From May 5 to 10, the Mexican International Challenge was held in Aguascalientes, Mexico. A Pan Am Circuit event that gathered players from eighteen countries.
Brazil achieved 2 gold medals, one by Jonathan Matias in Men’s Singles and the other by Davi Silva and Sania Lima in Mixed Doubles, as well as one silver and two bronzes.
Mexicans Romina Fregoso and Miriam Rodriguez had outstanding participation, reaching the final in Women’s Doubles and winning the silver medal. Athletes from Canada, Guatemala, and the United States also reached the podiums.
Brazil showed its power in Men’s Singles and Mixed Doubles.
The first of the Brazilian medals was earned by Jonathan Matias (MS). His journey started against Zikuanxi Yang (VEN) in R32, Anirv Chamakura (USA) in R16 and in the Quarterfinals, Jonathan didn’t have a problem with Dumindu Abeywickrama from Sri Lanka. In the semifinals, the Brazilian found in front of him the four-time champion, Kevin Cordon (GUA). If Jonathan wanted the victory, he first needed to defeat the king, and he achieved it.
The final match brought Jonathan to play against the Italian Fabio Caponio. Jonathan, with his greatest performance, defeated Caponio (21-11, 21-14) and earned the gold of the event.
In Mixed Doubles, Davi Silva and Sania Lima had a simple start with rookies Guzman and Constantino (MEX). But after this, everything would be different. In QF, they had to play against Kevin Lee and Eliana Zhang (CAN), where the Brazilians had to overturn the result of the first game. In the semifinals, there was another complicated match against Christopher Martinez and Diana Corleto (GUA) that had the record of points in the competition reaching 28 points. Even so, the Brazilians prevailed.
The final was extremely difficult; the rivals were the Indian duo, Rawat/Manisha, who hadn’t lost up to that moment. There were very few times where one team got ahead by 2 or 3 points. In that battle of powers, the Brazilians, at 24 points of the third game, would manage to win the match (21-19, 23-25, 24-22).
Additionally, we highlight the silver medal earned by Juliana Vieira in Women’s Singles, who navigated the stages with great composure against her opponents. She lost in the final against Valishetty (IND) after three grueling games.
Mexican Valor
Although Mexico was unable to secure the gold, the host nation claimed a silver medal through Romina Fregoso and Miriam Rodríguez. Their journey began by defeating the tournament favorites, Samia Lima and Jaqueline Lima (BRA), in the QF, followed by a victory over Catherine Choi and Eliana Zhang (CAN) in the SF. In the final, they faced Rui Kiyama and Sona Yonemoto (JPN). Although they were defeated, their performance was remarkable.
Other Winners
Others medals were achieved in the tournament by athletes from the Americas; here is a summary of them:
- Women’s Singles
- Bronze: Ella Lin (United States)
- Men’s Doubles
- Silver: Lap Hing Pong / Lap Kan Pong (Canada)
- Women’s Doubles
- Bronze: Catherine Choi / Eliana Zhang (Canada)
- Bronze: Sania Lima / Juliana Vieira (Brazil)
- Mixed Doubles
- Bronze: Christopher Martínez / Diana Corleto (Guatemala)
- Bronze: Eason Wong / Thalia Se (United States)
- Men’s Singles
- Bronze: Donnians Oliveira (Brazil)
- Bronze: Kevin Cordón (Guatemala)
From Badminton Pan Am, we congratulate all participating athletes and look forward to continuing to enjoy the game of the Pan American athletes in the upcoming events of the Pan Am Circuit 2026.
