Guyana’s final chance at copping a medal in the Caribbean Regional Badminton Confederation (CAREBACO) Open International championships rests in the hands of Priyanna Ramdhani, as she is the only Guyanese who is still contending. Ramdhani is the 2019 holder of the CAREBACO Under-19 triple crown.
This is following a tough night for the Guyanese contingent who competed at the Sir Garfield Sobers Gymnasium in St Michael, Barbados, against some world class players from 23 countries.
Priyanna Ramdhani is Guyana’s last chance at medaling in the Open International tournament
Guyana was featured in four quarterfinal matches in the mixed doubles, men’s doubles and ladies’ doubles categories.
In the mixed doubles competition, the Ramdhani siblings, Priyanna and Narayan put on a brave face to take on the Number 1 seeded pair and Pan American Games bronze medalist Howard Shu & Paula Lynn Obanana of USA. After producing a valiant effort, the siblings lost the match 21-13, 21-16.
Meanwhile, also in the mixed doubles division, Guyanese Jonathan Mangra teamed up with Jamaica’s Kathrine Winter for their semi-final encounter. The pair was pitted against the 3/4 seeded pair of Fabrico Farias & Jaqueline Lima of Brazil and eventually lost the match, 21-, 21-5.
Over in the men’s doubles, Guyanese Narayan Ramdhani and Jonathan Mangra took on Timothy Lam of USA and Antonio Li of Canada and were defeated 21-11, 21-14.
After three losses, a glimmer of hope showed when Priyanna Ramdhani took to the courts with her Ladies’ doubles partner, Sabrina Scott of Barbados. The Guyanese/ Bajan pair were dominant against Jamaican Alana Bailey & Katherine Winter. The game was won in two straight sets 21-16, 22-20.
Priyanna and her partner, Scoot, have now advanced to the semi-finals and medal stages of the ladies’ doubles competition. The match was expected to take place on Friday evening; however, up to this publication’s press time, no results were available.
