The small Caribbean nation of Saint Lucia’s table tennis community is basking in an unprecedented wave of success, after its young athletes claimed four medals across disciplines at the 2025 ITTF-Americas Caribbean Youth Championships, hosted in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The historic achievement carries extra meaning for local fans, as the medal haul landed right alongside the global celebration of World Table Tennis Day on April 23.
The Saint Lucian delegation got off to a strong start early in the tournament, locking in a bronze medal with a third-place finish in the men’s team event. Over the following two days of competition at Parque del Este, the young competitors added three more medals to their tally, including one regional title: the women’s doubles gold, plus bronze medals in both the Under-15 boys’ singles and Under-19 girls’ singles events.
The standout performer of the delegation was 19-year-old Shatal Charles, who walked away from the tournament with two medals. Partnering with Stuti Kashyap – the top-ranked female youth player in the Caribbean region, representing Antigua & Barbuda – Charles claimed the women’s doubles gold in a dramatic five-set final against Trinidad and Tobago’s Chloe Fraser and Jordan Thong. The pair dropped the second and third sets after taking the opening match, but rallied to win the final two sets comfortably, closing out the 3-2 victory with set scores of 13-11, 10-12, 10-12, 11-3, 11-4.
Their path to the final was equally impressive. In the quarterfinals, they delivered a dominant 3-0 sweep over Curacao’s Mikha Boekhoudt and Trinidad and Tobago’s Jannah Mohammed, winning all three sets by comfortable margins. They followed that up with a 3-1 semi-final win over the home crowd’s favorites Eduanni Mercedes De La Cruz Figueroa and Yesmeily Guerrero of the Dominican Republic to secure their spot in the title match.
In addition to her doubles gold, Charles earned a bronze medal in the Under-19 girls’ singles event, turning in a series of gritty comeback wins against higher-ranked opponents to advance deep into the competition. After an opening-round loss to Fraser on the tournament’s first day, Charles rebounded quickly, pulling out a tense 3-2 win against the Dominican Republic’s Yandra Arianna Mejia. She followed that with a nail-biting 4-3 win over Guerrero in the Round of 16, then notched another 4-3 victory against Naymaris Hernandez Martinez – a former Caribbean Under-15 champion from Puerto Rico – to advance to the singles semi-finals.
Saint Lucia’s head coach Chris Wells praised Charles’ mental resilience following the run, noting that she had defeated two opponents who had beaten her handily in past tournaments. “Shatal had two very tough matches,” Wells explained. “The first match versus the Dominican Republic player was a girl that destroyed her in straight sets two years ago. The second girl from Puerto Rico was a former Caribbean Under-15 Champion. Last year, Shatal lost in quarterfinals.”
Though Charles dropped the semi-final match 4-0 to her doubles partner Kashyap, her semi-final finish secured her a bronze medal, marking a massive personal and national milestone for the young athlete. She has already signaled her intent to return to the regional championships in 2027, targeting even stronger results.
Fifteen-year-old Leshon Francis was another standout for Saint Lucia, adding an individual bronze medal in the Under-15 boys’ singles to the team bronze he earned earlier in the tournament. Francis dominated his qualifying group, sweeping three straight matches 3-0 against Nyal Bushell of Barbados, Ajani Spencer of Jamaica, and Ysminsky Sosa of the Dominican Republic to top the group standings and advance to knockout play.
His strong form carried into the knockout rounds: he delivered another 3-0 sweep of the Dominican Republic’s Rommel Pepen in the Round of 16, then notched a 3-1 win over the Dominican Republic’s Edwin Ventura to reach the semi-finals. Francis’ run ended there with a 3-0 loss to Puerto Rico’s Matthew Cao, but his semi-final finish earned him a well-deserved bronze medal.
Two other Saint Lucian competitors turned in strong performances despite not winning medals: Manie Eleuthere topped his preliminary group to advance to the quarterfinals of the Under-19 boys’ singles event, where he fell 4-0 to defending champion Rafael Cabrera of the Dominican Republic. Khamari Harris failed to advance out of group play in singles, but paired with Mekhi Simmons of Antigua & Barbuda to reach the quarterfinals of the boys’ doubles event.
For a small island nation with a relatively small table tennis program, the four-medal haul marks one of the strongest showings in Saint Lucia’s youth table tennis history, and has given the local community a major boost as it celebrates World Table Tennis Day this year.