The Saint Lucian trio of Manie Eleuthere, Leshon Francis and Kamari Harris finished third in the Under-19 boys’ teams category at the ITTF Americas Caribbean Youth Championships in Santo Domingo over the weekend, securing qualification to the ITTF Americas Youth Championships later this year in Guatemala.
With just six teams registered to compete at the Parque del Este Table Tennis Hall in Santo Domingo, Saint Lucia needed to finish at least second in Group 1 among the three teams to advance to the semifinals and confirm a spot in Guatemala, August 23-30.
Saint Lucia opened with a 3-0 loss to Puerto Rico. Francis and Eleuthere lost close matches to Cuadro and Ayala, respectively, while Harris also fell to Ayala. Cuadro narrowly edged Francis 14-12 in the fifth set.
Against Jamaica, though, Saint Lucia won 3-2 and secured advancement to the knockout phase. Francis swept Jayden Ebanks 3-0 (9, 10, 7), and Eleuthere went four sets with overseas-based player Joel Lamm, to send Saint Lucia up 2-0. Harris was felled by Gmarco Smith in four sets, however, and Lamm evened the tie by blanking Francis 3-0.
It all came down to Eleuthere facing Ebanks, backed by a vocal Jamaican crowd. Ebanks took the first set 11-8, but Eleuthere won the next three to take second place and point to his national flag. This decisive win secured Saint Lucia’s place at the ITTF Americas Youth Championships and a return to international play this summer.
In the semifinals, Saint Lucia went winless against the Dominican Republic, sharing third place overall with Trinidad & Tobago, second-place finishers in Group 2. Eleuthere lost to Rafael Cabrera 3-0, Francis to Ramon Vila 3-1, and Harris to Alexander Tejada 3-1.
Saint Lucia’s team comprised the top three players from the Secondary School Championships. Francis attends Castries Comprehensive Secondary School, Eleuthere Ciceron Secondary and Harris St Mary’s College.
This week, competition continues with men’s singles and women’s teams.
