Team captains leading by example in Junior Caribbean squash

By Treiston Joseph

Both team captains of Guyana’s Caribbean Junior Squash team, Taylor Fernandes (female) and Ben Meckdeci (male) have displayed exquisite talent at the Caribbean Junior Squash Championship that served off on Sunday at the Georgetown Club and National Racquet Centre courts.

Fernandes was simply in dominant form, showing off her shot placements and array of shots during her meeting with Madeleine Rose to win in three straight sets, while only giving up four combined points as the sets ended at 11-1, 11-1 and 11-2.

“I think my game is compete right now, it was really about working on game ensuring that I played how I wanted to and it was a good game for me,” Fernandes stated after the match as she has now advanced to the semi-finals.

Meanwhile, Meckdeci also won in three straight sets against Nicholas Caddle, but gave up a few points along the way. However, Meckdeci was easily in form showcasing his speed and power as the match ended 11-3, 11-3 and 11-7.

“The biggest thing for me is still my nerves and I gave up more points than I should have but I thought it was a good start and I expect more competition in the tournament,” Meckdeci mentioned.

Daniel Islam made it to the semi-final of the Boys Under-17 category by defeating Anaya Smith in three straight sets at 11-5, 11-8 and 11-2, while his brother Anthony Islam fell short in his Round-of-16-match to Adam Ardito 11-7, 11-8 and 11-0.

In the Girls Under-17 category, Makeda Harding had probably the best match of day against Jodi Smith-Padmore. Harding came out with two straight sets at 11-9 and 11-8 against Smith-Padmore, who then won the next two sets at 11-6 and 11-4 to take the game to a fifth and final set that was one to witness with both players matching each other’s intensity as well as point for point.

However, with the game set tied at 15, Harding would win the next two points to finally end the match that played for well over a half hour.

Shomari Wiltshire easily made it to the Under-15 semi-finals with a win over Pierce Terry at 11-1, 11-2 and 11-3, while Paige Fernades is into the semis of the Under-13 Girls category. The Singles competition will wrap up today (July 4).