Vadeanand Resaul was the spark for the future of Guyana’s tennis at the pre-qualifying rounds of the ITF/COTECC Under -12 Development Championships held recently at the National Racquet Centre, Trinidad.
Playing as the number two seed for Guyana, Resaul emerged as the top performer with three of four singles victories, and two of four doubles wins with Baker. As if to signal his intention, Resaul won the first match of the tournament and immediately caught the attention of coaches with his consistent focus on and off court and emotional outbursts at pivotal points in a game.
Guyana team; from left to right-Devine Jeremiah Kalekyezi, Akilah Sekai Jones, Vadeanand Resaul, Wayne Baker, Rashida Hardy, and Monisha Amba Persaud. At back Coach Shelly Daly (right) and Grace McCalman VP of GTA
According to a release the talented player prevailed in tough matches even when there was much pressure playing against a Trinidadian in his final singles match.
Two teams of three boys Devine Jeremiah Kalekyezi, Vadeanand Resaul, Wayne Baker and three girls Sekai Akilah Jones, Monisha Amba Persaud, Rashida Hardy, represented Guyana in the country’s 10th participation at the tournament.
The number one seed Ugandan-born Devine Jeremiah Kalekyezi was a strong favourite but managed to secure only two of four singles wins.
At the end of the third day, Guyana’s boys team fell short to place third of 10 countries barely missing that opportunity to move onwards to play in the finals in Guatemala later this month.
Head coach Shelly Daly was elated with Resaul achievement.. “He is mentally the toughest and is highly motivated” she declared.
The six players, most of whom are products of their school mini–tennis program, were all coached by Daly and she is confident that Guyana has a bright future in tennis with the current youth crop.
Sekai Akilah Jones the number one seed of the girls’ team lost all five of her singles matches but her partnership with the young Rashida Hardy produced two wins.
Guyana Times Sport was informed that the surprise performance came from number two seed Monisha Amba Persaud who showed strong signs of mental strength and patience with long rallies in her matches to come out with two victories.
The GLTA Vice President and girls team captain Grace McCalman acknowledged that the girls were pressured to quickly adapt to the environment of multiple courts. However, McCalman noted that her young charges practiced often and were disciplined enough to fight bravely against the odds and visibly improved each day.
“All players learned significant lessons from the tournament which is ITF’s premier development tournament to determine how nations are preparing the next generation players” McCalman said.
The revised approach to the tournament defined four sub regions of which Guyana falls into sub-region four excluding Central American territories. This was a welcomed move along with the Davis Cup Format for three member teams. The recently commissioned National Tennis Centre of Trinidad which accommodates 12 tennis courts including four indoor courts and one stadium court hosts the office of the Committee of Sub Region 4.
The President of the Tennis Association of Trinidad & Tobago Hayden Mitchell is also the President of Sub Region 4. During the visit Ms. McCalman in her capacity as GLTA executive member, sought to collaborate with Trinidad officials for specific categories of players to participate in limited competitions in Guyana.
This is aimed at stimulating interest for development of the sport locally. According to the release it is now one year and three months that the GLTA is waiting on the signing of an MOU with the National Sports Commission to jumpstart the process of developing eight international standard courts at the National Racquet Centre.
In order to facilitate coaches conducting high performance programs, the GLTA continues to depend on the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry for provision of adequate facilities.
