Table tennis

Havana, Apr 22 (RHC) - Cuba will participate with its men's and women's teams in the table tennis at the Asuncion 2025 Pan American Junior Games, scheduled for August 9-23.

The feat was achieved at the Caribbean Junior Championship in Bridgetown, Barbados, with the inclusion of both teams among the top four in each gender, in the U-19 category.

The girls ended their team competition with a bronze medal, after losing 0-3 in the semifinals to a Puerto Rican team that was clearly superior in all aspects.

Two victories in the group phase over Jamaica and Barbados and a setback against the Trinidadians marked their performance at the start of the competition. Thus, they secured a direct place in the semifinals, a stage they could not overcome.

In that stage, Emily Dominguez, Anyeli Capote and Yahaira Gutierrez could not stop the drive and better performance of Edmarie Leon, Kristal Melendez, and Alahia Medina, their respective rivals.

This Tuesday, the Puerto Ricans will compete for the crown against the Dominicans, who beat the Trinidadians in the other semifinal.

In the men's tournament, the Cubans dominated their elimination group with easy sweeps over the representations of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and St. Lucia.

They then dominated Jamaica 3-1 in the quarterfinals and with their ticket to Asuncion 2025 already secured, they will be looking to sit on the throne with a win over Puerto Rico.

Although their dream is to challenge for the gold medal, the main objective has been achieved, so anything Andy Maqueira, Jonathan León, Alejandro Martínez, and Fabio Estévez can accomplish will also be a reason to celebrate.

Regarding the teams, the entity emphasizes their composition with players averaging 15.1 years of age, younger than most of their rivals, in addition to their limited international exposure.