Promising teen tops New York tilt

Kheith Rhynne Cruz defeated Lichen Chen, 11-5, 11-13, 11-8, 12-10, recently to rule the WTT Youth Contender Westchester 2024 U19 singles division in Pleasantville, New York, bagging her second World Table Tennis youth contender crown in the last eight months.

Cruz also bagged the crown in the Puerto Princesa final in October last year.

The 17-year-old Paco Citizen Academy Foundation student went 2-0 in Group 1 after beating Louise Fan of Canada and Rachel Wang of United States, both in straight sets, and won over Daymar Castro of Puerto Rico, 11-5, 11-8, 11-4, in the semifinals.

Cruz also placed second in the U19 mixed doubles after she and Bosman Botha lost to Naresh Nandan and Rachel Wang, 11-6, 8-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-9.

The Philippine Table Tennis Federation (PTTF) hailed Cruz’s latest feat, optimistic that she will continue to get better with the goal of qualifying for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

“We believe in her abilities, and with proper support, training and guidance, we believe that she is our best bet to represent the Philippines in the 2028 Olympics,” said PTTF president Ting Ledesma.

Before finishing runner-up in the mixed doubles, Cruz and Botha beat Yashraj Shah and Amoolya Menon, 6-11, 12-10, 11-7, 11-9, in the quarterfinals, and won over Krish Gandhi and Chen, 8-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-8, in the semifinals.