Guyana’s number one-ranked badminton player Narayan Ramdhani has earned two gold medals over the weekend at the Kings University 2021 Open Summer Badminton tournament held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Narayan Ramdhani, the tournament organiser and Abby Ledda
Following a bye in Round 1 of the Men’s Singles and defeat of Guyanese Jatin Rathour after two sets (21-5, 21-10) in Round 2, Kyle Gomez was the next to fall prey to Ramdhani; in the quarterfinal after a 21-10, 21-10 match.
Ramdhani defeated Calvin Siu in two straight sets 21-10, 21-18 in the semifinal, and in the final confronted Calvin Kwan. It was another walk in the park for the Guyanese, as he won the contest 21-6, 21-10 to take gold.
For the mixed doubles, Ramdhani paired with Abby Ledda, and they eased through the first few rounds of play. The duo was awarded a bye in Round 1, but met with Joe Lu and Jing Yang in Round 2. They won that encounter 21-13, 21-10.
The quarterfinal was eerily similar, as Ramdhani and Ledda surpassed William and Eyota Kwan 21-7, 21-14.
Narayan Ramdhani showing off his Men’s Singles gold medal alongside fellow finalist Calvin Kwan
In the semis, a three-set win saw them overcoming Rishav Raj and Anna Chakravorty 21-15, 18-21 and 21-15. All they needed to clinch gold was a win against Sunny Singh and Manasi Pandit, which came in two sets, 23-21, 21-16.
This is the first tournament that the elder Ramdhani sibling has played after he returned to Canada three weeks ago to finish off his scholarship programme in Business Management at the Kings University.
While on his break during May-July, he competed in the Guatemala International to improve his world ranking, but missed the Olympics tripartite spot by a few points. During his time in Guyana, Narayan won the National Tournament and conducted four Shuttle Time programmes in Linden and Berbice and one Air Badminton project at the University of Guyana.
He also assisted in raising the standard of Guyana local National Badminton players. Additionally, he is expected to attend the Mexican International from September 1-5 to start his campaign towards the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
