Wong, Frank oust top seeds as national badminton tournament opens

Cathalina Wong and Galianna Frank knocked out the top two seeds in the girls’ under-15 singles as the Guyana Badminton Association’s National Junior and Senior Badminton Tournament opened on Thursday, October 8, at the National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue.

Wong defeated top seed Vaishnavi Natarajan 21-4, 21-16 in the quarter-finals, while Frank overcame second seed Sakina Klass 21-15, 23-21 to secure her place in the semi-finals.
Zariah Ivan also advanced with a 21-16, 21-17 victory over Mika Morgan, while Gabriella Persaud received a walkover against Skyler Gurchuran to complete the girls’ under-15 semi-final line-up.
The opening day also produced three singles victories for Nathan Henry, who progressed in both the boys’ under-17 and under-19 divisions.
Henry recovered from losing the first game to beat Chioke Nurse 18-21, 21-19, and 21-15 in the under-19 round of 32, before defeating Christopher Andrews 21-8, 21-9 in the next round. In the under-17 competition, where he is seeded third/fourth, Henry overcame Halen Jiang 21-16, 15-21, and 21-6 to reach the quarter-finals.
Top seed Ruel Rambiriche advanced in both age groups. He defeated Ethan Mangra 21-7, 21-6 in the under-17 round of 16 and followed up with a 21-12, 21-12 victory over Eon Williams at the same stage of the under-19 draw.
Williams, seeded third/fourth in the under-17 event, secured his quarter-final place in that division by beating Carl Fungafatt 21-8, 21-3. Under-17 second seed Hasani Robinson also progressed, holding off Egan Bulkan 21-19, 21-17.
Mikkel Wong and Ethan Bulkan each recorded two under-17 singles wins. Wong defeated Amari Abel 21-5, 21-5 in the round of 32 and Liam Singh 21-7, 21-5 in the round of 16. Bulkan opened with a 21-6, 21-8 victory over Shane Satrohan before beating Nathan Mohanlall 21-9, 21-11.
Casey Beckles won his opening under-17 match against Timothy Subryan 21-9, 21-8, but Steen Antonio Gomes ended his run in the next round. Gomes recovered from a game down to win 16-21, 21-14, and 21-19.
Jiang had earlier defeated Malachi Tucker 21-6, 21-8 in the round of 32. Jason Imran Hussain advanced through that stage by walkover against Brandon Cunje before losing 21-11, 21-1 to Vaibhav Natarajan in the round of 16.
Natarajan also won his boys’ under-15 round-of-16 match, beating Danveer Hira 21-5, 21-1. Mohanlall progressed in that category through a walkover against Viren Meghan.
In the remaining boys’ under-19 singles matches, Robinson defeated Nathan Morrison 21-6, 21-16, while second seed Christopher Jordan beat Chike Nurse 21-6, 21-8. The players seeded third/fourth, Darean Thomas and Ronit Gulchand, also advanced, with Thomas overcoming Kunal Alert 21-10, 21-8 and Gulchand defeating Jiang 21-8, 21-8.
Miguelanjel Jose Vasquez Silva beat Micah Holder 21-9, 21-10 in the under-19 round of 32, but lost 21-11, 21-4 to Nikolas Pollard in the next round. Gabriel Felix earned his quarter-final place with a 21-16, 13-21, 21-11 victory over Percival Chester.
In the girls’ under-19 quarter-final action, Gabriella Henry defeated Andreanna King 21-8, 21-15, while Anya Manickchand beat Anika De Freitas 21-5, 21-11. Second seed Harshini Muralidharan advanced by walkover against Alleyia Grant.
Manickchand also progressed in the girls’ under-17 singles, beating Neeharika Shetty 21-8, 21-12 in the round of 16. Tei Haynes defeated Jada Pike 21-9, 21-12; Sarah Ramnarine overcame Leanna Carmichael 21-9, 21-17; and Brianna Morgan received a walkover against Grant.
Morgan partnered Emmanuel Lozano to beat Jonathan Lynch and Eyota Adams 21-6, 21-12 in the under-17 mixed doubles round of 16. Natarajan and Frank also advanced, defeating Liam Singh and Manickchand 21-12, 21-19.
In boys’ under-17 doubles, Egan Bulkan and Ethan Bulkan defeated Gomes and Hussain 21-10, 21-6 to reach the quarter-finals.
The boys’ under-19 doubles quarter-finals saw top seeds Alert and Thomas beat Vasquez Silva and Satrohan 21-8, 21-10. Jordan and Rambiriche also reached the semi-finals after defeating Chike Nurse and Chioke Nurse 21-11, 21-5.
The tournament brings together established and emerging players representing clubs and schools across Guyana. Competition continues over the coming days, with men’s and women’s singles alongside junior singles, doubles and mixed doubles across several age groups.
The association has encouraged spectators to attend and support the players as it continues its efforts to develop badminton locally.