Four titles for Guyana at CASA Junior Championship

Jul 19, 2023 Sports

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Kaieteur Sports – Guyana is well-positioned to defend the overall title at the ongoing Caribbean Area Squash Association (CASA) Junior Championships, having already secured numerous individual medals in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Looking for the championship for the first time since 2015, despite conceding the 2017 and 2019 editions to Barbados, the Guyanese team is now eager to secure their 14th overall victory.

So far, Guyana has clinched individual gold medals through Nicholas Verwey in the boys’ Under-19, Louis Da Silva, the boys’ Under-17 champion, and Under-15 queen Avery Arjoon.

Additionally, Kaylee Lowe in the girls’ Under-13, Mohryan Baksh in the boys’ Under-17, and Kirsten Gomes in the girls’ Under-19 category have all secured silver medals.

Furthermore, Ethan Bulkan in boys’ Under-11, Justin Ten Pow in boys’ Under-13, and Michael Alphonso in boys’ Under-19 contributed a bronze medal to the country’s tally.

The individual finals commenced with Bermuda’s Mason Smith and Benjamin Sherratt earning gold and silver in the boys’ Under-11, following their contrasting victories against Savante Padmore of the host nation and Bulkan.

Mason comfortably defeated Padmore in three sets 11-3, 11-0, and 11-3, while Sherratt required four sets to overcome Bulkan.

After losing the first set 11-8, Sherratt made a remarkable comeback, winning the next three sets 11-9, 11-3, and 11-5 in a match that lasted 28 minutes.

In their subsequent encounter, both Smith and Sherratt required 23 minutes to determine the victor, with Smith ultimately prevailing 16-14, 11-8, 11-7.

In the boys’ Under-13 category, Barbadian Ben Shepherd demonstrated his class with a convincing 18-minute victory against the US Virgin Islands Ethan Mohamed, securing comfortable wins of 11-1, 11-5, and 11-3.

Justin Ten Pow registered an 11-5, 11-6, 11-8 win against Levi Jack in the third-place encounter.

The host nation also displayed its strength in the boys’ Under-15 category, with Jayden George emerging as the champion, defeating Bermuda’s Owen Rosorea in a three-set match with scores of 11-5, 11-3, and 11-1.

Daniel Sealy of Barbados secured third place with an 11-4, 11-2, 11-8 victory over Charlie Makin of Bermuda.

The boys’ Under-17 final proved to be a pulsating battle, where Louis Da Silva and Mohryan Baksh showcased their skills.

Da Silva claimed victory in the almost hour-long four-set showpiece, prevailing 17-15, 9-11, 11-4, and 11-7.

Before that, Da Silva defeated Jaydon Williams of St Vincent in a thrilling five-set match, and Baksh emerged as a comfortable victor in less than half an hour against Andrew Cox of Bermuda.

Nicholas Verwey demonstrated his dominance in the boys’ Under-19 gold medal match, securing a comfortable victory over Barbadian Alex Stewart in straight sets, with scores of 12-10, 11-1, and 11-6.

In the third-place match, Michael Alphonso, who lost his semi-final contest to Stewart, bounced back to defeat British Virgin Islands’ Jace Jervis in an exciting five-set encounter, with scores of 12-10, 11-7, and 11-7, after losing the first two sets 13-15 and 8-11.

In the girls’ events, Trinidad and Tobago’s Gia Ghuran claimed the Under-11 gold medal with a 14-minute victory over Delilah Grace Pease of the British Virgin Islands, with scores of 11-5, 11-7, and 11-5. Bermuda’s Taylor Kyme secured victory in the bronze medal match, defeating Barbadian Peyton Marshall-Brancker with scores of 11-1, 11-2, and 11-9.

Lenna Hamati of Barbados emerged as the winner in the girls’ Under-13 category, prevailing in a four-set match against Kaylee Lowe, with scores of 11-7, 11-7, 10-12, and 11-2.

Bermuda’s McKenna Kyme won the bronze medal with an 11-8, 11-5, and 12-10 victory over Guyana’s Tiana Gomes, who showed great resilience, winning the second and third sets 11-2 and 11-5.

In the Under-15 category, Avery Arjoon displayed her prowess, taking only 16 minutes to claim the title with a straight-sets victory of 11-7, 11-5, and 11-6 over Bermuda’s Somers Stevenson.

Josie Thong of Trinidad and Tobago secured the bronze medal with an 11-6, 11-3, and 11-2 triumph over Guyana’s Emily Fung A Fat.

In the girls’ Under-17 final, Barbadian Eboni Atherley emerged as the comfortable winner, defeating Jamaica’s Sanjana Nallapati with scores of 11-7, 11-4, and 11-4 in just 25 minutes.

Another Jamaican, Mehar Trehan, won the bronze medal, overpowering her opponent Safirah Sumner of Guyana with scores of 11-6, 11-7, and 11-5 in under 20 minutes.

Finally, in the Under-19 category, the crown also went to Barbados, courtesy of Sumairaa Suleman, who rallied to beat Kirsten Gomes of Guyana with scores of 11-8, 11-9, and 11-6, after losing the first set 6-11 in a final that lasted just over half an hour.

The bronze medal went to Savannah Thomson of Jamaica, who came out on top in an entertaining 49-minute five-set contest against Katherine Risden, with scores of 12-14, 11-7, 9-11, 11-7, and 8-11.

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• Avery Arjoon, Caribbean Area Squash Association, category, Championship, Junior

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