Guyana’s Trenace Lowe, the Caribbean number-two girls player, stayed in the hunt for a medal at the third junior Commonwealth Games in Pune, India yesterday when she advanced to the last eight of the girls’ singles competition.
Her compatriot and reigning Caribbean junior girls’ singles champion, Michelle John, however, fell at the last 16 hurdle.
The two Guyanese girls who had earlier topped their respective groups were drawn against two Nigerians and while Lowe won (4-2) 5-11, 11-7, 11-8, 7-11, 12-10 and 11-6 against Janet Effiom, John went under (1-4) 6-11, 5-11, 11-4, 9-11 and 7-11 to Ganiyat Olatunde.
The two players were also eliminated from the doubles competition after they squandered a two sets to love lead against Emmanuelle Lavoie and Peggy Hsien of Canada who went on to win the tie 4-11, 10-12, 11-7, 11-5, 12-10.
According to the match statistics for the John/Olatunde encounter John had a higher percentage in the counter-attacking department 31% to her opponent’s 29 but Olatunde had a much higher percentage in the attacking department of 50% to John’s 39.
Overall Olatunde won 48 points in the match as against 38 by John.
Meanwhile according to chef-de-mission of the Guyana delegation Dr. Karen Pilgrim, the team did a bit of sightseeing on Tuesday.
“We started the day with the planned visit to `our school’ under the Bond Forever programme – Bal Shikshan Mandir English Medium School (http://www.cygpune2008.in/school-programme/ index.html),” Dr. Pilgrim wrote.
“Eight members of the team were able to visit and it was a heart-warming experience. We were greeted traditionally by one of the secondary school girls then the younger children performed the theme song of the Games.
“The primary school was in the middle of its five days of sports and Mr. Poole (Terrence) and I were tempted to join in the sack race. (We did not embarrass Guyana by yielding to that temptation.)
“We were then shown around the school and met with children in several classrooms. We had a brief question-and-answer session with one group, saw the preparations for Diwali in one of the Art classes and took a look at the winner and runners-up in the competition in preparing an information poster on Guyana.
“The Physical Education Teacher presented us with a ball, booklet and DVD on a sport called Roll Ball which he apparently invented and which has been recognised by the Indian Olympic Association.
“He hopes that we will be able to introduce the sport in Guyana. We left the school with cards and best wishes from all 1500 children.”
