Thursday at the 2025 World Games racquetball competition in Chengdu, China, brought the first real surprises, and they happened in Men’s Singles. Guatemalan Edwin Galicia upset top seeded American Jake Bredenbeck, 11-9, 9-11, 11-7, 11-6, to advance to the semi-finals, and give himself a chance at a medal, which would be a first for a Guatemalan man at the World Games.
In the semis, Galicia will face Argentina’s Diego Garcia, who knocked off the defending World Games racquetball champion in Costa Rican Andrés Acuña, 11-6, 11-8, 11-6. Garcia’s a solid player, so that he defeated Acuña is not too surprising, but doing it in three straight games is surprising.
The other side of the men’s draw has gone to form. Second seed Eduardo Portillo of Mexico beat Japan’s Michimune Kono in three straight games, 11-5, 11-6, 11-9, and in what at 65 min might have been the longest match so far, 3rd seed Conrrado Moscoso of Bolivia defeated 6th seeded Canadian Coby Iwaasa, 12-10, 8-11, 11-1, 11-5.
There were no surprises on the women’s side. Top seed and defending World Games gold medalist Paola Longoria of Mexico defeated Canadian Frédérique Lambert in three games, 11-4, 11-7, 11-8, and 2nd seed and silver medalist from Birmingham Gabriela Martinez of Guatemala was also a straight game winner, beating 15 year old Costa Rican Larissa Faeth, 11-8, 11-3, 11-8.
Third seed Maria Jose Vargas of Argentina had the most decisive victory, as she beat Dominican Republic’s Maria Cespedes, 11-1, 11-4, 11-1. Vargas will play Martinez in the semi-finals, while Longoria faces Bolivian Angélica Barrios in the semi-finals, as Barrios, the 5th seed, defeated 4th seeded American Naomi Ros, 10-12, 11-9, 11-8, 11-9. While an upset by the seedings, Barrios win isn’t a surprise, as she has a longer record than Ros, who is still a teenager, though she’ll turn 20 at the end of the month.
Mixed Doubles began on Thursday, and there was only one match that went more than three games. In that, Costa Ricans Acuña and Faeth defeated Dominicans Ramon De Leon and Maria Cespedes, 11-9, 9-11, 11-6, 11-7, which sets up a match with Americans Bredenbeck and Ros in the quarterfinals, which will be an interesting battle of two similar teams: a hard hitting guy and a teenage gal.
But the pick of the doubles quarters will be Mexico versus Argentina with Longoria and Portillo going up against Vargas and Garcia. Only one of those teams is going to have a chance to make the podium.
The 4/5 match should also be good, as 4th seeds Guatemala - Galicia and Martinez - take on 5th seeds Canada - Iwaasa and Lambert. That’s also a battle of in-laws, as Iwaasa is married to Martinez’s sister, making them brother and sister in-law, respectively.
Friday matches
Friday will start with the singles semi-finals from noon on with the men playing first and then the women. The Mixed Doubles quarters will be at 6 and 7 PM.
Looking ahead, Saturday will have the Mixed Doubles semi-finals at 1:30 PM and 2:30 PM and the bronze medal matches in Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles and Mixed Doubles at 6, 7, and 8 PM, respectively. The finals will all be on Sunday at 10 AM for Women’s Singles, 11:15 for Men’s Singles and 12:30 for Mixed Doubles.
You can watch some of the matches live from China via The World Games Live website. Note: the times above are Chengdu times, and, as reference, 6 PM in Chengdu is 6 AM in New York.
2025 World Games - Chengdu, China - August 13-17, 2025
Men’s Singles - Quarterfinals - Thursday
8) Edwin GALICIA (Guatemala) d. 1) Jake BREDENBECK (USA), 11-9, 9-11, 11-7, 11-6
4) Diego GARCIA (Argentina) d. 5) Andrés ACUÑA (Costa Rica), 11-6, 11-8, 11-6
3) Conrrado MOSCOSO (Bolivia) d. 6) Coby IWAASA (Canada), 12-10, 8-11, 11-1, 11-5
2) Eduardo PORTILLO (Mexico) d. 10) Michimune KONO (Japan), 11-5, 11-6, 11-9
Men’s Singles - Semi-finals - Friday
4) Diego GARCIA (Argentina) v. 8) Edwin GALICIA (Guatemala) - Noon
2) Eduardo PORTILLO (Mexico) v. 3) Conrrado MOSCOSO (Bolivia) - 1 PM
Women’s Singles - Quarterfinals - Thursday
1) Paola LONGORIA (Mexico) d. 8) Frédérique LAMBERT (Canada), 11-4, 11-7, 11-8
5) Angélica BARRIOS (Bolivia) d. 4) Naomi ROS (USA), 10-12, 11-9, 11-8, 11-9
3) Maria Jose VARGAS (Argentina) d. 6) Maria CESPEDES (Dominican Republic), 11-1, 11-4, 11-1
2) Ana Gabriela MARTINEZ (Guatemala) d. 10) Larissa FAETH (Costa Rica), 11-8, 11-3, 11-8
Women’s Singles - Semi-finals - Friday
1) Paola LONGORIA (Mexico) v. 5) Angélica BARRIOS (Bolivia) - 2 PM
2) Ana Gabriela MARTINEZ (Guatemala) v. 3) Maria Jose VARGAS (Argentina) - 3 PM
Mixed Doubles - Round of 16 - Thursday
1) Jake BREDENBECK & Naomi ROS (USA) d. 16) Yuan WANG & Han-Yang HUANG (Chinese Taipei), 11-3, 11-2, 11-3
9) Andrés ACUÑA & Larissa FAETH (Costa Rica) d. 8) Ramon DE LEON & Maria CESPEDES (Dominican Republic), 11-9, 9-11, 11-6, 11-7
5) Coby IWAASA & Frédérique LAMBERT (Canada) d. 12) Aisling HICKEY & Jonathan O'KEENEY (Ireland), 11-1, 11-5, 12-10
4) Ana Gabriela MARTINEZ & Edwin GALICIA (Guatemala) d. 13) Carlo PAPINI & Cristina AMAYA (Italy), 11-0, 11-1, 11-1
3) Conrrado MOSCOSO & Angélica BARRIOS (Bolivia) d. 14) Marcel LUNSMANN & Angela GRISAR (Germany), 11-8, 11-7, 11-6
11) Michimune KONO & Harumi KAJINO (Japan) d. 6) Sumin LEE & Gunhee LEE (South Korea), 11-2, 11-9, 11-5
7) Maria Jose VARGAS & Diego GARCIA (Argentina) d. 10) Jose Daniel UGALDE & Maria Angela VILLACRESES (Ecuador), 11-7, 11-5, 12-10
2) Paola LONGORIA & Eduardo PORTILLO (Mexico) d. 15) Kosetty JYOTHEEKALYAN & Shilpa DALVI (India), 11-3, 11-0, 11-1
Mixed Doubles - Quarterfinals - Friday
1) Jake BREDENBECK & Naomi ROS (USA) v. 9) Andrés ACUÑA & Larissa FAETH (Costa Rica) - 6 PM
4) Ana Gabriela MARTINEZ & Edwin GALICIA (Guatemala) v. 5) Coby IWAASA & Frédérique LAMBERT (Canada) - 7 PM
3) Conrrado MOSCOSO & Angélica BARRIOS (Bolivia) v. 11) Michimune KONO & Harumi KAJINO (Japan) - 6 PM
2) Paola LONGORIA & Eduardo PORTILLO (Mexico) v. 7) Maria Jose VARGAS & Diego GARCIA (Argentina) - 7 PM
Note: All times above are Chengdu times. 6 PM in Chengdu is 6 AM in New York.
Follow the bouncing ball…..
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