Saint Lucia’s table tennis fraternity is celebrating a momentous week after earning four medals at the ITTF-Americas Caribbean Youth Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The celebration is sweeter as it coincides with World Table Tennis Day on April 23.
After securing third place in the men’s team event, Saint Lucia added three medals at Parque del Este between Tuesday and Wednesday. The team won the women’s doubles title and finished third in the Under-15 boys and Under-19 girls events.
On Wednesday, Shatal Charles partnered with the region’s top female player, Stuti Kashyap of Antigua & Barbuda, to lift the women’s doubles title. They defeated Chloe Fraser and Jordan Thong of Trinidad & Tobago 3:2 (13-11, 10-12, 10-12, 11-3, 11-4).
In the semifinals, Charles and Kashyap beat Eduanni Mercedes De La Cruz Figueroa and Yesmeily Guerrero of the Dominican Republic 3:1 (11-7, 13-15, 11-6, 11-7). In the quarterfinals, they made short work of Curacao’s Mikha Boekhoudt and Trinidad & Tobago’s Jannah Mohammed 3:0 (11-9, 11-4, 11-4).
Charles returns home with two medals, having also excelled in singles. After losing to Fraser on Monday, she rebounded Tuesday by defeating the Dominican Republic’s Yandra Arianna Mejia 3:2. In the Round of 16, she won 4:3 over Guerrero of the Dominican Republic, then advanced to the semifinals with another 4:3 win against Puerto Rico’s Naymaris Hernandez Martinez.
“Shatal had two very tough matches,” said coach Chris Wells. “The first match versus the Dominican Republic player was a girl that destroyed her in straight sets two years ago. The second girl from Puerto Rico was a former Caribbean Under-15 Champion. Last year, Shatal lost in quarterfinals.”
This achievement secured Charles at least third place, earning her a bronze medal. She lost to Kashyap in the semifinals 4:0 on Thursday morning, but is expected to return in 2027 aiming for further improvement.
Leshon Francis also copped an individual bronze medal, adding to his team’s bronze. In the Under-15 boys, he defeated Barbados’ Nyal Bushell, Jamaica’s Ajani Spencer and DR’s Ysminsky Sosa, all 3:0, to top his qualifying group.
On Wednesday, his dominance continued with a 3:0 rout of DR’s Rommel Pepen in the Round of 16 and a 3:1 win over DR’s Edwin Ventura in the quarterfinals. On Thursday, Francis fell 3:0 to Puerto Rico’s Matthew Cao in the semis.
Manie Eleuthere also advanced to the quarterfinals in the Under-19 category, after topping his group in the preliminary round. He lost 4:0 to DR’s Rafael Cabrera, the defending champion.
Khamari Harris did not advance in singles, but reached the boys’ doubles quarterfinals with Mekhi Simmons of Antigua & Barbuda.
I am always hopeful for our young t/tennis players. They seem so skilled and poised at this game. Congrats to all of them, and thank you Terry for your skilled commentary.