Friday, November 17th, 2023.- Chile secured ten medals in Para table tennis at the Santiago 2023 Parapan American Games, with nine representatives qualifying for the semifinals and one podium finish in the group stage, following the second day at the Centro de Entrenamiento Olímpico in the Ñuñoa commune.

The final balance of individual matches will be known this Saturday, but in advance, there's already a guaranteed silver medal due to the face-off between hosts in the Male's Individual Class 6, featuring Ignacio Torres and Cristian Dettoni.

Torres secured his spot by defeating Peruvian Guillermo Yáñez 3-0, while Dettoni—three-time Paralympic representative and Chile's first gold medalist at the Pan American Games (2011)—prevailed over Costa Rican Domingo Arguello in consecutive sets to advance to the final top four. Additionally, Matías Pino joins them after a 3-0 elimination of American Samuel Altshuler and will compete for the final against Ian Seidenfeld.

In Class 11, Chillán native Armin Rosas dispatched Raymond Sacco (United States) 3-0 and will face Brazilian Thiago Simoes in the semifinals. Similarly, Manuel Echaveguren will compete for a spot in the Class 10 final against Gabriel de Oliveira after defeating Salvadoran Melvin Muñoz in quarters (3-0).

In Class 4, there will be two clashes between Chileans and Mexicans in the semifinals. Maximiliano Rodríguez defeated the American Zachary Pickett and will play against Jesús Sánchez. Meanwhile, Cristian González awaits Francisco González after securing his ticket to the semifinals on Thursday.

The scenario in individual male's matches is completed with Vicente Leiva in Class 1, who confirmed his place among the top four in the only group of the series after his victory over Michael Godfrey on Thursday.

In the female's category, Tamara Leonelli—another favorite and the Chilean flag bearer—will seek a spot in the final against Mexican Martha Verdin after a 3-0 victory over American Valerie Rolph, securing the top position in Group B of Class 4-5; additionally, Florencia Pérez will join, playing semifinals against Aneth Araya from Costa Rica after securing two victories on Thursday in Class 8.

Written by Arturo Hernández and Nicolás Olea; translated by Vicente Valdivia / Santiago 2023 vía Photosport
Photo by Javier Salvo / Santiago 2023 vía Photosport