The Guyana Badminton Association/Trophy Stall Doubles Tournament got off to a great start on Monday afternoon with the usual pairs being mixed up to make for an interesting tournament.
Akili Haynes & Tyrese Jeffrey in action
Additionally, the Mixed Doubles were said to be a fun mix, where names were put into two bags and then were pulled (one male, one female who were paired to play together).
A glimpse of the showdown between Ramdhani-Mangra and Stephen-Hendricks
Before the Trophy Stall tournament could see its first serve, a moment of silence was observed in honour of the late Guyana Badminton Association (GBA) President Gokarn Ramdhani, while black sweat bands were handed out to each participant.
The first round of the Men’s Doubles was quite eventful, as Anthony Stephens and Jaurel Hendricks pulled off a 21-9, 21-12 victory when they came up against Mahender Sharma and Jason Stephney. Easa Sanichara and Matthew Beharry defeated Andrew Browne and his partner 21-2, 21-3, while Kevin Shepperd and Kevin Hamilton were also in winners’ row following their 21-9,17-21,21-12 match with Manav Sharma and Jonathan Robinson. Avinash Odit and Grandison Robinson also enjoyed a win against Matthew Klautky and Matthew Singh 21-10, 21-5.
In the Men’s Quarterfinals, Narayan Ramdhani and Jonathan Mangra defeated Anthony Stephens and Jaurel Hendricks 21-11, 21-7. Testing her skills against the guys, Priyanna Ramdhani teamed up with Marlon Chung to overcome Kevin Hamilton and Kristoff Shepperd 21-4, 21-7. Akili Haynes and Tyrese Jeffrey defeated Avinash Odit and Grandison Robinson 21-13, 21-10, while Easa Sanichara and Matthew Beharry were also on the winning side against Chet Bowling and Zachary Persaud 21-10, 21-7.
In the women’s quarterfinals, Mishka Beharry and Priyanka Shivnauth tasted victory against Deandre Assing and Elesa Sangster 21-12, 21-9.
A Mixed doubles Round one match saw Ayanna Watson and Matthew Beharry defeating Zachary Persaud and Elesa Sangster 21-5, 21-8.
Meanwhile, the Mixed Doubles saw Jonathan Mangra and Shivannie Persaud winning 21-19, 21-14 against Ayanna Watson and Matthew Beharry. Marlon Chung and Ambika Ramraj teamed up to defeat Tyrese Jeffrey and Christina Kumar 21-19, 21-23, 21-18, and Narayan Ramdhani and Mishka Beharry defeating Anthony Stephens and Anna Perreira 21-15, 21-15.
Also on Monday, Consolation Semifinals were hosted for the Men’s and Mixed Doubles divisions. In the former division, Mahender Sharma and Jason Stephney overcame Andrew Browne and his partner 21-11, 21-12. Matthew Klautky and Matthew Singh were also in the winners’ row after their match against Manav Sharma and Jonathan Robinson 25-23, 21-17.
Over in the Mixed Doubles semis, Tyrese Jeffrey and Kristina Kumar defeated Anthony Stephens and Anna Perreira 19-17, retired.
The tournament continues on Wednesday at 5pm, at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall on Homestretch Avenue in Georgetown.
