Pan Am Players are shining at the Pan Am Games 2023 with exciting matches and important results for their countries.
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Semi-finals Day in Quotes
Seeded 2 duo, Nyl Yakura and Adam Dong (CAN), defeated Mexicans Job Castillo/Luis Montoya in a 3-games-match of more than an hour with a score 21-10, 21-23, 25-23.
“The match was more about mental. We played pretty good the first game, with a lot of energy. We had a low start in second game and when we tried to recover it was a little late but at the end of the match we maintained the mental strength and we were able to win it. The strategy for tomorrow will be the same as today: mental strength. Anything can happen in these tournaments, we must handle nerves, pressure, and is important to be mentally strong so hopefully we will reach the top of the podium at the end.”
For the other side of the draw, Fabricio Farias and Davi Silva reached the final after a victory against Anibal Marroquin/Jonathan Solis (EAI) in straight games (21-18, 21-16).
“The most difficult thing was that we were tense, it is a semi-final and we have managed to reach a final so we are going to look for that gold in a new challenge for us. The most important thing was calmness, tactics and our determination during the game. That helped a lot and we were able to get the victory. Tomorrow we will try to be well focused and happy to be in a final, it will be a difficult match but we will try to have fun and the medal will be a consequence of that.”
“I didn’t expect this result in singles so it’s surprising for me and I’m happy to have come this far. I played too pasive and a little slow the first game but on second game I played faster and I was able to attack more and strong so I think that helps a lot to reach the result. I don’t feel too match presure for Singles. Tomorrow I will focus on enjoy the final, specially in this big tournament like Pan Am Games. I think is a great experience”, said Jennie Gai after defeating Taymara Oropesa (CUB) in the first match of the day.
Santiago 2023 is the first Pan Am Game for Beiwen Zhang and she is looking for the gold after defeating Rachel Chan (CAN) in Semifinals. “Actually, the shuttles are a little faster than I expected, but then I got a little nervous because I wanted to win. I think Rachel improved a lot compared to the last time I played against her. Seeing the next generation coming is really good. I never played the Pan American Games before and I really want to represent the US here and get gold”
Vinson Chiu & Jennie Gai (USA) will face Ty Lindeman/Josephine Wu (CAN) in the Mixed Doubles Final.
“We felt very good because we played the last Pan Am Championship and we do not perform as we wanna do so we really came back and improve that in this event. Before the competition we knew that some games were going to be difficult because we have already played against them and we have lost but I think we came mentally prepared to face one game at a time and whether we win or lose we will give our best, so we are happy. For tomorrow we will gonna play a lot different than we did last time and hope the result will be better than last time”, refered Vinson and Jennie after defeating Davi Silva & Sania Lima (BRA) in Semifinals.
“I’m really happy even do the game was not too close but the win give us confidence for tomorrow. We coming here to win, we never expected to be easy, we still working hard for each match and we are coming to take the gold”, said Ty Lindeman & Josephine Wu after their match against Jose Guevara/Ines Castillo (PER).
Annie & Kerry Xu defeated brazilian duo Sania Lima/Juliana Viana Vieira to reach the final. “This is special because is our first time at Pan American Games and to reach finals is a very special moment for us. Also we just turned 24 two days ago so this is a pretty good belated present for us. The key for today was just to be patience, returning quality shots and find the good oportunity to go for the point. Is special not only to be sister on the podium but also to be on court together and we are really proud of ourselves despite the tomorrow results.”
Seeded 1 duo, Josephine Wu & Catherine Choi (CAN) defeated mexicans Romina Fregoso/Miriam Rodriguez and will fight for the gold. It’s very exciting because it’s our first Pan Am Games together, as a duo, and we’re expecting a great match tomorrow against the twins with whom we’ve played many times so we’ll see how it goes. It will be important to handle the conditions of the hall and the pressure because this tournament gives Olympics ranking points and we both are fighting for the spots. We feel very confident and ready to fight tomorrow.”
Olympian and Guatemalan star, Kevin Cordon, defeated Ramon Garrido (MEX) in Semifinals and will face Brian Yang (CAN) for a new gold medal at Pan Am Games.
“Concentration was key today, regardless of the result, positive or negative, it is important at no time to throw in the towel and above all not to deviate from the game strategy, and I think that was what made the difference. These are my sixth Pan Am Games and now that God is giving me the opportunity to be in a final, it is something very nice. So leaving strategy and concentration aside a bit, I’m going to enjoy being in a final again”, said Kevin who will face his fourth final at Pan Am Games.
Brian Yang, runner-up at Lima 2019, is seeking for his second Pan Am Games medal. “It’s really exciting to get to the final again and I’m definitely going for gold this time. For the final I think the most important thing is to be as focused as possible and we’ll see how it goes.”
Badminton Competition at Santiago 2023 Pan Am Games will continue on Wednesday 25 with the Finals. Good luck to all the athletes!
