Junior Caribbean sensations Esmerlyn Castro and Mariano Lockward of the Dominican Republic emerged as the 2019 under – 18 individual champions in the just concluded Caribbean Junior and Cadet Championships in Santo Domingo.
Castro, following her gold medal hauls in the teams’ doubles and mixed-doubles category, added her fourth gold of the championships by defeating her compatriot Estefany Rodriguez 4-0 in the girls under-28 final. Castro who recently participated in the senior Caribbean championships in Guyana accounted for Edmarie Leon 11-6, 11-2, 11-9 in the semis.
The journey to success for Lockward, who is also a member of the Dom. Rep.’s senior national team was rockier as both his semi-final and final encounter went the distance. However, he managed to overcome Pedro Cabrera 12-10, 5-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-6, 5-11, 11-9 to take the crown. Meanwhile, the Puerto Ricans captured both the cadet boys and girls title which landed on the racquets of Derek Valentine who defeated Ramon Vila of the Dominican Republic 3-2 while Kristal Melendez got by her countrywoman Zulnamy Soto 3-2 in the girls’ final.
In the end – according to the ITTF webpage – Puerto Rico ended as the overall winner of the nine participating counties, excluding usual contenders Guyana, with 2,400 points ahead of the Dominican Republic (2,100 points) and third place Trinidad and Tobago (390 points).
