Guyana’s squash players Ashley Khalil and Taylor Fernandes teamed up to win bronze in Women’s Doubles action on day five of the Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC Games) in Barranquilla, Colombia.
SQUASH
In Women’s Doubles, Ashley Khalil and Taylor Fernandes of Guyana lost their semi-final match to Laura and Maria Tovar of Colombia. The Guyanese pair however, secured Guyana’s first bronze medals of the games.
The team competition for squash begin on July 24 with the Guyana men (Sunil Seth, Nyron Joseph, Jason-Ray Khalil) in Group B along with Panama and Colombia, while the women (Taylor Fernandes, Mary Fung-a-Fat, Ashley Khalil) face Barbados.
CYCLING
Romelo Crawford rode in the Men’s Keirin which was won by Fabian Puerta of Colombia, the Keirin World Champion, followed by Venezuela’s Hersony Canelon and Kwesi Browne of Trinidad and Tobago. In the scratch race, Crawford was eliminated along with the Jamaican rider for being lapped twice.
On July 24 he competes in the Points Race. Crawford suffered a bout of dizziness due to the altitude, but was cleared by the doctors to compete.
TABLE TENNIS
Women’s Singles: Chelsea Edghill lost 1-4 to Shelly Machado of Cuba in the Round of 16. Trenace Lowe won against Hidalynn Zapata of Guatemala 4-2 in the Round of 16. Trenace Lowe lost to Melanie Diaz of Puerto Rico in the quarter-finals 1-3.
Men’s Singles: Christopher Franklyn lost to Jorge Campos of Cuba in the Round of 16, 0-4. Shemar Britton lost to Emil Santos of the Dominican Republic in the Round of 16, 1-4. Nigel Bryan lost to Livan Martinez of Cuba 0-3 in the Round of 16.
HOCKEY
Coming off of a winning performance in their opening match, Guyana’s Men’s hockey team took to the field against the number one seed and defending bronze medallists Mexico. Guyana adapted a more defensive structure than they did in the previous match, and this made it difficult for Mexico to make any meaningful inroads in the Guyanese goal area for the early part of the match.
With the halftime approaching however, the Mexicans broke the Guyanese defensive wall and a desperation tackle gave a penalty stroke to Mexico. Standout player for Mexico, Francisco Aguilar converted the stroke to give Mexico a 1-0 lead at half time.
The second half saw Mexico take control of the match as their superior experience and fitness began to create more opportunities against the fading Guyanese side. Aguilar converted his second penalty stroke in the first minute of resumption and completed a hat-trick with a field goal in the 52nd minute. Mexico’s 3-0 victory places them at the top of Pool B, while Guyana will need a win against Guatemala on Wednesday to secure a semi-final spot.
Coach of the Guyanese men, Robert Fernandes, while disappointed with the final result, was pleased with how his team performed at times during the match and indicated that their challenge now is to maintain their discipline and structure for the entire duration of the match if they are to challenge for a medal.
The Guyanese Women face Mexico on July 24 in their final pool round match.
