Guyanese duo win doubles silver at South American Squash Championships

The Guyanese pair of Ashley Khalil and Kirsten Gomes had to settle for silver after they were defeated 11-10, 11-5 in their gold-medal match against Paraguay’s Ana Maria Pinto and Giselle Delgado in the women’s doubles event at the South American Senior Squash Championships in Brazil on Thursday evening.
The duo went through to the final after defeating Darlyn Sandoval and Tabita Gaitan in a closely-fought semi-final, 9-11, 11-9, 11-8.
Meanwhile, their male counterparts, Jason-Ray Khalil and Samuel Ince-Carvalhal fell in the quarter-finals, losing 11-4, 11-8 to Chile’s Agustín Carranza and Matias Lacroix.
And in the mixed doubles, Michael Alphonso Jr and Gabrielle Fraser also fell in the quarter-finals, as they were defeated by the hometown pair of Murilo Pentea and Bruna Marchesi, 11-4, 11-1.
In the singles competitions, Gomes, in her first match, triumphed over Paraguay’s Nicole Krauch 11-3, 11-6, 11-7. However, she was defeated in the round of 16 by Brazil’s Juliana Pereira, 11-4, 11-4, 12-10. Ashley Khalil, too, enjoyed a winning start, beating Tabita Gaitan of Guatemala 11-7, 8-11, 13-11, 15-13, but she fell in the round of 32, defeated 11-8, 11-9, 11-4 by Argentina’s Antonella Falcione.
In the men’s singles event, the Guyanese contingent made early departures. Michael Alphonso Jr lost 11-3, 11-3, 11-4 to Damian Casarino of Paraguay in the round of 32, while Jason-Ray Khalil fell to Argentine Francisco Alfonso 11-8, 4-11, 5-11, 5-11.
The men’s and women’s team matches commenced today.