same trio had recorded a 3-0 win in opposition to Bolivia’s Diego Avila, Franco Gareca and Eduardo Lizarazu.
A rock solid performance by Alberto Miño; in the counterpart women’s team event it was the same from Paula Medina. Lining up alongside Maria Perdomo and Cory Tellez, a 3-1 win was recorded against Paraguay’s Leyla Gomez, Lucero Ovelar and Fatima Martinez; before, in the final the same margin of success was secured in opposition the Chilean outfit formed by Judith Morales, Daniel Ortega and Paulina Vega.
Crucially against Chile, Paula Medina beat both Daniela Ortega (7-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-7) and Judith Morales (11-2, 6-11, 11-7, 13-11); the one further win for Colombia being secured in the doubles when Maria Perdomo and Cory Tellez accounted for Judith Morales and Paulina Vega in four games (15-13, 11-9, 9-11, 11-6).
In the opposite half of the draw, at the semi-final stage, Judith Morales, Daniel Ortega and Paulina Vega had combined to record a 3-0 win in opposition to Venezuela’s Gremlis Arvelo, Neride Niño and Camila Obando.
Play in the Lima 2019 Pan American Games Qualification Tournament concluded; attention now turns to the 2019 South American Championships.
Lima 2019 Pan American Games Qualification Tournament
Lima 2019 Pan American Games Qualification Tournament: Men’s Team – Complete Results (Tuesday 2nd April)
Lima 2019 Pan American Games Qualification Tournament: Women’s Team – Complete Results (Tuesday 2nd April)
Qualified Teams for Pan American Games (as on Tuesday 2nd April)
Host Nation
Men: Peru
Women: Peru
2018 Pan American Championships
Men: Brazil, United States, Paraguay, Chile, Argentina and Cuba
Women: Brazil, United States, Canada, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Argentina
2019 Caribbean Qualification
Men: Puerto Rico
Women: Dominican Republic
2019 Central America Qualification
Men: to be advised
Women: to be advised
2019 North America Qualification
Men: to be advised
Women: to be advised
2019 South America Qualification
Men: Ecuador
Women: Colombia
Once completed there is one more position available in each of the men’s team and women’s team events. The leading team among the first 20 Pan American listed teams on the world ranking, gains the final place.
South American Championships – Schedule
South American Championships: Schedule of Play (Wednesday 3rd April)
South American Championships – Seeding
South American Championships: Men’s Team & Women’s Team – Seeding (Wednesday 3rd April)
South American Championships: Men’s Singles – Seeding (Wednesday 3rd April)
South American Championships: Women’s Singles – Seeding (Wednesday 3rd April)
South American Championships: Men’s Doubles – Seeding (Wednesday 3rd April)
South American Championships: Women’s Doubles – Seeding (Wednesday 3rd April)
South American Championships: Mixed Doubles – Seeding (Wednesday 3rd April)
South American Championships: Under 21 Men’s Singles – Seeding (Wednesday 3rd April)
South American Championships: Under 21 Women’s Singles – Seeding (Wednesday 3rd April)
South American Championships – Draws
South American Championships: Men’s Team – Stage One (Wednesday 3rd April)
South American Championships: Women’s Team – Stage One (Wednesday 3rd April)
South American Championships: Men’s Singles – Stage One (Friday 5th April)
South American Championships: Women’s Singles – Stage One (Friday 5th April)
South American Championships: Men’s Doubles – Main Draw (Saturday 6th April)
South American Championships: Women’s Doubles – Main Draw (Saturday 6th April)
South American Championships: Mixed Doubles – Main Draw (Saturday 6th April)
South American Championships: Under 21 Men’s Singles – Stage One (Friday 5th April)
South American Championships: Under 21 Men’s Singles – Main Draw (Friday 5th April)
South American Championships: Under 21 Women’s Singles – Stage One (Friday 5th April)
South American Championships: Under 21 Women’s Singles – Main Draw (Friday 5th April)
