South American Games 2022: Guyana out of TT singles’ medal hunt, Fernandes presses on in Squash

The South American Games in Asuncion, Paraguay continued on Tuesday with another day of mixed fortunes for the Guyanese team. With boxing and badminton completed, the primary focus has now shifted to the table tennis and all-female squash teams that are slated to be in action over the next few days.

Before the ball got rolling on Tuesday in Paraguay, Guyanese squash legend Nicolette Fernandes closed off Monday night’s proceedings on an exceptionally high note.
Watched on the sidelines by her fellow Guyanese athletes, who are also competing at the Games, Fernandes was decisive in her quarterfinal match against her Brazilian opponent Tatiana Damasio Borges, whom she defeated 11-4, 11-3, 11-3 to book her spot in Tuesday night’s semifinal of the Women’s singles.
Consequent to her win, the famous Guyanese squash player has set up a semifinal meeting with Maria Paula Moya Lopez of Ecuador, which was scheduled for Tuesday night.

However, Fernandes’s fortunes on the court did not trickle over to her teammates, as Guyana was ousted from the Women’s doubles quarterfinal on Tuesday morning. Coming up against Colombia’s Andrea Gabriela Soria Madrigal and Lucia Paola Bautista Sarmiento, the Guyanese team of Taylor Fernandes and Larissa Wiltshire went down 11-2, 11-3.

Table Tennis
There was a single win on the cards for Guyana in table tennis on Tuesday, but it also meant that the team came to the end of the road with respect to their individual campaigns in the men’s and women’s singles.
Chelsea Edghill, Natalie Cummings and Shemar Britton were the trio that rallied into the Round of 16 of the individual events, slated for Tuesday morning. However, Edghill was the only racquet wielder who managed to walk away with a win, and a commanding one at that.

The Guyanese Olympian was drawn against Isabel Rosario Duffoo Guevara of Peru, and found herself locked in a five-set battle. Edghill took the first three sets 12-10, 11-9, 11-8 in stylish fashion, but the Peruvian bounced back in the fourth set, winning 6-11. Edghill did not tolerate any comebacks, and ensured her 4-1 victory with a win in the fifth set, 11-7.
For Natalie Cummings, it was a straight 4-set defeat at the hands of Chile’s Daniela Yolita Ortega Gomez. Gomez won 11-5, 11-7 11-3, 11-6. A four-set loss was also written in the stars for Britton, who was tasked with battling Jorge Alberto Mino Puga of Ecuador. Puga won 11-2, 11-6, 11-6, 11-3.
On Tuesday, Edghill returned to the tables for her quarterfinal contest, but was unable to find a reply for Colombia’s Cory Tellez Meija’s tactics, and lost the match 6-11, 6-11, 6-11, 2-11.
Although Guyana is now out of contention in the singles, doubles and mixed doubles table tennis events, the 6- member team still has the team events to look forward to. According to the Games’ schedule, Guyana’s women will come up against Chile’s women today, and against Ecuador’s women tomorrow, Thursday, October 13. Guyana’s men will be looking to overcome Argentina’s men today and Ecuador’s men tomorrow, Thursday October 13.