Doubles was the order of the day in Cuenca, Ecuador, home of the 2021 ITTF Pan American Under 11 and Under 13 Championships. There, up in the Andes mountains at 8400 feet above sea level, the air may be thin but the competition is rapidly thickening for Team USA. In the opening round of 16 in the Under 13 Girls event, the USA's third-seeded Yishiuan Lin and Amber Liu upset top-seeded Nohelia Ortiz and Anie Camila Rubio Rivadeneira of the host nation, Ecuador. They have ridden the momentum to the semis, where Dafne Sosa and Arianna Estrella of the Dominican Republic will also vie for a title shot. Team USA is also in evidence in the semifinals of the Under 13 Boys event, where Krish Gandhi and He Xianyo will battle the host nation's Juan Martin Gonzalez and Boris Villavicencio. In the Under 13 Mixed Doubles, Team USA has already secured a finals berth. Yishiuan Lin and Stanley Hsu will take on Puerto Rico's Valentina Davila Santiago and Enrique Yezue Rios Torres with gold medals on the line. The possibility of an all-USA Under 11 Girls final will be decided Sunday morning. In simultaneous semifinals, Tashiya Piyadasa and Geetha Krishna take on Peru's Maria Jose Pun Kay and Rosita Perales Corcuera, while American ambassadors Abigail Yu and Tiana Piyadasa lock horns with Ecuador's own Camila Abril and Maria Alejandra Abril. In the Under 11 Boys' doubles quarterfinals, the USA's Maxim Mouchinski (pictured, left) and Brian Wu (right) avenged a straight set loss to Colombia in the team finals. Emanuel Otalvaro and Juan Pineros, the top seeded team in doubles, fell to Mouchinski and Wu in four games. On Sunday, the American duo take on Joseph Ruiz and Diego Suchite of Guatemala in the semis. While Team USA has a preponderance of excellent chances in the other doubles events, the gold is guaranteed in the Under 11 Mixed event. Sunday's final will see Tashiya Piyadasa and Kef Noorani lock horns with fellow Team USA representatives Abigail Yu and Maxim Mouchinski. While Cuenca, Ecuador may inhabit a thinner atmosphere, it appears to be Team USA which truly breathes rarefied air.

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