Ashley Khalil anticipates good showing from Squash team at South American Games

Sep 17, 2022 Sports

By Sean Devers

The 12th South American Games will be held in Paraguay, from October 1 – 15, where Guyana will be represented by 13 athletes in the disciplines of Squash, Badminton, Boxing and Table Tennis.

The country’s four-member squash team departs for Asunción on October 7, before going into action on October 10.

Ashley Khalil plays a back hand off the glass at Georgetown Club Squash Courts (Sean Devers photo)

This year’s World Masters over-35 Singles Champion, Nicolette Fernandes will be joined by 2022 Caribbean Champion, Ashley Khalil, Taylor Fernandes, and Larisa Wiltshire to form Team Guyana at the prestigious games.

Speaking exclusively with Kaieteur News, Khalil, based on the team’s composition and the various players’ run-of-form this year, expressed confidence in the squad doing well in Paraguay.

“Most of our women’s team have been training throughout the year for numerous tournaments. With a lot of on-court time, match practice and tournament experiences, our team should do well at these upcoming South American Games,” Khalil said.

She believes that the “experiences from previous tournaments this year will be of great benefit to the upcoming South American Games and it will ensure that I stay focused on the task at hand and use the experience I’ve gained from previous matches.”

“Guyana’s squash has been excelling at the previous tournaments throughout this year and I think this one should be no different once we stay composed on court and execute what we have been training so hard for. Once that is done, medals will be coming home,” disclosed Khalil who runs her own pet store called Chunky Chews Pet Bakery and Supplies.

A disadvantage of playing too many high level tournaments in such a short time is the burnt out factor and physical stress but Khalil explained that everyone’s body is different and everyone handles stress differently.

“As an athlete you’d have to know your body and adjust accordingly. Recovery after every match is key to gaining optimal performance in your next match,” said Khalil, the holder of two unique records in Guyana – Squash and Badminton.

In 2007, Khalil made her Guyana Senior Squash team debut at 14. At that time Ashley, whose first sport was Badminton, was the U-15, U-17 and U-19 National Champion in both Squash and Badminton. This was the first time the feat had ever been achieved in Guyana.

That year, she also won Silver and Bronze Medals at the Junior Pan-Am U-19 Squash tournament, was the Caribbean U15 Champion, got a Silver Medal at Senior Nationals, and gained a Silver Medal at the Caribbean Junior Badminton Championships, resulting in her receiving the 2007 Junior Sportswoman of the Year.

Her other unique achievement came in 2019 in the KFC Senior National tournament. Khalil and her brother Jason-Ray, became the first pair of siblings to be crowned National Squash Champions in the Men’s Open and Women’s Open, respectively.

Khalil also represented Guyana at the Commonwealth Games in India as a 17-year-old. She returned to the Commonwealth Games this year, where along with her brother, she was second in the Mixed Doubles Plate final.

She won three Caribbean Junior Titles, a silver medal and four bronze medals at Junior Pan-Am Championships, two Women’s National Championships, Gold, Silver and two Bronze medals at the Senior Caribbean Championships, two bronze medals at the South American Games and five bronze medals at CAC Games.