MARY Fung-A-Fat and Nyron Joseph emerged atop of their categories at the Caribbean Area Squash Association (CASA) Junior Caribbean Championships Sunday night at the Liguanea Club Kingston Jamaica. Fung-A-Fat captured the Girls Under-19 title by defeating compatriot Ashley deGroot in the all-Guyanese Girls Under-19 Final. Fung-A-Fat raced to a commanding three-game win to secure her fourth Junior CASA title, while denying deGroot the opportunity to gain her maiden title.
All this season, Fung-A-Fat has been in impeccable form and followed up her victory in the U19 category at the Woodpecker National Junior Championships with a runner up finish to Nicolette Fernandes in the 2012 Digicel National Senior Championships.
Fung-A-Fat was seeded number one at Junior CASA this year and played the entire tournament without losing a single game in the three best-of-five format.
Fifteen-year-old local squash maestro Nyron Joseph produced yet another magnificent come from behind victory in the Boys U17 final to stun Bermuda’s d’Vario Thompson and capture U17 title. Joseph lost the first two games, but never once showed any sign of surrender even when defeat had appeared virtually certain.
The national U17 champion showed off his crafty skills with a few between the legs returns and displayed his awesome athleticism and determination by getting vertical in a few dives to retrieve the ball.
Joseph’s performance in the final was even more inspiring than his come from behind win the previous night in the semi-final against Trinidad and Tobago’s Nku Patrick and he got the ultimate reward, his second consecutive Caribbean junior squash title.
But it was a bitter sweet feeling for the Guyanese delegation as the other two finalists Victoria Arjoon and Larissa Wiltshire had to settle for the runner up position for the second straight year. After being beaten by her sister in last year’s Under 15 final, Larissa Wiltshire fell yet again to two-time Junior CASA champion Alyssa Mullings of Jamaica.
Playing in front of her home crowd, Mullings, with the significant height advantage, overcame Larissa Wiltshire in straight game fashion.
Arjoon was runner up once again in the girls U17 category after facing defeat (11/8, 11/5, 11/2) from arch rival Charlotte Knaggs of Trinidad and Tobago for the second year. Arjoon had won four straight Junior CASA titles before she lost to Knaggs in last year’s tournament.
Akeila Wiltshire defeated Mary Mahfood to claim third place in the Girls U17 category, while Benjamin Mekdeci beat teammate Patrick Fraser for third in the Boys U15 category.
Jason Ray Khalil also defeated Ashante Smith for third place in the Boys U19 category, while Jean Claude Jeffrey also finished third after defeating Nku Patrick. Taylor Fernandes placed fourth in the Girls U15 category, while Rebecca Low also took fourth in the girls U13 category and Gabrielle Fraser placed fifth in the Girls Under-17 category.