Badminton ace Chequeda Deboulet could not get past the round of 32 at the Guatemalan International Badminton Series from September 27 to October 2.
Playing against a 261st-ranked Miriam Jacqueline Rodriguez Perez of Mexico, the T&T standout went down in straight sets, 21-14, 21-10, to make her exit. Perez later progressed to the round of eight (quarterfinals) where she was beaten by Bulgaria's Hristomira Popovska, 22-20, 18-21, 21-11.
The Bulgarian eventually claimed the women's singles title by whipping Maricela Garcia Contreras of Mexico, 22-20, 21-15.
Deboulet who has been on a drive to qualify for the Olympic Games in France in 2024, described her performance as one of her best compared to other international tournaments, saying that Mexican was just a better player on the day.
Ranked 473rd, Deboulet has been attempting to reduce her ranking to at least 100th which will earn her a place on the world's biggest sporting stage (Olympic Games).
"This was probably one of my better perfromances since playing at these international tournaments. So it's about building the momentum to go to the next round, as well as finding that percentage to push on at international tournaments," Deboulet explained.
Only recently, Deboulet won a bronze medal at the Mexico Future Series Badminton Tournament when she paired with countryman Nicholas Bonkowski for the Mixed Doubles category of that same tournament.
Deboulet is expected to team up with Bonkowski at the end of the year to compete in the Canadian International Series, with hopes of securing another piece of metal.
She told Guardian Media Sports yesterday she also intends to compete at the Peru Challenge from November 16-20, as well as Mexico International Challenge from October 22-27 in Guadalajara.