MANIZALES - Colombian player Humberto Castaño has emerged the winner of the prestigious Feria de Manizales tournament in his home country. In the final, Castaño defeated one of Colombia's best players and a well-known player in World Cup tournaments and championships, Jose Juan Garcia. The final was enthralling and hard-fought for the winner.
The final result was 3-2 in sets in a
match with changing odds, in which both finalists took turns to win a set. Jose Juan got off to a strong start in the first set, but Castaño came back and won (15-11 in 14/13). Jose Juan responded in the second set: (15-13 in 10/9), but again Humberto took the lead in the third set (15-1 in 6/5). The young ex-world junior champion equalized in the fourth set (15-6 in 13/12). It was the enthralling run-up to the fifth set with the fans supporting their favorites while the main players tried to contain tension and nerves. In the end, Humberto Castaño won and was the champion with a final score in the fifth set of 15-8 in 15/14 innings.
In the quarter-finals, the later champion defeated Pablo Ocampo by three sets to nil: (15-9, 13-10 and 15-13). Luis Martinez also beat Daniel Jaramillo by three sets to nil (11-8, 14-8 and 15-14). Then, in an exciting duel, Estupiñán beat Arley Galeano by two sets to one and a draw in the fourth set (6-15; 15-9 -15-12 and 13-13). Finally, J.J. Garcia defeated another contender, Alex Salazar, in a five-set match (3-2).
In the semi-finals, J.J. Garcia defeated Luis Martínez by three sets to nil (15-4; 15-14 and 15-12). Garcia was able to break Luis Martinez' serve in the first and third sets to win comfortably. The average: 2,142 for Garcia against 1,500 for Luis Martinez.
Another comfortable score came in the semi-final between Humberto Castaño and Juan Estupiñán: three-nil for Castaño (15-6; 15-10; 15-13). The average: 1.414 Castaño and 0.889 Estupiñán. 23-year-old Juan Estupiñán was one of the revelations of the tournament. In the last 32, he eliminated none other than Huberney Cataño. In the same round, Pedro González was defeated by Castaño, the later champion.
The two final players, left Jose Juan Garcia
