Lucozade Handicap Squash: Joseph flays Dias to retain title

By Akeem Greene

Nyron Joseph retained his title as champion of the Lucozade Handicap Squash tournament when the 2018 tournament concluded on Sunday at the Georgetown Club Courts.

Joseph, who certainly wanted to enforce his credentials as one the country’s top seniors, faced a consistent Deja Dias in the Open final.

The champ played with a -14 handicap and faced serious pressure from Dias in the first set. They had some rousing rallies and both were keen on making sure they retrieved any shots from the other.

Such a tit-for-tat battle meant physical fatigue would take it take toll. The first set finished 15-14, which illustrates how close a battle of attrition it was.

The second set went 15-10 and the champ capitalised on the faded enthusiasm by Dias and added another title to his closet.

The Plate final saw Joshua Abdool topping Ian Mekdeci (+1) 15-3, 15-9.

In the highly anticipated category ‘A’ final, Nicholas Verwey got the better of Kirsten Gomes (-1) in a cliff-hanger. The young duo gave a good account of where the future of the sport lies for Guyana with a great display of tenacity. However, there can only be one winner, and Verwey won 15-13, 11-15, 15-12.

The third place battle in the category pitted Abosaide Cadogan (-4) and Mohryan Baksh which the former won 15-11, 15-6, while Zachary Persaud won the Plate final against Kamir Khan (+1) 15-7, 15-14. The other match in the category saw Louis DaSilva winning 15-8, 15-7 against Dhiren Persaud.

After the tournament, the respective winners were awarded their prizes at a simple ceremony.