by Ian Marshall, Editor
Crowned junior girls’ singles champion at the 2017 Central American Championships and then one year later the women’s singles winner. Lucia Cordero is the name to note.
Moreover, she has a particular liking for the ITTF World Junior Circuit tournament in El Salvador; in 2016 she was the cadet girls’ singles runner up and a junior girls’ singles semi-finalist, one year later in 2017, in the latter event, she was the silver medallist.
Now in 2019, she is the top seed on three fronts. Additional to heading the junior girls’ singles list; partnering colleague Hidalynn Zapata, she is the top seed in both the junior girls’ team and junior girls’ doubles events.
Host nation challenge
A partnership to note, Hidalynn Zapata, semi-finalist one year ago in El Salvador, is the second highest rated player on duty; she is named ahead of the host nation’s Monica Mendoza and Keren Constanza. Notably, in 2017 on home soil Monica Mendoza was the cadet girls’ singles runner up and a junior girls’ singles semi-finalist.
The two El Salvadorians provide the biggest challenge to Guatemalan hopes in the junior girls’ team and junior girls’ doubles events, they are the no.2 seeds.
North America
Meanwhile, in the junior boys’ singles event, eyes turn to North America; similar to Lucia Cordero, Canada’s Terence Yeung reserves top billing in three disciplines. Additional to the junior boys’ singles; partnering Edison Huang, he heads the junior boys’ team and junior boys’ doubles listings.
Next in the order merit is Kai Zarehin of the United States, followed Canada’s Alexander Bu and Sweden’s Alve Sjoeveld. Last year at the United States Open, Terence Yeung and Kai Zarehbin both reached the quarter-final round of the junior boys’ singles competition, the same stage to which Alexander Bu progressed in El Salvador. In the junior boys’ team and junior boys’ doubles events, Alexander Bu joins forces with colleague, David Xu; in each instance they are the no.2 seeds.
Prominent in the junior boys’ singles, Alve Sjoeveld is also a name to note in the cadet boys’ singles; he is the top seed ahead of Mexico’s Rogelio Castro, Sid Naresh of the United States and Ecuador’s Diego Piguave. In addition, partnering colleague Ludwig Ebenius, Alve Sjoeveld reserves top spot in both the cadet boys’ team and cadet boys’ doubles events.
Royal recognition
It is for Alve Sjoeveld a major opportunity to gain an international title as it is for Chile’s Sofia Perez; she is the top seed in the cadet girls’ singles event ahead of Peru’s Alejandra Prieto, El Salvador’s Cristina Machado and Fernanda Araneda, also from Chile. All have yet to make their mark on the international stage.
Top seed in the cadet girls’ singles, it is the same for Sofia Perez in the cadet girls’ team and cadet girls’ doubles; in the former she partners Ecuador’s Maybelline Menendez, in the latter colleague Linda Shiu.
Furthermore the name of Sofia Perez appears at the top of the order in the mini cadet girls’ singles; she is listed ahead of Brazil’s Beatriz Fiore. Meanwhile, in the mini-cadet boys’ singles, Nandan Naresh of the United States and Sweden’s Elias Sjögren are the respective two names.
Play commences with the team events.
