Chilean Table Tennis Player Wins Bronze at South American Championships

Asunción, Paraguay – Chilean tennis player Fernanda Cea Zúñiga, 12, returned from the South American Under 11 and Under 13 Table Tennis Championships in Asunción with two bronze medals, according to reports from Chilean news outlet fechiteme.cl.

Cea secured her first bronze in the doubles competition, partnering with Magdalena Gallardo. The Brazilian team took gold, even as Argentina claimed silver. She then added a second bronze medal as part of the Chilean team competition, where Argentina again finished first and Brazil second.

The competition, held at the National Table Tennis Stadium of the Paraguayan Table Tennis Federation, drew 160 young athletes from ten South American nations: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

Chile’s overall medal count at the championships totaled eight, including a silver medal won by Vicente Tejada in the Under 13 men’s singles event. Nicolás Leyton also earned a bronze after losing in the semifinals to a compatriot. Additional bronze medals were awarded in other doubles and team events.

Cea is a student at Escuela México in Valdivia and plays for the Cau Cau club of the Table Tennis association.

The Chilean women’s Under 11 and Under 13 teams competed alongside their male counterparts at the tournament.