The Guyana Badminton Association (GBA) this week hosted and concluded its National Junior Singles Badminton Tournament, sponsored by the National Sports Commission (NSC).
The competition saw Under-19 players competing for prizes across five categories; Under-11, Under-13, Under-15, Under-17 and Under-19.
When the dust settled at the National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue on Thursday evening, the likes of Misha Beharry, Xavio Alexander, Frank Wadell, Malia Haley, Anjaneysa Godette, Joel and Ruel Rambiriche were among the most consistent performers.
However, the Junior Singles tournament was more than just an opportunity for the youngsters to flex their muscles and skills, since it ticks an important box in the GBA’s development trajectory.
According to GBA President Emilia Ramdhani, the Junior tournament marked the Association’s progression in the National Sports Academy Programme.
A look at the junior badminton action last week
“The Academy, as you would know, would’ve launched on January 4, 2022 as a visionary project by our Honourable Charles Ramson. Mr Ramson’s vision for the Academy included three stages: 1) the nursery academy, then it goes into tournaments, then the elite stage,” the GBA President explained to Guyana Times Sport.
Ramdhani went on to disclose, “We at the GBA, we’re proud to say that we’re at the second stage. Most of the kids, they’re playing in tournaments now, we’ve even ventured out and we’re going to the Caribbean. This April, we went to Suriname and we got six medals, that’s in the Under-11 category, but the kids are coming up and they’re doing very well.”
In addition, the Academy, and other GBA programmes running alongside it, has allowed the Association to continue growing the sport.
Category winners after the GBA Junior Singles tournament
Ramdhani divulged, “Currently, we have three coaches who are doing the Academy – Priyanna Ramdhani, Akili Haynes and Nkosi Beaton. The schools that we’re at right now are Queen’s College, Bishops’, North Georgetown Secondary and North Ruimveldt Multilateral. We also have players in Berbice who are competing as well and recently, even in this tournament, we have players from Linden and we’re very happy about that, because we went to Linden a couple of years ago and we introduced the shuttle time programme.”
“Hopefully, they will take it further and we’ll have more participation across the country,” she added.
The GBA boss is also looking for some longevity out of the Junior tournament, as she envisioned a positive future.
“This tournament is also a significant part of the Badminton Academy and it will be a staple for the Guyana Badminton Association calendar of events. It will be an annual event for years to come,” Ramdhani assured.
