The Bounty Farm Ltd Handicap Tournament concluded on Sunday with Alex Arjoon being crowned King.
Nicholas Verwey came out on top in Category A, Samuel Ince-Carvalhal took the Open Plate title, and Mohryan Baksh was the Category A Plate winner.
Nail-biting matches wowed the crowd that were treated to outstanding play from the finalists. Top player Arjoon (-22) showed why he was number one, as he defeated Regan Pollard (-14), in an exciting final match at the Georgetown Club.
Using a variety of the shots in his repertoire, Arjoon moved easily around the court and worked the talented Pollard through two games. Moving quickly to level out his negative points, Arjoon calmly returned the hard-hitting Pollard’s shots. His superior play proved too much for Pollard, who could only earn six points in each game, as Arjoon reigned supreme in a 15-6, 15-6 victory.
The showstopper of the day was the Category A match between Verwey (-8) and Michael Alphonso (-10). The level of play between these two youngsters was incredible as they rallied to every corner of the court in a display of precision play. Verwey, who has improved at an incredible rate over the last few months, hunted every ball the skilful Alphonso played. Alphonso, on form, quickly closed the two-point deficit of his handicap and dominated early in the game. Verwey pulled himself back up to even out, but Alphonso’s experience and expertise carried him
Alex Arjoon
through to take the first game 15-13. In the second game, the battle continued as Verwey pulled out in front to a 14-11 advantage. Alphonso refused to give up and fought his way to 14-14 before Verwey closed the second game down.
Emotions were high as the third game had spectators on the edge of their seats. A determined Verwey came out strong and secured an early lead. After some of the longest rallies of the tournament, Verwey was ahead 6-2 and earned another string of six points. Both players were visibly exhausted, but refused to back off as Alphonso pushed to catch up with three points of his own. At 14-6, it seemed Alphonso couldn’t hold on any longer, but he made a final bid and worked for another four points to reach 10-14. Verwey held his patience before finishing the match in sheer style with a perfectly executed nick for a 13-15, 15-14, 15-10 triumph.
In the Open Plate, junior player Ince-Carvalhal (3) secured his win against Ian Mekdeci (5) with precision drops, good lengths and deception. He closed his point deficit early and dominated the two games despite Mekdeci getting some great balls past him to die in the back of the court. Ince-Carvalhal earned the plate title with a 15-11, 15-11 win.
Mohryan Baksh (-3) took the Category A title after defeating Louis Dasilva (7) in another entertaining game with long rallies and good placement. Baksh is also coming up in the ranks as he overcame a 10-point disadvantage to claim his spot in the winners’ line-up.
The longstanding support of Bounty Farm Ltd is instrumental in the development of the sport in Guyana and the Association would like to express its gratitude for the sponsorship of this tournament and all of its other contributions.
Open Category
Winner – Alex Arjoon
2nd – Regan Pollard
3rd – Deje Dias
Open Category Plate
Winner –Samuel Ince-Carvalhal
2nd – Ian Mekdeci
3rd – Jonathan Antczak
Category A
Winner – Nicholas Verwey
2nd – Michael Alphonso
3rd – Abosaide Cadogan
Category A Plate
Winner – Mohryan Baksh
2nd – Louis Dasilva
3rd – Ethan Jonas
Open
Alex Arjoon (-22) defeated Regan Pollard (-14) 15-6, 15-6
Open Plate
Samuel Ince-Carvalhal (3) defeated Ian Mekdeci (5) 15-11, 15-11
Jonathan Antczak (6) defeated Medhi Ramdhani (8) 10-15, 15-9, 15-13
Category A
Nicholas Verwey (-8) defeated Michael Alphonso (-10) 13-15, 15-14. 15-10
Abosaide Cadogan (-4) defeated Kirsten Gomes (-4) 15-12, 15-14
Category A Plate
Mohryan Baksh (-3) defeated Louis Dasilva (7) 15-13, 15-13
Ethan Jonas (-4) defeated Aishani Persaud (11) 15-11, 15-12
