Saturday, Oct 21st.- While Asians are the major players in world badminton, there is also a high-level group in the Pan American Games Santiago 2023, as demonstrated on Saturday at the Centro de Entrenamiento Olímpico in Ñuñoa.

The preliminary rounds featured a top-notch participant because Brazilian Ygor Coelho de Oliveira, the current Pan American champion who defeated Canadian Brian Yang in the final of Lima 2019, made his debut in the round of 32.

The Rio de Janeiro native had a very easy debut in Santiago 2023, as he defeated Chilean Fernando Sanhueza with scores of 21-10 and 21-9 in just 26 minutes of play.

Now, in the second round, Coelho will face Argentinian Ezequiel Oliva, who beat Salvadoran Javier Armando Alas with scores of 21-11 and 21-8.

Meanwhile, in the female's draw, the top seed, American Beiwen Zhang, had an encouraging debut, defeating Venezuelan María Rojas Camacho with a commanding 21-6 and 21-3 in a quick 17 minutes.

The local audience also had reason to celebrate as Chileans Ashley Montre and Vania Díaz secured victories against Argentinian Ailen Oliva and Haitian Neila Jean, respectively.

Carlos Silva Rojas; translated by Pía Barriga / Photosport
Photo: Javier Vergara / Santiago 2023 villa Photosport