Guyana’s hopes of medaling in the singles category in the discipline of squash at the 2018 Commonwealth Games ended after the first day when our four players failed to go beyond the round of 32, in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
Guyana’s Sunil Seth, nonetheless, gave the country a shot at placing when he disposed of Barbadian Shawn Simpson three sets to one in the opening match to flare up anticipations.
He took the first set 11 – 8, and the second by a similar margin, before Simpson won a consolation set by taking the third 11-8. Seth then completed the triumph by winning the fourth set 11-4.
His journey to the podium was terminated when he came up against hometown boy, Rex Hedrick who clinched their round of 32 match in commanding fashion, 11-4, 11-2, 11-3.
Seth, however, has advanced to the Men’s Singles Classic Plate round of 16, where he will face Tayyab Aslam of Pakistan on Saturday, before competing in the Men’s Doubles and the Mixed Doubles events later in the tournament.
Meanwhile, Jason-Ray Khalil, the other male player in the contingent, lost his round of 64 match to New Zealand’s Campbell Grayson in straight sets 11-3, 12-10, 11-2. He has since advanced to the plate round of 32 where he will come up against Jules Snagg of St Vincent and the Grenadines.
It was also a disappointing day for our ladies, as both Mary Fung-A-Fat and the 2017 Junior Caribbean squash champion, Taylor Fernandes, lost their matches.
Fung-A-Fat fell at the hands of Canada’s Samantha Cornett 11-5, 11-2, 11-4, and will now play in the Women’s Singles Plate quarterfinals against a player to be decided.
The 19 year old Fernandes, who lost to the highly rated Welshwoman Tesni Evans, 11-5, 11-7, 11-3 has also landed a place in the quarterfinals of the Women’s Singles Plate quarterfinals.
