GBA Easter tournament: Usual suspects move into final rounds

The Guyana Badminton Association’s (GBA’s) annual Easter tournament served off at the National Gymnasium on Mandela Avenue on Thursday last, and has quickly progressed into the final round, after intense action.
The doubles tournament saw Avinash Odit and Javid Rahaman overcoming Colin Bowry and Jahiem Carmichael 21-6, 21-13 for a spot in the Men’s doubles semifinals.
Also in the quarterfinals, Nkosi Beaton teamed up with Frank Waddell to eliminate Matthew Klautky and Omkar Persaud 21-10, 21-10; while Marlon Chung and Wenyuan Chen defeated William Holder and Jason Khalil 21-12, 21-14.

In their semifinals, Akili Haynes and Tyrese Jeffrey, who had a walkover in the previous round, outclassed Odit and Rahaman 20-22, 21-10, 21-7 to book their spot in the final. Chung and Chen became the other finalists after defeating Beaton and Waddell 21-18, 21-13.
The Mixed doubles saw the experienced pair of Akili Haynes and Priyanna Ramdhani downing Jason Khalil and Ashley Khalil 21-11, 21-10 in the quarterfinal, while Wenyuan Chen and Shivannie Persaud overcame Nkosi Beaton and Anna Perreira after a tough 3 sets 21-17, 15-21, 21-17.

Tyrese Jeffrey and Ambika Ramraj booked passage to the next round on the back of a win against Frank Waddell and Leshaunte Berkley 21-14, 21-5, and Avinash Odit and his partner Mishka Beharry secured their place after defeating Nikolas Pollard and Alimah Eastman 21-4, 21-7.
In the mixed doubles semis, Haynes and Ramdhani cruised into the final as a result of a 21-14, 21-8 victory over Chen and Persaud, while Jeffrey and Ramraj enjoyed a comeback win against Odit and Beharry 13-21, 22-20, 21-15.
Over in the Women’s doubles semifinals, Priyanna Ramdhani and Mishka Beharry joined forces to flatten Neveah Eastman and Malia Haley 21-4, 21-6, while the pair of Ayanna Watson and Shivannie Persaud overpowered Alima and Asiyah Eastman 21-17, 21-13.
The tournament was expected to conclude on Saturday evening.