Knight loses out on Olympic berth
Article by April 17, 2021
Tyrese Knight’s final shot to qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, was a hard-fought one but in the end, he lost 4-1 to Andy Pereira of Cuba yesterday at the Salón Metropolitano Stadium in Rosario, Argentina.
Since March the 21-year-old has been taking on some of the world’s best for a place at the Olympics. Knight’s last opportunity to qualify was against Cuban Pereira, his toughest rival to date.
In the end, Knight was defeated 11-8, 11-7, 12-14, 11-7, 11-9 against a very experienced Pereira who is not only one of the best players in the continent but also an Olympian having attended the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
International Table Tennis Federation 16 Apr 2021
Present at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Andy Pereira has failed to obtain one of the prize tickets for Tokyo 2020 on offer at the 2021 Latin American Singles and Mixed Doubles Qualification tournament in Rosario, Argentina after coming to terms with elimination at the Round of 16 hurdle on Thursday 15th April.
Round of 16 exit for Andy Pereira (Photo: Juan Carlos Guzman)
by Simon Daish
Cuba’s Andy Pereira, no.11 seed, couldn’t build upon his early advantage in his meeting with no.5 seed Gaston Alto, as the Argentine hit back with four consecutive game wins to strike victory (10-12, 11-7, 12-10, 11-4, 11-9). Alto now turns his attention to another player who graced the Olympic stage in 2016 with Mexico’s Marcos Madrid prevailing in his match with Chile’s Gustavo Gomez (11-9, 8-11, 11-5, 11-2, 5-11, 11-6).
International Table Tennis Federation 15 Apr 2021
A man in a hurry, Dominican Republic’s Emil Santos needed less than 20 minutes to seal his place in the Round of 16 of the second knock-out tournament in Rosario, Argentina, sending a massage of intent to the rest of the field at the 2021 Latin American Singles and Mixed Doubles Qualification on Thursday 15th April.
Emil Santos at the double! (Photo courtesy of organising committee)
by Simon Daish
Taking on Guatemala’s Allan Gutierrez, no.10 seed Emil Santos completed the task at hand with little to no trouble with all four games decided by a six point margin (11-5, 11-5, 11-5, 11-5).
by Simon Daish The Paraguayan, who is aiming to qualify for a fourth consecutive Olympic Games, was second best throughout his match with Cuba’s Jorge Campos: dictating the pace and direction right from offset, no.13 seed Campos held all the answers no matter what was thrown his way in a surprisingly one-way affair (11-8, 11-5, […]
International Table Tennis Federation 13 Apr 2021
A highly sought-after prize on offer, those dreaming of representing the Latin American continent on the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games stage took to the Salón Metropolitano in Rosario, Argentina on Tuesday 13th April to mark the start of the 2021 Latin American Singles and Mixed Doubles Qualification.
The first item on the agenda, deciding which players would join the top eight seeded entries in the Round of 16 in the men’s singles event.
Gustavo Gomez makes statement of intent
by Simon Daish
Favourite to progress, Chile’s Gustavo Gomez was the highest seeded player on display in the opening round of action and he didn’t disappoint!