MEAGAN BEST predictably walked away with the girls’ Under-19 title when the curtain came down on the Hilton Barbados Junior Squash Open on Sunday.
The reigning senior women’s Caribbean champion opted to compete in a higher age-group and hardly raised a sweat on the way to her success at the Barbados Squash Club’s Marine Gardens courts.
Best’s first match towards claiming the title was against Jodi Smith-Padmore where she calmly took the contest 11-2, 11-3, 11-3. She then faced off with Jada Smith-Padmore, whom she also dismissed 11-2, 11-4, 11-0.
The twin sisters, Jada and Jodi, took second and third places respectively.
The Smith-Padmores gained success in the girls’ Under-17 category, where Jada claimed her first title after defeating all the other opponents in previous days.
Jodi was second after she displayed superb ball control and shot selection in her match against Sumairaa Suleman, against whom she won 7-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-7.
In the boys’ Under-13 final, Alex Stewart and Aidan Parris fought with great spirit and passion to determine who would capture the title. Both boys were adamant they would not go down without a fight to the end, but after the dust was settled, Stewart emerged victorious 14-12, 12-10, 13-11.
This result was the reverse to the outcome in the 2017 Caribbean championships in July 2017 in Guyana where Parris had snatched the title from Stewart.
Darien Benn took the boys’ Under-15 title after finishing up his last match of the tournament against Zishan Motara, winning 11-3, 11-2, 11-3.
Benn, in his quest to complete a double, also went up against Vincentian Kai Bentick in the boys’ Under-17 category but Bentick proved to be too resourceful for Benn and came up on top with an 11-3, 11-6, 11-5 victory.
In the girls’ Under-15 section, Sumairaa Suleman came out on top ahead of Chelsie Samuel and Rebekah Nichols.
Nichols also played in the girls’ Under-13 category, where she finished top of the group ahead of Phoebe Gittens and Vincentian Nadira Morgan.
The Under-11 girls saw Phoebe Gittens taking the title after she defeated Kristen Nurse 11-4, 11-3, 11-2.
In the boys’ Under-11, Nathan executed his skill fearlessly to defeat Vincentian Jaydon Williams 11-2, 15-13, 11-7.
Bentick also won the boys’ Under-19 division by defeating Chemar Burham 11-6, 11-4, 11-3. (PR/HG)
