Trophy Stall badminton tourney off to a flying start

The Trophy Stall badminton tournament has always promised riveting action among the country’s best players, and it was no different on Friday evening when the 2018 installment got underway.
The annual tournament, which affords younger players the opportunity to showcase their skills, got underway on Friday afternoon at the National Gymnasium on Mandela Avenue, with the majority of the open male and female matches served off.
Aside from the Open category, there are Under-11, Under-15 and Under-19 categories in the competition.
After a packed first round of competition, the Open men’s singles saw Jonathan Mangra defeating Avian Rodrigues 21-12, 21-13; Akili Haynes overcoming William Holder 21-9, 22-20; Avinash Odit defeating Tyrese Jeffrey 21-17, 22-20; and Darrell Carpenay overpowering Sekhar Mallampati 21-5, 21-7.
The semis saw Jonathan Mangra and Avinash Odit registering wins to book their spots in the final.
The female quarterfinal was equally competitive, with Priyanna Ramdhani defeating Stephine Sajar 21-2, 21-6; Christina Kumar getting past Ashley Escarraga 21-9, 21-6; Ayanna Watson overcoming Jayde DaSilva 21-7, 21-9; and Pricilla Moore defeating Emelia Ramdhani 21-19, 21-17.
The semifinal saw Priyanna Ramdhani and Pricilla Moore emerging victorious to cement their place in the final.
The tournament will see its last day tomorrow, with the finals of the various categories being staged.

Other Day-1 results are:

Open Men Singles First Rounds:
Jonathan Mangra defeated Jamal Shamsudeen: 21-18, 21-9
Avian Rodigues defeated Damian Waithe: 21-12, 21-7
William Holder defeated Easa Sanichara: 21-17, 21-14
Akili Haynes defeated Manoj Sharma: 21-5, 21-7
Tyrese Jeffrey defeated Hemraj Beharry: 21-7, 21-19
Avinash Odit defeated Isaac Mallampati: 21-0, 21-9
Sekhar Mallampati defeated Mahander Sharma: 21-16, 21-17
Darrell Carpenay defeated Gokarn Ramdhani: 21-11, 21-9

Open Men Singles Consolation Quarter-Finals:
Jamal Shamsudeen defeated Damian Waithe: 21-6, 21-7
Easa Sanichara degeated Manoj Sharma: 21-7, 21-3
Hemraj Beharry defeated Isaac Mallampati: 21-17, 21-18
Gokarn Ramdhani defeated Mahender Sharma: 21-16, 21-12

Open Ladies Singles Consolation Semi-Finals:
Stephine Sajar defeated Ashley Escarraga: 21-14, 21-16
Jayde DaSilva defeated Emelia Ramdhani: 21-9, 21-15

Open Ladies Singles Consolation Finals:
Stephnie Sagar defeated Jayde DaSilva: 21-8, 21-15