Latest update November 15th, 2024 1:00 AM
Arjoon, Wiltshire, Downes, Dias among winners
Jason Ray Khalil
The action picked up on the third night of the Kraft sponsored Mash Junior Squash Tournament at the Georgetown Club Courts on Thursday evening.
There were two outstanding matches in the A and B categories, with perennial entertainers Deje Dias and Oliver Downes putting on a show, while Joven Benn played unbelievably well to stun Steven Xavier.
The first game between Xavier and Benn was a close affair as both players struggled to find their range early, but it was Benn who managed to steal the first 11/7. The second and third were all Xavier as he picked up the pace and stamped his authority by taking them 11/3 and 11/6.
Xavier seamed to be cruising to victory in the fourth when he got to match ball at 10-8, but then Benn found a new sense of urgency and made some desperate digs to tie things up at 10-10. From there on the crown were on the edge of their seats as the score went from match point to game point and back again, before Benn finally made good on his third game point at 16/14 to send the match to the deciding set. The fifth was an anticlimax with a deflated Xavier unable to cope with the revived Benn and he closed out the remarkable victory 10/8.
Victoria Arjoon
Seemingly hung over from his upset defeat at the hands of Jason Ray Khalil the previous night, Oliver Downes started of sluggishly against a hyped up Deje Dias. In a flash Downes found himself 2-0 down after Dias dominated the first two games 11/9 and 11/6. The fear of loosing to a junior opponent for the second night in a row seemed to shock Downes out of his slump and he slowly took control of the match by forcing Dias into several errors with precise drives that kept his opponent on the defensive. He took the third 11/7 and although Dias put up a fight in the fourth, in the end Downes was just the too much for him as he went down 9/11 and 6/11.
The action is expected to climax on Sunday with the top two ranked players in each category scheduled to do battle.
In full results:
Category A
Jason Ray Khalil defeated Ashley Khalil 11/1 11/6 11/4
Alexander Arjoon defeated Nyron Joseph 11/7 11/9 11/6
Oliver Downes defeated Deje Dias 9/11 6/11 11/7 11/9 11/6
Larissa Wiltshire
Category B
Mary Fung-A-Fat defeated Jonothan Antczak 11/7 11/4 11/5
Joven Benn defeated Steven Xavier 11/7 3/11 6/11 16/14 11/8
Victoria Arjoon defeated Jason Van Dyk 5/11 11/3 12/10 11/9
Category C
Ricky Rodrigues defeated Kristina Cheeks 11/1 11/6 11/8
Akeila Wiltshire defeated Gabrielle Fraser 11/3 11/5 11/5
Category D
Ian Mekdeci defeated Ben Mekdeci 15/13 11/4 10/12 11/8
Alec Melville defeated Alexander Cheeks 11/7 14/12 11/9
Category E
Larissa Wiltshire defeated Travis Whitehead 11/3 11/0 11/0
Category F
M. Khusial defeated Savannah Mendes 11/2 11/2 11/3
Rebecca Low defeated Savannah Mendes 11/2 11/3 11/2
M. Khusial defeated Rebecca Low 11/1 11/2
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