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Trinidad and Tobago's rising table tennis star Chloe Fraser carried her good form from last month's Caribbean Regional Table Tennis Championships when she booked her spot in the final of the girls' under-17 singles category of the World Table Tennis (WTT) Youth Contender Caracas at the Gimnasio de Tenis de Mesa Francisco Lopez in Caracas, Venezuela on July 2.
In her semis matchup with Venezuela's Dakota Ferrer, Fraser was made to dig deep for every point and she eventually progressed to the final with an enthralling 3-2 win. Ferrer, who let out jubilant shouts whenever she earned a point, took the first set 12-10. Fraser battled back and won the next two sets 11-7, 11-5 as she looked to take full control of the semifinal clash with a 2-1 lead.
In the fourth set, Ferrer showed her determination as she took it 11-7 to level the match at 2-2. In a tense final set, Ferrer surged out to a 4-1 lead and looked favourite to win the contest. However, Fraser stayed resolute and edged ahead 5-4 before taking the decider 11-6 to clinch her spot in the final.
After press time on July 2, Fraser was scheduled to meet Antigua and Barbuda's Stuti Kashyap, who defeated Venezuela's Natacha Mata 3-1 in her semis encounter.
In her quarterfinal match against the host nation's Zurisadai Espinoza, Fraser was in a no-nonsense mood as she coasted into the semis with an impressive straight sets win – 11-5, 11-1, 11-4.
On July 1, Fraser showed her undoubted class in the group stages of the competition when she returned a perfect record in group four play. Fresh from her bronze-medal feat at the regional table tennis championships in Barbados, the 17-year-old Fraser topped her group with a flawless showing. Fraser got a tight 3-2 win against India's Prisha Goel in her first match after the latter player clawed back from a two-set deficit to level the match at 2-2. In the final set, though, Fraser held her own to win 12-10 to claim her first victory of the tournament.
In her second encounter, Fraser got a straight sets win – 11-8, 11-3, 11-5 – to turn back Venezuela's Estefany Morales. In her third clash, Fraser cemented her status as group winner when she defeated Venezuela's Carmenluisa Hernandez in another straight sets victory – 11-6, 11-8, 11-6.
In the under-19 mixed doubles event, Fraser teamed up with Gabriel John but the pair were stopped at the quarterfinal stage by Venezuela's Carlos Rios and Natacha Mata, who got a 3-1 win. Mata and Rios won the first set 11-7 and then held off a stiff fight from their opponents to take a lengthy second set 16-14. Fraser and John continued to show their fight as they won the third set 11-9, but Mata and Rios stormed back to clinch overall victory by winning the fourth set 11-8.
Mata and Rios then marched into the final as they also defeated the Indian pair of Goel and Sudhanshu Maini 3-1.
In the round of 16 phase, Fraser and John got past Venezuela's Ana Becerra and Abraham Cardozo 3-1. The Trinidadian team won the first two sets 11-8, 11-7, before Becerra and Cardoza won the third set 11-6 to cut into the former team's lead. Fraser and John won the fourth set 11-5 to advance to the quarterfinals.
In the boys' under-17 singles, John had a tough time as he finished at the bottom of group one, which included Maini and Venezuela's Jorge Alves. John was beaten 6-11, 9-11, 11-13 by Maini in his first match, with another straight sets loss coming against Alves (4-11, 6-11, 5-11).
Fraser and John will commence group play in their respective under-19 singles categories on July 3.
The post Chloe Fraser into U-17 singles final at Table Tennis tourney in Caracas appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.