Cuba’s Jorge Castro and Idalys Lovett were crowned Caribbean men and women’s singles champions as the 62nd annual Caribbean Table Tennis championships ended yesterday in Cuba.
Castro also added the men’s doubles title to the mixed doubles title he won the previous day to cart off three titles at the championships.
In the men’s final, Castro made light work of top seed and favourite Daniel Gonzalez of Puerto Rico winning 11-7, 11-4, 11-1 and 11-8 in a lopsided encounter.
In the semi-finals, Gonzalez had defeated fellow Cuban Adrian Perez 11-8, 11-9, 9-11, 11-4, 13-11 while Castro stopped Puerto Rico’s rising star Angel Naranjo 11-3, 4-11, 11-4, 11-9, and 14-12.
It was Lovett, though, who produced the most surprising play of the final day. Down 0-3 in her semi-final match against the Dominican Republic’s Eva Brito, Lovett roared back to win the next four games and book her spot in the final.
Lovett won 9-11, 5-11, 7-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-4 and 11-7 after trailing 0-4 in the decisive seventh game.
In the other semi-final Daniela Carrazana Fonseca defeated Daniely Rios of Puerto Rico 8-11, 13-11, 13-11, 9-11, 11-8 and 11-4.
In the final, an inspired Lovett defeated the favourite Carrazana Fonseca 11-5, 11-7, 10-12, 11-8 4-11 and 13-11.
Campos won the men’s doubles final teaming up with Livan Martinez to defeat Puerto Rico’s Richard Pietri and Oscar Birrell 7-11,, 5-11, 13-11, 13-11 and 11-8.
In the women’s doubles final Rios and Fabiola Diaz defeated Carrazana Fonseca and Karla Gonzalez Perez 6-11, 11-2, 11-6, 11-6.
In the mixed doubles final played Monday, Campos and Carrazana Fonseca defeated the Dominican Republic pair of Isaac Villa and Esmerlyn Castro 11-5, 12-10, 11-7
