Galeano and Sánchez, monarchs of the National Table Tennis Doubles Championship – – 2024-02-23 22:50:45

Jaime Galeano, an athlete from the Effort and Glory Program, and his running mate, Edgardo Sánchez, yesterday won the title of champions of the first category of the 2024 National Doubles Championship for the fourth consecutive year. The event was organized by the Salvadoran Table Tennis Federation (Fesalteme) and took place at the facilities of the Republic of Germany School Center.

In the first women’s category final, first place was won by Gabriela Suárez and Cecilia Orantes, both beneficiaries of the Effort and Glory Program; second place was obtained by Victoria Guevara and Cristina Machado; and the bronzes went to the duos Emme Arias and Yancy Urías, as well as Keren Constanza and Gabriela Castillo.

In the duel for their fourth title in a row, Galeano and Sánchez faced Samuel Alfonso and Roberto Salazar, whom they defeated 3-2 (11-5, 11-7, 6-11, 7-11 and 11-6). While third place was shared by the pairs made up of Enzo Leiva and Edilberto Merino along with Melvin Muñoz and Natanaeel Serrano.

According to Galeano, concentration and determination to win point by point in each match was one of the keys to winning a new national title.

“Being able to compete and win one more tournament is a great joy, it is the fruit of training at a very good level and it motivates me to continue fighting for my goals. The key to being able to win this doubles championship was working as a team with my partner Edgardo, concentration and thinking about winning point by point and not leaving the game mechanism was the key,” said the tennis player.

After obtaining first place in the doubles championship, Jaime confirmed that he will prepare for the next Fesalteme event: the Major Central American Championship, from April 22 to 27, of which the country is host.

“In April, El Salvador will host the Central American Major and we are preparing for said competition because we want to be in the finals,” said the national.

Edgardo, for his part, indicated that this is the first step to seek a good presentation at the international events of which El Salvador will host.

“This championship is a preparation for our next competition, one of them is the Major Central American Championship, but we also have the Pan American Championship in mind, which we will also host. It is a personal achievement and a goal achieved, it is our fourth consecutive title that we won with Jaime,” Sánchez explained.

The tennis player clarified that the championship match was tough and highly contested due to the good competitive level of the rivals.

“In the final we faced two players with a lot of experience, that’s why things got complicated for us, we played five sets, but thanks to our good understanding with Galeano we managed to keep the result,” said Edgardo.

In other results, in the second category, the winners were Luis Zelaya and Fernando Alfaro by beating Gerardo Rivera and Emiliano Amaya. The bronze was shared between the pairs made up of Jonathan Serrano and José Mora and Boris Galeano and José Ramos.

In the third women’s category, the winners are Samirah Muñoz and Vilma Zelaya, the runners-up are Keren Constanza and Nicolle González, and third place went to Camila Villalta and González. While in men’s, the champions were Miguel Villeda and Eduardo Ortiz after defeating Javier Córdova and Walter González. Fernando Salinas and Jaime Quintanilla together with Guillermo Machón and José Liévano won third place.

Meanwhile, in the U-15 category, the crown was in the hands of Valentina Duarte and Fátima Landaverde who defeated the duo Amy Guinea and Nicolle González. Third place went to Ashley Alemán and Sofia Rodríguez, as well as Sara Viera and Dayana López.

The winners in the men’s U-15 were Natanael Serrano and Melvin Muñoz, defeating Walter Menjívar and Juan Méndez in the final. The third places were in the hands of Javier Sánchez and Giovanni Castellanos, and the couple Juan Araujo and Mateo Alemán.