A seven-member Guyanese junior badminton team will travel to Kingston, Jamaica, to compete at the CAREBACO Junior Individual Championships, scheduled as part of the 2026
CAREBACO/Smash Jamaica badminton programme.
The championships will run from August 12–18, with the CAREBACO Junior and Senior Individual competitions officially scheduled for August 14–18.
Representing Guyana will be Anjaynesa Godette and Joel Rambiriche in the U-13 category; Ruel Rambiriche in the U-17 category; and Nikolas Pollard, Christopher Jordan, Percival Chester and Chioke Nurse in the U-19 category.
The team will be accompanied by national player and coach Priyanna Ramdhani, who will serve as Coach, while Sonia Bachir will serve as team manager.
The tournament represents another important opportunity for Guyana’s developing players to test themselves against some of the Caribbean’s leading junior badminton athletes and gain
valuable international competition experience.
The team’s preparation has been further strengthened by the arrival of international coach Kartikey Gund of India, who is currently based in Guyana as part of the Guyana Badminton
Association’s (GBA) six-month coaching and development programme.
The CAREBACO outing is expected to be an important part of the players’ development, allowing them to apply the skills and strategies developed during their preparation against strong regional opposition.
Guyana has already demonstrated its ability to make an impact at the CAREBACO Junior Individual Championships.
At the 2025 edition in Barbados, the Guyanese contingent secured four bronze medals, with Joel Rambiriche earning medals in the Boys’ U-11 Singles and Boys’ U-11 Doubles, while Mishka Beharry earned bronze in the U-19 Mixed Doubles. Rambiriche, who has since moved into the U-13 category, will return to the CAREBACO stage this year alongside his brother Ruel, while Christopher Jordan also returns following his participation at the 2025 championships. The experience gained by the returning players will be valuable as they seek to improve on their previous performances. For the GBA, however, the objective extends beyond medals.
With a blend of returning competitors and emerging talent,
Team Guyana will be looking to make its presence felt in Kingston while gaining the experience necessary to strengthen the country’s next generation of badminton players.
The GBA remains grateful to the stakeholders and supporters who continue to contribute to the development of badminton in Guyana and looks forward to the junior team representing
the Golden Arrowhead with pride at CAREBACO 2026. (Sean Devers)