Young talents shine at ‘B’ Division badminton tournament

A tournament with the purpose of identifying and giving young talents a platform to showcase their skills was hosted on Friday evening. After intense badminton action, Easa Sanichara and Christina Kumar emerged victorious in the male and female categories respectively, while Matthew Beharry and Kaylie Anthony championed the consolation round.

The night began with the first round seeing Isaac Mallampati defeating Matthew Beharry 21-17, 18-21, 16-21; Sekhar Mallampati overcoming Xavier Anthon 21-14, 21-11; and Mahendar Sharma tasting victory against Shimron Lewis 21-16, 21-13.
The male quarterfinal saw Easa Sanichara continuing in fine form, as he defeated Elion Beaton 21-4, 21-12. Isaac Mallampati sipped victory after he took on Damian Waithe and won 21-12, 26-24. Hemraj Beharry defeated Sekhar Mallampati 22-20, 21-13; and Jamal Shamsudeen overcame Mahendar Sharma 21-17, 21-3.
In the semifinal, Easa Sanichara kept his slate clean with another win, this time against Isaac Mallampati 21-14, 21-12. The second semi saw Hemraj Beharry defeating Jamal Shamsudeen 21-11, 21-16.
The final between Sanichara and Beharry was intensely contested by the two up-and-coming players. Easa Sanichara took the first set easily, 21-16. Beharry fought back in the second set, matching points with Sanichara, but could not hold out, and conceded defeat in a 22-20 set.
On the female side of things, Stephine Sajar overpowered Gabriella Hinks 21-4, 21-7; Sacha Parmanand won against Kaylie Anthon 21-6, 21-12; Jayde DaSilva defeated Khaya Boswick 21-7, 21-10; and Ashley Escarraga enjoyed a win against Jonique Adams 21-6, 21-4.
Moving forward past the quarterfinal round were Christine Kumar, Emelia Ramdhani, Anna Perreira and Ayanna Watson, who defeated Stephine Sajar 21-12, 21-7; Sacha Parmanand 21-10, 21-6; Jayde DaSilva 21-12, 21-15; and Ashley Escarraga 21-10, 21-5 respectively.
Both female semifinals went to three sets, following avid competition from both competitors. Emelia Ramdhani won her first set against Christine Kumar 21-19, but Kumar came from behind to take the next two sets for the win: 9-21, 14-21. The second semi saw Anna Perreira booking her place in the final after winning the first set 21-12. Her opponent, Ayanna Watson, fought valiantly to take the second set 19-21, but did not have enough to win the third, which was won by Perreira 21-15.
Christine Kumar emerged as the better of the two competitors in the final, after she easily defeated Anna Perreira 21-8, 21-2.
The men’s singles consolation finals saw Matthew Beharry defeating Shimron Lewis 21-16, 21-17.
On the other hand, Kaylie Anthon and Khaya Boswick sealed their places in the female consolation final after defeating Gabriella Hinks 21-12, 21-10, and Jonique Adams 21-12, 21-4 respectively.
Later on, Kaylie Anthon took the consolation win after she overpowered Khaya Boswick 21-11, 21-17.
The E-Networks Easter ‘B’ Division Badminton Tournament was hosted in hopes of exposing second tier players, and as such excluded the participation of national and ‘A’-listed payers.