Mollineau reaches round of 32 at Americas Youth Championships

Mateo Mollineau emerged as Trinidad and Tobago’s standout player at the ITTF-Americas Youth Championships in Guatemala City, advancing to the round of 32 in Boys’ Under-15 singles.

Mollineau topped group three after beating Argentina’s 11th-seeded Ezequiel Sato 11-7, 11-9, 11-6, then defeating Ecuador’s Alejandro Cordero 11-9, 15-13, 13-11. His singles run ended in the first knockout round, where Guatemala’s Lucas Kim beat him 11-5, 11-9, 11-7.

He was the only Trinidad and Tobago player to move beyond the singles group stage. Ethan Mohammed lost to Brazil’s Leandro Ferreira and Guatemala’s Jose Mendez, while Jared Simon fell to Brazil’s Antonio Poletto and Mexico’s Axel Fragoso in the Under-15 event.

In Boys’ Under-19 singles, Malik Gopaul threatened Brazil’s 13th-seeded Caio Silva after taking a 2-1 games lead, but Silva recovered to win 11-7, 3-11, 5-11, 11-4, 11-4. Gopaul was then eliminated by Ecuador’s Joshua Robayo. Josiah Joseph and Raees Elahie also exited after losing all their group matches.

Gopaul and Joseph provided the country’s only other success, beating Saint Lucia’s Manie Eleuthere and Leshon Francis in the Under-19 doubles round of 32 before losing to eventual US champions Daniel Tran and Darryl Tsao. Trinidad and Tobago finished 11th in both team events.