By Akeem Greene
Never-say-die.
That was the attitude of Michael Alphonso who came from behind to win a gruelling and thrilling battle with Nicholas Verwey on the final day of the annual Toucan Distributors Skill Level Squash Tournament on Sunday.
The young lads produced arguably the most gripping match of the tournament in the presence of parents and other well-wishers at the Georgetown Club Courts.
Scores ended 7-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8 in favour of Alphonso.
However, neither of the two was in contention for topping Category A with the top seed Shomari Wiltshire sealing that spot followed by Samuel Ince-Carvalhal, but the pair laid all down on the court.
Let’s go back a just a bit.
In previous tournaments, Verwey got the better of his rival, and the emotions were evident when Alphonso lost the first. Alphonso’s father and sister and even Ince-Carvalhal all came during the break and imparted their words of encouragement and wisdom, and they certainly worked.
The finesse which was lacking became more visible and it had Verwey bouncing from wall to wall in search of returns; he rallied but it became 1-1.
Game three was possibly the match defining moment with Alphonso coming from 0-3 deficit to win 11-8. With dives on the floor, returns and the languid drives, ‘Mikey’ as he is commonly called, was on fire. It was certainly a tough pill to swallow for Verwey who for most parts played a perfect game.
Another match, which was savoured by the winner, was Zachary Persaud’s success over Louis DaSilva in Category C. At last Wednesday’s start of the tournament, Persaud revealed his ultimate was to defeat DaSilva. Mission Impossible in other tournaments became Mission Accomplished.
The first two sets went to Persaud 11-9 and 11-7, however, DaSilva’s retrieval skills improved and brought it level with two 9-11 wins. The final game went 11-8 to Persaud.
Cousins Grant and Christiana Fernandes had another close bout in Category F. They went on court with a mission and it was a real fight for the win from the young athletes. Grant just pipped the post for a 9-11, 11-9, 11-9 win.
At the simple presentation ceremony, the Guyana Squash Association expressed immense gratitude for the support of Toucan Distributors and other business entities.
Special awards:
Most Improved Girl: Chritiana Fernandes
Most Improved Boy: Kayden Pynaendy
Most Outstanding Girl: Shriya Persaud
Most Outstanding Boy: Zachary Persaud
Full Results:
Category A
Samuel Ince-Carvalhal defeated Gianni Carpenter 11/3, 11/3, 11/7
Michael Alphonso defeated Nicholas Verwey 7/11, 11/8, 11/8, 11/8
Category C
Zachary Persaud defeated Louis DaSilva 11/9, 11/7, 9/11, 11/9, 11/8
Category D
Lajuan Munroe defeated Nathan Rahaman 13/11, 4/11, 11/8, 4/11, 12/10
Joshua Verwey defeated Teija Edwards 11/4, 11/0, 11/1
Category E
Dhiren Persaud defeated Rayad Boyce 5/11, 12/10, 11/4.0
Category F
Kaden Pynaendy defeated Safirah Summer 13/15, 11/6. 11/7
Noah Rahaman defeated Mailia Maikoo 11/8, 8/11, 11/6
Grant Fernandes defeated Christiana Fernandes 9/11, 11/9, 11/9
Category G
Romero Muniram defeated Brenno DaSilva 11/9, 11/1
Abhinav Singh defeated Tristan Seereeram 11/6, 8/11, 11/6
Category H
Mathew Daby defeated Tianna Gomes 10/12, 12/10, 11/8
Shriya Persaud defeated Solomon Ince-Carvalhal 11/3, 6/11, 11/3
Jnae Singh defeated Eli Goveia 11/4, 11/3
Shriyah Persaud defeated Eli Gouveia 11/4, 11/3
Overall Results
Category A
WINNER Shomari Wiltshire
SECOND PLACE Samuel Ince-Carvalhal
THIRD PLACE Michael Alphonso
FOURTH Nicholas Verwey
Category B
WINNER Abosaide Cadogan
SECOND PLACE Ethan Jonas
THIRD PLACE Mohryan Baksh
FOURTH PLACE Lucas Jonas
Category C
WINNER Zachary Persaud
SECOND PLACE Louis DaSilva
THIRD PLACE Shiloh Asregado
Category D
WINNER Nathan Rahaman
SECOND PLACE Joshua Verwey
THIRD PLACE Lajuan Munroe
FOURTH PLACE Teija Edwards
Category E
WINNER Dhiren Persaud
SECOND PLACE Rayad Boyce
THIRD PLACE Lucas Persaud
FOURTH PLACE Arvin Seelall
FIFTH PLACE Aishani Persaud
Category F
WINNER Kaden Pynaendy
SECOND PLACE Grant Fernandes
THIRD PLACE Christiana Fernandes
FOURTH PLACE Matthew Spooner
FIFTH PLACE Noah Rahaman
Category G
WINNER Romero Muniram
SECOND PLACE Abinav Singh
THIRD PLACE Brenno DaSilva
FOURTH PLACE Tristan Seereeram
Category H
WINNER Shriya Persaud
SECOND PLACE Matthew Daby
THIRD PLACE Tiana Gomes
FOURTH PLACE Solomon Ince-Carvalhal
FIFTH PLACE Jnae Singh