France-based Chloe Fraser added a silver medal in the girls' Under-19 Singles to her girls’ U-17 Singles gold medal in the World Table Tennis (WTT) Youth Contender Caracas at the Gimnasio de Tenis de Mesa Francisco Lopez in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday night.
This was after the 17-year-old Fraser went under to India's Prisha Goel in straight sets 5-11, 2-11, 2-11 in their tournament decider last night to bring the curtain down on the week-long competition.
When the tournament resumed yesterday, Fraser, a bronze medal winner in the Women’s Singles at the just concluded Senior Caribbean Table Tennis Confederation Championships in Barbados last week, defeated Venezuelan Zurisadai Espinoza 11-1, 11-3, 11-4 in her quarterfinals while Dakota Ferrer defeated Keimy Anchundia 11-8, 11-5, 11-5; Antigua and Barbuda's Stuti Kashyap ousted Barbara Betancourt 11-6, 14-12, 11-3 and India's Prisha Goel dumped Nathacha Dennys Mata Aponte 11-5, 11-3, 11-6.
In the semifinals, Fraser outplayed Ferrer 11-8, 11-8, 12-10 and Goel defeated Kashyap 11-8, 13-11, 11-9.
When the girls’ U-19 Singles began with round-robin pool play on Thursday, the France-based Fraser defeated Aponte 11-7, 11-3, 13-11, and Camila Gomez 11-3, 11-5, 11-3 in her Group Four matches while Aponte swept past Gomez 11-3, 11-3, 11-5 to finish second in the pool and advanced alongside Fraser.
On Wednesday night, Fraser smashed her way to the gold medal in the girls’ U-17 Division Singles when she swept Antigua and Barbuda’s Stuti Kashyap, who is coached by T&T's 12-time national women’s champion Aleena Edwards, 11-6, 12-10, 11-9, in the title match.
Earlier on, Fraser booked her spot in the final with a hard fought 10-12, 11-7, 11-5, 7-11, 11-6 semifinal win over Venezuela’s Dakota Ferrer, while Kashyap overcame Nathacha Dannys Mata Aponte 11-7, 11-8, 9-11, 11-5.
Less than 30 minutes prior, Fraser swept past another hometown smasher, Zurisadai Espinoza in their quarterfinal 11-5, 11-1, 11-4 while Ferrer outlasted fellow Venezuelan Barbara Betancourt 12-10, 13-11, 9-11, 11-13, 11-2 in her quarterfinal.
On Tuesday, Fraser had topped her four-player round-robin Group Four after she brushed aside Carmenluisa Hernandez 11-6, 11-8, 11-6 and Estefany Morales 11-8, 11-3, 11-5 before she battled past India’s Prisha Goel 17-15, 12-10, 11-13, 5-11, 12-10 for a 3-0 pool record and a bye in the round-of-16.
Also on Wednesday, Fraser, 16 and countryman Gabriel John, 17, made a winning start in the U-19 Mixed Doubles when they won their round-of-16 match against host duo, Abraham Cardozo and Ana Becerra 11-8, 11-7, 6-11, 11-5 on Table Four.
However, with a place in the semifinals at stake, the T&T duo went under in their quarterfinal at the hands of another home town pair, Carlos Rios and Aponte, 7-11, 14-16, 11-9, 8-11.
John, who has spent the past year in China, training and competing in the world’s most elite table tennis environment, was also involved in the boys’ U-17 Singles on Tuesday, but was beaten in both his Group One round-robin matches, firstly by Venezuelan Jorge Alves 4-11, 6-11, 5-11 and then by India’s Sudhanshu Maini 6-11, 9-11, 11-13 to miss out on a spot in the main draw.
He returned to action yesterday in the boys’ U-19 Singles and went under to Carlos Rios 2-11, 9-11, 8-11 and Yeifrer Soteldo Goyo 8-11, 7-11, 3-11 in Group Three to end with a 0-2 record and failed to advance to the main draw.
The tournament, hosted by the Federación Venezolana de Tenis de Mesa, featured more than 140 athletes competing across six age groups.
