Khalil creates first upset of tournament
OLIVER Kerr-Downes and Jason Ray Khalil are two highly skilled and experienced players and on Wednesday night at the Georgetown Club, squash players and fans alike were treated to a highly competitive match-up between the two, when action in the Guyana Squash Association (GSA)/Toucan Industries Junior Mashramani tournament continued.
It was dubbed the premier match of the evening and the two who are no strangers to the Caribbean circuit, ensured that was so, as they went at each other’s throat, in an attempt to wrest the initiative, but in the end, Khalil came out on top, creating the first upset of the tournament in the process.
The first rock was thrown by Kerr-Downes as he zoomed to a 6-3 lead in the first set, before a competitive-looking Khalil fought back to level the battlefield at 8, before an exchanged of shots saw the score level at 10, to create a win by two points scenario, which Kerr- Downes did at 14-12.
In the second game Kerr -Downes showed his true skill as he outplayed Khalil with a patient game, pressuring his opponent to even force an error or reply with a vulnerable shot, which Kerr-Downes duly dispatched with his deadly kills and boasts, to take the set 11-2.
In the third game, a rejuvenated Khalil who knew he had to win same to stay in the contest, assumed a dictatorial role by forcing Kerr-Downes to attempt risky shots, before he grabbed same with an 11-8 result.
Khalil stuck to his winning pattern which led him to assume a lead of 8-2, but then the crowd were in awe as Kerr-Downes battled back to level things at 10, but even though Khalil experienced this major setback, he was not prepared to see his hard work dismissed so easily.
He tapped into his inward energy to clinch the fourth and force the decider, which saw him exploit his opponent’s frustrations by feeding off Kerr-Downes consistent mistakes to achieve a well-earned come-from-behind victory 11-4, in the fifth.
In another exciting match-up, current Caribbean Under-15 champion Victoria Arjoon and Steven Xavier who have both had a taste of the Caribbean Championship level faced each other with the former being forced to rely on her skilled hands while staying focus to win the opening game of an evenly matched contest. 
The second game was merely a replay of the first, as they both kept to their strengths and again Arjoon managed to dig deep and left Xavier to face the Herculean task of winning the third game if he intended to stay in the contest.
Arjoon began to show signs of fatigue in the third and a fitter Xavier used this to his advantage, as he dominated play by staying in the rallies with his unorthodox air-borne retrieving skills, which were missing in the first two games that enabled him to take the third set 11-4.
Arjoon proved to the crowd why she is the current Under-15 Caribbean champion who was not fazed by the third game loss. She stepped up the tempo, strategically playing her deadly shots and even though Xavier had a bottomless well of valour, the precise technique of Arjoon quashed her opponent’s hopes as she took the set and match at 11-6.
Final Result:  Arjoon defeated Xavier, (14-12, 11-9, 4-11, 11-6)
Other Results:

Category A
Nyron Joseph lost to Deje Dias 11-6, 11-4, 11-8.

Category B
Mary Fung-a-Fat whipped Joven Benn 11-4, 11-5, 11-2.
Jason Van Dijk got past Jonathan Antczak 6-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-9.

Category C
Akeila Wiltshire defeated Ricky Rodrigues 11-2, 11-7, 11-9.
Kristina Cheeks lost to one of her coaches Lee Fung-a-Fat 4-11, 4-11, 5-11.

Category D
Ian Mekdeci dispatched Alex Melville 11-3, 11-4, 11-6.
Patrick Fraser beat his comrade Alex Cheeks 11-2, 11-8, 11-9. 
The tournament continued last night and will do so tonight at the same venue.