THE Guyana Badminton Association (GBA) served off its National Junior and Senior Badminton Tournament on Thursday at the National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue, with players from across the country competing in several age categories.

The tournament features men and women’s singles, along with junior singles, doubles and mixed-doubles events, showcasing established players and emerging talent.

In the boys’ under-17 singles, top seed Ruel Rambiriche defeated Ethan Mangra 21-7, 21-6, while third/fourth seed Eon Williams beat Carl Fungafatt 21-8, 21-3. Second seed Hasani Robinson also advanced with a 21-19, 21-17 victory over Egan Bulkan.

Mikkel Wong recorded a convincing 21-5, 21-5 win over Amari Abel in the round of 32, before defeating Liam Singh 21-7, 21-5 in the round of 16. Steen Antonio Gomes recovered from dropping the first game to defeat Casey Beckles 16-21, 21-14, 21-19.

In the boys’ under-19 singles, top seed Rambiriche defeated Eon Williams 21-12, 21-12, while second seed Christopher Jordan beat Chike Nurse 21-6, 21-8. Third/fourth seeds Darean Thomas and Ronit Gulchand also advanced, defeating Kunal Alert 21-10, 21-8 and Halen Jiang 21-8, 21-8, respectively.

Nathan Henry produced one of the round’s closest results, overcoming Chioke Nurse 18-21, 21-19, 21-15 in the under-19 round of 32. He followed that performance with a 21-8, 21-9 win over Christopher Andrews.

The girls’ under-17 singles saw Tei Haynes defeat Jada Pike 21-9, 21-12, while Anya Manickchand beat Neeharika Shetty 21-8, 21-12. Sarah Ramnarine also progressed after defeating Leanna Carmichael 21-9, 21-17.

In the girls’ under-19 quarterfinals, Gabriella Henry defeated Andreanna King 21-8, 21-15, while Anya Manickchand secured a 21-5, 21-11 win over Anika De Freitas. Second seed Harshini Muralidharan advanced by walkover against Alleyia Grant.

The girls’ under-15 quarterfinals produced wins for Cathalina Wong, Gabriella Persaud, Zariah Ivan and Galianna Frank. Wong defeated top seed Vaishnavi Natarajan 21-4, 21-16, while Ivan beat Mika Morgan 21-16, 21-17. Frank overcame second seed Sakina Klass 21-15, 23-21, and Persaud advanced by walkover against Skyler Gurchuran.

In the boys’ under-15 singles, Vaibhav Natarajan defeated Danveer Hira 21-5, 21-1, while Nathan Mohanlall advanced by walkover against Viren Meghan.

The junior doubles and mixed doubles events also got underway. In the under-17 mixed doubles, Emmanuel Lozano and Brianna Morgan defeated Jonathan Lynch and Eyota Adams 21-6, 21-12, while Vaibhav Natarajan and Galianna Frank beat Liam Singh and Anya Manickchand 21-12, 21-19.

Egan Bulkan and Ethan Bulkan won their boys’ under-17 doubles match 21-10, 21-6 against Steen Antonio Gomes and Jason Imran Hussain.

In the boys’ under-19 doubles quarterfinals, top seeds Kunal Alert and Darean Thomas defeated Miguelanjel Jose Vasquez Silva and Shane Satrohan 21-8, 21-10. Christopher Jordan and Ruel Rambiriche also advanced after beating Chike Nurse and Chioke Nurse 21-11, 21-5.

The tournament continues over the coming days, with competitors seeking national honours across the various junior and senior categories.