Men’s singles champion Bradley Pilgrim is expected to meet stiff competition in his bid to capture a second straight title in the Caribbean Alliance Insurance Senior National Badminton Championships which served off at the Barbados Community last night.
Pilgrim will start his title defence from the top half of the draw and his journey to reach Saturday’s finals won’t be easy as he will have to eventually face either his doubles partner Dakiel Thorpe, or one of the younger guns in Under-19 champ Sabeel Foster or Cory Fanus.
Other younger players such as Shae Martin and the King brothers, Kodia and Kennie will also contest this year’s finals and with the Caribbean Championships (CAREBACO), Pan Am and Commonwealth Games around the corner, the competition should be a timely boost in their preparation for a higher level.
Andre Padmore, last year’s losing finalist is seeded No. 2, allowing him to fall in the bottom half where he is expected to have an easier road to finals with his only challengers being D’Andre Thorpe and Damien Howell.
On the women’s side, Mariama Eastmond will be seeking to secure her third consecutive singles title. Either Monyata Riviera or Amanda Haywood will face her early, but she will be the favourite to book her finals ticket. No. 2 seeded Shari Hope will battle with her clubmate Sabrina Scott in her first match.
Scott will be no walkover, but Hope, like Eastmond, will be expected to progress to the next round. If she does, her focus would probably turn to Tamisha Williams, a player with a similar style.
In the doubles, Hope and Eastmond and the pair of Pilgrim and Thorpe will defend the women’s and men’s titles, respectively. (PR/EZS)
