Guyana’s Chelsea Edghill and Jamaal Duff are through to the quarter-finals of the Under-13 singles of the fifth annual Pre-cadet championships in Utuado, Puerto Rico. According to general secretary of the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) Godfrey Munroe, Edghill and Duff won their round of 16 matches last night to advance to the last eight.

The two players along with 10-year-old Priscilla Greaves, had earlier advanced out of the group play-offs.

Greaves and Duff topped their respective groups while Edghill advanced after a three way tie for first place.

All the other players failed to qualify from their groups.

According to Munroe the two players will contest for a place in the semi-finals this morning. Meanwhile, Puerto Rico defeated Trinidad and Tobago 3-0 in the final of the boys’ Under-13 team event.

In the final, Trinidad’s Arun Roopnarine lost 7-11, 9-11, 7-11 to Yomar Gonzales while Aaron Wilson went down 2-11, 10-12, 6-11 to Brian Asanador. The Puerto Ricans wrapped up the tie when Rehuel Rivera got the better of T&T’s Sarvesh Mungal 9-11, 11-5, 11-4, 12-10.

T&T had earlier defeated Guyana 3-1 with Duff picking up the lone win.

He defeated last year’s Under-13 runner up Aaron Wilson 3-2 but lost to Roopnarine after five thrilling games 9-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-8, 8-11.

The other two members of the team Joseph Johnson and Kyle Edghill were beaten with Edghill going under in five tough sets to Mungal.

The Guyana two-member girls team of Edghill and Greaves were unable to compete in the team tournament following a ruling which stipulated that teams must consist of three players.

In the Under-10 age group, T&T combined with St Maarten and Guyana’s Jeremy Singh to field a boys’ team, which meant they were debarred from vying for a medal.