The Guyana Badminton Association (GBA) took the thrill of Air Badminton way up the Soesdyke-Linden Highway last Saturday when they hosted their inaugural Air Badminton tournament at St Cuthbert’s Mission, also known as Pakuri village.
That location was chosen as part of the GBA’s ongoing development efforts following an introduction to the sport and equipment being donated to the community in 2022.
Now being popularised by the GBA, Air Badminton is an exciting new development initiative aimed at making badminton accessible to people of all ages and abilities. Designed for play on hard surfaces, grassy surfaces, and sandy surfaces in parks, gardens, streets, playgrounds, and beaches, this initiative aligns with the global vision to expand the sport.
The inaugural Air Badminton tournament was played in the triples format (one girl, two boys), and there was no age restriction. Each team was captained by a girl, and teammates were selected through a random draw by the team captains. As such, the teams [most featuring at least one player from the community] for the St.
The gold medal winners are pictured alongside the Toshao of St Cuthbert’s Mission, Alvaro Simon
Cuthbert’s Mission competition were as follows:
Best Hitters – Holly Daniels (St. Cuthbert’s Mission), Mia Simon (St. Cuthbert’s Mission), Joel Rambiriche
Shuttle Warriors – Mishka Beharry, Nickel Dundas (St. Cuthbert’s Mission), Caleb Tan
Jaguars – Valerie Dundas (St. Cuthbert’s Mission), Percival Chester, Christopher Jordan
Racquet Rebels – Gabrielle Felix, Chenyuan Chen, Eusin Dundas (St. Cuthbert’s Mission)
Shuttle Strikers – Anjaneysa Godette, Ronit Gulchand, Omkar Persaud
Smash Squad – Daniella Narine, Joanathan Debidin, Shane Birkett
ADK Champions – Keri Andrew (St. Cuthbert’s Mission), Dan Tan, Avinash Ramnarine
Shuttle Champions – Janaya Dundas (St. Cuthbert’s Mission), Pierre Andrews, Ruel Rambiriche
Awesome Arapaimas – Paige John, Neo Hope (St. Cuthbert’s Mission), Marcellos Bhagwandin
Team Assassins – Sudarshini Sooknarine, Gabriel Felix, Tejnarine Persaud
Team 592 – Asiyah Eastman, Alisha Kahar (St. Cuthbert’s Mission), Russell Shuman
Badminton Baddies – Priyanna Ramdhani, Vishal Gopaul, David Rockcliffe (St. Cuthbert’s Mission)
Super Strikers – Shabanna Simon (St. Cuthbert’s Mission), Yonneil Benjamin, Jonathan Robinson
When the dust settled, Shuttle Strikers came out on top of the competition, while Awesome Arapaimas had to settle for second place.
Shuttle Champions and Racket Rebels were the losing semifinalists, and therefore they shared the third-place finish.
The Guyana Badminton Association (GBA), in extending its heartfelt gratitude to Toshao Alvaro Simon, the St. Cuthbert’s Mission Council, and the entire community for welcoming and supporting this milestone event, has shared in a statement: “This tournament marks a significant step in expanding badminton in Guyana, and we look forward to bringing more events to communities across the country.”
