South American Games 2022: Guyana endures another day of mixed fortunes
It was another day of mixed fortunes for Guyana’s Badminton team in Asunción, Paraguay as they competed at the 2022 South American Games.
The Badminton team posing with Coach Naeem Haque
On the cards on Wednesday were the women’s singles, featuring Priyanna Ramdhani in the quarterfinals, the mixed doubles featuring Priyanna and her older brother Narayan in the Round of 16 and the quarterfinal, and the men’s doubles team of Narayan and Akili Haynes in the opening round.
In the first Guyanese outing of the day, at the Estadio Leon Condou in Asuncion, Paraguay, things did not go the way of Ramdhani and Haynes in the Men’s Doubles.
Pitted against Alejandro Avalos and Leo Lee of Paraguay in the opening round of the category, the Guyanese duo offered some resistance in the first set against the home boys, but eventually lost 20-22. The Paraguayans won the second set 21-13.
Fortunes were the same in the women’s singles category for Priyanna Ramdhani, who played well to reach the quarter- final round. However, in opposing Fernanda Saponara Rivva of Peru in the quarterfinals, Priyanna lost 21-9, 21-8.
The Mixed Doubles category was a breath of fresh air for the Badminton team, as they found success. Priyanna and Narayan teamed up to defeat Ecuador’s Baque and Zambrano in two sets, 21-13, 21-16, to reach the quarterfinals.
In the next round, they battled Davi Carvalho Marinho Da Silva and Jaqueline Maria Lopes Lima of neighbouring Brazil. In that match, the Guyanese missed out on a favourable result, as the Brazilians prevailed 21-6, 21-9 in a two-set match.
The South American Games began on October 1st and will run until October 15th, 2022. 13 other Guyanese athletes are billed to go into action in the disciplines of Boxing, Squash and Table Tennis.
