A first-time outing for six of Guyana’s senior badminton players has proven to be a great learning experience, as the team finished its week-long CAREBACO International 2018 competition with two bronze and two silver medals.
The winning trio! Narayan Ramdhani, Priyanna Ramdhani and Johnathan Mangra showcase their medals
Playing at the Ring Sports Centre in neighbouring Suriname, the competition was more than just a one-match affair for the Guyanese athletes, who were required to play almost seven matches per day, running more than 10 miles on court.
Despite being the underdogs in the competition, the Guyanese athletes proved it was not the dogs in the fight, but the fight in the dogs that mattered, copping spots in four of the six semifinal matches.
Priyanna Ramdhani was the first to step into the semifinal round against Jamaica’s Number 1 player Katherine Wynter. Despite being just 16 years old, Priyanna played evenly with her older opponent, and went on to defeat her (24-22, 10-21, 21-14) for a spot in the final round.
The following evening, Priyanna was locked in a three-set thriller for the gold medal. Opposing the Barbadian Tamisha Williams, the Guyanese lost the first set 21-17, but managed to make a daring comeback to win the second set 17-21. By this time, both the players and the onlookers knew that the final set would be the ultimate decider. Unfortunately, Priyanna fell short to the Barbadian 18-21, but the silver medal was already hers.
In the women’s doubles, Priyanna teamed up with Chequeda De Boulet of Trinidad and Tobago and made easy work of semi- final opponents, the Surinamese pair of Imani Mangroe & Mary-Ann Zhong, whom they routed 17-21, 21-16, 21-7.
However, the Guyanese and her playing partner were not aware of the bigger challenge ahead in the form of Tamisha Williams & Monyata Riviera. They lost their final matchup 21-15, 21-14, but still took home the silver medal.
Priyanna and her older brother Narayan were the ideal pair to represent Guyana in the mixed doubles category, a job that they did excellently. Shockingly defeating higher ranked pairs, the duo stormed into the semifinal, but were unable to play on. They lost to the experienced, No.1 seeded players Dakeil Thorpe and Tamisha Williams of Barbados 21-17, 17-21, 22-20. However, their performance was worthy of a bronze medal.
Guyana’s final podium position came from the combined efforts of Jonathan Mangra and Narayan Ramdhani in the men’s doubles segment. The duo made it as far as the semifinal, but suffered their first defeat at the hands of Dylan Darmohoetomo & Gilmar Jones of Suriname 2-15, 21-8 which would eliminate them from the competition, but not without them receiving the bronze medal.
The CAREBACO Regional Under 11, 13, 15 and 17 Championships will get underway this week with Guyana being represented by 5 athletes.
Priyanna Ramdhani will again go for the gold in the Under 17 group with Isaac Mallampati on the male side of the same grouping. In the Under15, Vikash Motoo and Matthew Beharry will battle for supremacy, while Mishka Beharry will be the lone Guyanese competitor in the Under 11 group.
