THE Guyana Squash Association (GSA)’s Enet 2026 National Championship got underway on Wednesday night at the National Racquet Centre on Woolford Avenue with 17 matches on the opening night.
The National elite category of the five-night tournament, for the first time in the history of local Squash, has accreditation from the Professional Squash Association (PSA).
The accreditation awards players who get past the Round-of-Eight, ‘International points’, which will benefit several local aces like Fung-a-Fat, Samuel Ince Carvalhal and Danile Ince who compete on the professional stage.
A large gathering of friends and relatives of the competitors turned out on Wednesday night to lend them their support.
Despite the absence of the ‘big guns’ who will go into action from Night Two, the number of players, who included three members of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) among the 70 participants registered demonstrates the growth of the sport in the last year or so.
One of entertaining games in the preliminary round was between Soldier Ingram Edwards and Juan Velazquez.
Edwards showed good use of the Court and employed some nice backhand drives to win the first two games 11-6, 11-5 and seemed well on course to 3-0 victory.
However, Velazquez began the third stanza with renewed intensity with some long rallies which he ended with well-executed drop shots which had Edwards scrambling to front of the Court ball the ball in play.
Edwards showed fight to come from behind to reduce the gap to two points at 8-10 before eventually losing 8-11 to the contest in a fourth game.
With the beginning to tire, they continued to dig deep but it was Edwards who would prevail 11-9.
The match-up between Tianna Da Costa and Teija Edwards would also go to five games, with Edwards taking the third game to make it 2-1.
The confident Da Costa would go on to win the match 11-7, 11-8, 3-11, 11-4.
In another good match Kristian Viapree beat Reuel Austin 11-5, 11-4, 11-1
Results:
Men’s Veterans Over 40
Robert Fernandes def. Javed Alli 11-6, 11-2, 11-3
Men’s Veterans Over 40
Regan Pollard def. Sherwyn Caesar 11-8, 11-6, 13-11
Men’s Veterans Over 40
Ryan Rahaman def. Juan Velazquez 11-4, 11-7, 11-0
Women’s Open Draw
Maria Munroe def. Kristina Cheeks 11-4, 11-4, 11-4
Women’s Open Draw
Anna Perreira def. Ella Fernandes 4-11, 10-12, 11-9, 11-5, 11-7
Women’s Open Draw
Tianna Da Costa def. Teija Edwards 11-7, 11-8, 3-11, 11-4
Men’s Open Draw
Reagan Rodrigues def. Ryan Brathwaite 11-5, 11-2, 11-5
Men’s Open Draw
Joshua Verwey def. Jacob McDonald 11-1, 11-1, 11-1
Men’s Open Draw
Egan Bulkan def. Brian Edwards 11-1, 11-3, 11-7
Men’s Open Draw
Kristian Viapree def Reuel Austin 11-5, 11-4, 11-1
Men’s Open Draw
Ingram Edwards def. Juan Velazquez 11-6, 11-5, 8-11, 11-9
Men’s Open Draw
Zion Hickerson def. Giovanni Grant 11-13, 11-3, 11-4, 11-3
Men’s Open Draw
Sherwyn Caesar def. Kalani Howard 11-4, 11-3, 11-7
Men’s Open Draw
Maxwell Viapree def. Rafael Brathwaite 12-10, 11-6, 11-7
Women’s Open New Ladies
Mechaela Hohenkirk def. Tekeisha De Leon 11-7, 3-11, 11-9, 11-6
Men’s Open Draw
Miguel Wong def. Nijad Bacchus 11-6, 11-0, 11-8
Men’s Open Draw
Avinash Oditt def. Colin Wong 11-3, 11-2, 11-2