Mylena Plaza, 17 years old, commenced play as the no.10 seed; in a most impressive manner she ousted Trinidad and Tobago’s Brittany Joseph, the no.7 seed (10-12, 11-9, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8) prior to overcoming Guyana’s Trenace Lowe, the top seed (11-1, 11-8, 7-11, 11-7, 15-13) to reserve her place in the final.

Two unexpected wins, in the final she faced a very different situation; she confronted Paraguay’s 26 year old Lucero Ovelar, a player with no current world ranking but a decade ago successful in South America at junior level. Focused, Mylena Plaza retained her form; she emerged the winner in straight games (11-7, 11-5, 11-6, 11-4).

Impressive from Mylena Plaza, it was equally impressive from Nathaly Paredes. The no.5 seed, she accounted for Anthonette Riley of Barbados (5-11, 11-4, 11-6, 11-5, 11-5), prior to enjoying success in opposition to Leyla Gomez, the no.11 seed and like Lucero Ovelar from Paraguay (12-10, 11-7, 11-13, 11-1, 11-7) to reserve her place in the all-important final.

A challenge, just as Mylena Plaza responded so did 18 year old Nathaly Paredes; she beat El Salvador’s Cecilia Gomez, the no.11 seed, in straight games (11-1, 11-5, 11-3, 11-9). Notably Cecila Gomez was a player in form; one round earlier she had overcome Guyana’s Chelsea Edghill, the no.2 seed (11-7, 4-11, 6-11, 13-11, 11-9, 4-11, 11-7).

“I’m still a bit nervous after the match, the pressure, the tension, are not easy things to deal with in a tournament like this but I’m very happy to have qualified, it gives me huge satisfaction due to the effort I’ve been making and everything I’ve worked for. I have been training in Germany, in addition I have participated in the ITTF Challenge Series tournaments in Slovenia and Croatia, events that added to my preparation. I thank the Ecuadorian Federation and the Ecuador Olympic Committee for all the support, I feel happy that I am taking advantage of the opportunities given to me. Thanks to all those who sent me good luck messages before the competition; thanks to my coaches and my family who are always with me; this classification is for all Ecuadorians. I will continue preparing for Lima.” Nathaly Paredes

Understandably a delighted Nathaly Paredes, it was the same for Norman Carillo, the Ecuadorian coach.

“We arrived looking for success and we succeeded; this great achievement is incredible, to our compatriots, happy to deliver this triumph.” Norman Carillo

Four further places remain; Saturday 25th May is decision day.

Information

Lima 2019 Pan American Qualification Tournament for Individual Events: Prospectus

Lima 2019 Pan American Qualification Tournament for Individual Events: Schedule of Play

Lima 2019 Pan American Qualification Tournament for Individual Events: Entries (as on Thursday 23rd May)

Lima 2019 Pan American Qualification Tournament for Individual Events: Seeding (First Knock-Out)

Results

Lima 2019 Pan American Qualification Tournament for Individual Events: Men’s Singles – Draw One – Results (Friday 24th May)

Lima 2019 Pan American Qualification Tournament for Individual Events: Women’s Singles – Draw One – Results (Friday 24th May)

Draws

Lima 2019 Pan American Qualification Tournament for Individual Events: Men’s Singles – Draw Two (Saturday 25th May)

Lima 2019 Pan American Qualification Tournament for Individual Events: Women’s Singles – Draw Two (Saturday 25th May)

Qualified Teams for Pan American Games

Host Nation
Peru
Peru

2018 Pan American Championships
Brazil, United States, Paraguay, Chile, Argentina and Cuba
Brazil, United States, Canada, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Argentina

2019 Caribbean Qualification
Puerto Rico
Dominican Republic

2019 Central America Qualification
Guatemala
Mexico

2019 North America Qualification
Canada
no nomination

2019 South America Qualification
Ecuador
Colombia

2019 World Ranking (May)
Dominican Republic
Chile, Mexico

Canada and the United States both qualified for the for the women’s team event as a result of finishing in the top six at the 2018 Pan American Championships. Therefore, there was no nomination via 2019 North America qualification; thus as the second high team on the May 2019 world rankings, Mexico gained the final place.