Puerto Rican sensation Adriana Diaz won the women’s singles table tennis competition at the Pan American Sports Festival in Mexico defeating Yadira Silva 4-3 in the final.
The pint sized Diaz had earlier defeated Trinidad and Tobago’s Rheann Chung 4-3 in the first semifinal while Silva defeated Lesley Jiminez 4-0 in the second.
Guyana’s table tennis players like they did in the team event, again performed creditably but failed to medal.
Both Trenace Lowe and Chelsea Edghill placed second in their groups while Natalie Cummings placed third.
Lowe lost to eventual group winner Paulina Vega of Chile 11-6, 11-7 11-4 but defeated Peru’s Micaela Regaira 11-3, 11-6, 11-5.
Edghill lost 1-3 to reigning Caribbean women’s singles champion and nemesis Eva Brito 11-7, 7-11, 8-11, 9-11 but defeated Analdy Lopez of Guatemala 3-1 10-12, 11-6, 11-9, and 11-8. Brito defeated Lopez 3-0 11-8, 11-6, 11-3 to win the group.
Cummings placed third in her group losing to Guatemala’s Andrea Estrada 11-4, 13-11, 11-5 and El Salvador’s De Ying Wang 11-3, 11-7, 7-11, 11-13.
In the women’s doubles Edghill/Lowe defeated the Colombian pair of Paloma Sarmiento/Angie Umbacia but lost to Bruna Alexander/Leticia Lakaka of Brazil 3-0 going under 9-11, 8-11, and 10-12.
Earlier the Guyanese were eliminated from the team events after losses to Colombia and Mexico.
Against Colombia, Edghill lost to Cory Tellez 6-11, 11-8, 6-11, 14-12, 11-2; Lowe was beaten by Angie Umbacia 5-11, 3-11, 12-14 and the pair of
Cummings/Edghill lost to Paloma Sarmiento/Umbacia 12-14, 9-11, 6-11.
Against Mexico, Lowe sent the Guyanese 1-0 up with a fine win over Monica Serrano winning 5-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-7, and 11-6.
However, Cummings lost to Yadira Silva 4-11, 3-11, 7-11 and in the doubles Edghill/Lowe lost to Silva/Madrid 9-11, 14-16, 3-11 before Mexico wrapped up with tie with Cummings losing to Madrid 11-8, 7-11, 11-5, 8-11, 8-11.
In the semi-finals Brazil beat Mexico 3-0 while Guatemala defeated Colombia 3-2 with Brazil going on to win the final 3-2 over Guatemala.
