Ramdhani siblings shine at Provincial championships

Badminton playing siblings Narayan and Priyanna Ramdhani kept the Guyanese flag flying high over the weekend, as they played to podium finishes in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Badminton Championships (Provincials).
The event was hosted at the Olds College Auditorium, and Saturday (March 5) saw the team competitions being hosted, while the individual tournament was conducted on Sunday (March 6).
Playing for Kings University and Olds College respectively, Narayan and Priyanna gave great meaning to their ACAC All-Conference Awards, which they received last week.
For Narayan, the Male Athlete of the Year, his journey began with a match-up against Sivansh Shivansh, which he won easily 21-12, 21-18. In the quarter-finals, Ramdhani opposed David Jay, and again won in two sets 21-12, 21-16.
The older Ramdhani sibling went on to play a tough three-set game in the final, with the gold and title up for grabs. Narayan persevered, defeating Smit Patel 21-18, 9-21, 21-17. This is the second time in his illustrious college badminton career that Narayan has won the ACAC men’s singles title.

On the other hand, Priyanna missed out on the final in the women’s singles, but rebounded to take bronze in the individual category.
She picked up a first-round win over Makayla Basque 21-7, 21-9. Upon moving on to the quarter-finals, Priyanna had another walk in the park, defeating Abbey Taylor 21-8, 21-9.
However, she was not so fortunate in the semi-final round, losing to Jasleen Kaur 21-16, 21-13. Priyanna went on to gain a walk-over from Cecilia Wolski in the third-place play-off to cop the bronze medal.
She then carried her team Olds College (who placed fourth in the team tournament) to win five medals at the Championship partnering with Abbey Taylor for the women’s doubles, where they won silver. In the mixed doubles event, the younger Ramdhani sibling partnered with Tye Belanger, for a formidable third-place finish.
In addition to the riveting competition over the weekend, a memorial table was set up and a moment of silence was observed for the Ramdhanis’ late father, Gokarn at the Provincial Tournament. He had been appointed as Head Coach of the Olds College Broncos team before his untimely death.
Based on their stellar performances at the Provincial Championships, the Ramdhani siblings will go on to compete at the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) National Championships, where they will represent ACAC.
These championships are scheduled for March 17, 18 and 19, 2022.
Aside from the Canadian collegiate circuit, Narayan and Priyanna are expected to represent Guyana at the Pan American Individual Championships, slated for April 28 to May 1, 2022, in El Salvador. They will compete individually in the singles events and later team up for the mixed doubles category.