When will the "country folks" be included in the squash and badminton fraternities?

When will the “country folks” be included in the squash and badminton fraternities?

Apr 25, 2026 Letters

Dear Editor,

It reminds me of the days of yore when cricket was a highly segregated sport in British Guiana.

There was a saying that if one could get selected for the GCC (Georgetown Cricket Club), one can be selected for B.G.

However, not all the eleven players selected to represent B.G were from the GCC, they selected a couple from other Georgetown Cricket Clubs.

It was not until the great Barbadian cricketer Clyde Walcott was hired as a coach by Sir Jock Campbell (then head of Bookers Sugar Estates) that “country boys” such the great Rohan Kanhai, Basil Butcher, Joe Solomon, Ivan Madray and the likes were given an equal opportunity to play for BG, and the rest is history.

Rohan Kanhai is said to have put BG on the map from his exploits on the cricket fields in foreign lands.

Today, our country is well off and tons of money are allocated in each annual budget for sports but who benefits?

Not the country side folks. Mainly the players in or around Greater Georgetown benefit the most. There is not a level playing field, to use that proverbial term.

When I look at two sports in particular, I find that the government funding is not being permeated to the rural part of our country, same that happened prior to the Walcott/Kanhai era.

For squash, all I see are rich people from some select families from the city and surrounding perimeter playing in these tournaments.

For Badminton, two siblings have represented the country for the longest while. Of course, these two would always be selected because they are probably the best, but the best out of which competition?

The Sports Minister and the Director of Sports need to consider shedding those expensive suits, roll up their sleeves and account for the massive spending of the taxpayers’ dollars allocated in the annual budget.

Do we need to find new visionaries such as Sir Clyde Walcott and Sir Jack Campbell to bring us back to a level playing field?

Let us have equity in sports. No player should be left behind because of where they live.

Sham Rahman Mohammed

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country folks, Letters, Sham Rahman Mohammed, squash and badminton fraternities

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