by Ian Marshall, Editor
Hector Gatica beat Trinidad and Tobago’s Aaron Wilson (11-7, 9-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-7, 11-5), prior to overcoming Guyana’s Shemar Britton, the no.6 seed (11-5, 11-5, 8-11, 12-10, 11-8) and Venezuela’s Marco Navas, the no.7 seed (14-12, 11-8, 6-11, 11-9, 11-7) to reserve his Lima place.
“It’s hard to describe in words what it feels like. I am happy, satisfied to achieve one more objective, it gives me great pride. Also for Guatemala it is a triumph. I dedicate this win especially to my daughter and my wife. Marco is a great player whom I admire and respect a lot, whenever I play against him they are very close matches. Today I was very focused with my tactics, controlling my services and receiving service well.” Hector Gatica
Success for Hector Gatica, at the same time there was success for Cecilio Correa; the young man who is collecting racket coverings to send home to Venezuela, a country suffering a major economic crisis.
He beat Kevin Farley of Barbados, the no.11 seed (11-5, 11-4, 11-9, 11-5) and Bolivia’s Eduardo Lizarazu, the no.3 seed (11-9, 17-15, 13-11, 11-6) to book his place in the final where the good form continued. He accounted for the host nation’s Heber Moscoso, the no.10 seed, in a closely contested seven games encounter (9-11, 11-7, 11-9, 7-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-8).
“This is indescribable, behind each athlete there are many stories, a lot of sacrifice and when we get this kind of achievement, how we feel it is difficult to describe. We all arrived with great expectation, I have been preparing for this for a long time, today things went well, I made some changes, small details that added to my confidence. I want to send a hug and a greeting to all the people in Venezuela, my beautiful country, to the children of Venezuela, a message of hope and continue dreaming.” Cecilio Correa
A further two places for the men’s singles event at Lima 2019 Pan American Games remain.
Information
Lima 2019 Pan American Qualification Tournament for Individual Events: Prospectus
Lima 2019 Pan American Qualification Tournament for Individual Events: Schedule of Play
Lima 2019 Pan American Qualification Tournament for Individual Events: Entries (as on Thursday 23rd May)
Lima 2019 Pan American Qualification Tournament for Individual Events: Seeding (First Knock-Out)
Results
Lima 2019 Pan American Qualification Tournament for Individual Events: Men’s Singles – Draw One – Results (Friday 24th May)
Lima 2019 Pan American Qualification Tournament for Individual Events: Women’s Singles – Draw One – Results (Friday 24th May)
Lima 2019 Pan American Qualification Tournament for Individual Events: Men’s Singles – Draw Two – Results (Saturday 25th May)
Lima 2019 Pan American Qualification Tournament for Individual Events: Women’s Singles – Draw Two – Results (Saturday 25th May)
Draws
Lima 2019 Pan American Qualification Tournament for Individual Events: Men’s Singles – Draw Three (Saturday 25th May)
Lima 2019 Pan American Qualification Tournament for Individual Events: Women’s Singles – Draw Three (Saturday 25th May)
Qualified Teams for Pan American Games
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: Guatemala
Women: Mexico
2019 North America Qualification
Men: Canada
Women: no nomination
2019 South America Qualification
Men: Ecuador
Women: Colombia
2019 World Ranking (May)
Men: Dominican Republic
Women: Chile, Mexico
Note: Canada and the United States both qualified for the for the women’s team event as a result of finishing in the top six at the 2018 Pan American Championships. Therefore, there was no nomination via 2019 North America qualification; thus as the second high team on the May 2019 world rankings, Mexico gained the final place.
