…as GBA hosts 1st local tournament since pandemic began
Priyanna and Narayan Ramdhani have solidified their spots, once again, as Guyana’s top badminton players, while the likes of Shavin Greene and Christina Kumar also shone in the Guyana Badminton Association’s most recent tournament.
Narayan Ramdhani
For the first time since December 2019, the GBA was, over the weekend, able to host a local tournament, to assess the competitive levels of the national players. The long pause in local competitions came as a result of the deadly coronavirus pandemic, which has similarly hindered many other sports.
The A, B & C Division Tournament, hosted at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, on Homestretch Avenue, saw a classic round-robin format, before moving to the knockout stages.
Priyanna Ramdhani
In the Ladies Singles A Division, Priyanna Ramdhani eased past Christina Kumar in two sets – 21-2, 21-6, to take the title.
The men’s semi-finals in the same division saw Narayan Ramdhani defeating Avinash Odit 21-6, 21-8, while Akili Haynes defeated Jonathan Mangra 23-21, 13-21, 18-21, to advance to the final.
The winners’ row
There, Narayan got the best of Haynes in two straight sets – 21-10, 21-11.
In the Men’s B Division, Shavin Greene, Easa Sanichara, Shawn Liu and Chet Bowling were scheduled to compete in the semi-finals. Greene overcame Liu in three entertaining sets, that went 21-19, 17-21, 19-21 while Sanichara was awarded a walkover instead of taking on Bowling.
In the final contest, Greene got the better of his opponent, Sanichara, in three sets – 21-12, 17-21, 15-21.
Kumar, Anna Maria Perreira, Emily Ramdhani, and Ayanna Wickham-Watson were the Women’s B Division semi-finalists. Kumar and Perreira made it to the final, which the former edged the latter to cop the title.
Meanwhile, in the C Division, which saw a younger crop of players, Jonathan Debidin emerged as the top male, with Matthew Klautky, Jonathan Robinson and Aiden Bhagwandin completing the top four.
On the distaff side, Priyanka Shivnauth emerged as the winner, while Mishka Beharry, Eva Bowling and Kristen Bhagwandin ranked second to fourth respectively.
The GBA, in an invited comment, thanked Kumar, who was tasked with organising the sponsors for the tournament.
