ENet Senior CASA: Khalil, Ince-Carvahal into Men’s Doubles semi-final

By Avenash Ramzan

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Guyanese pair Jason-Ray Khalil and Samuel Ince-Carvahal have stormed into the semi-finals of the Men’s Doubles of the ENet Senior Caribbean Squash Championship with a clinical win over Seth Thong and Leonel Sorrillo of Trinidad and Tobago.

Playing at the doubles court at the National Racquet Centre on Woolford Avenue on Tuesday morning, Khalil and Ince-Carvahal made light work of their opponents, despite coming into the tournament with limited preparation on the doubles court.

After 24 minutes of play, Khalil and Ince-Carvahal emerged with a solid 11-6, 11-7 success over Thong and Sorrillo.

The victory secured the Guyanese a spot in the semi-final against Bajan pair Darien Benn and Shawn Simpson on Wednesday morning.

For Khalil and Ince-Carvahal, having limited prep time on the doubles court meant having to craft a deliberate strategy, one that they were able to execute to perfection on Tuesday morning.

Ince-Carvahal said: “Obviously going in we’ve not really had a lot of practice on the doubles court, so our aim was just to expose the weaker player. We found the weaker player and we tried to play the ball to the front of the court for most of the shots and win the rallies, and it worked out for us.”

Khalil added: “We had a plan going in whereas we knew our strengths- our speed and shot-making ability and we just played upon that. Like he (Ince-Carvahal) said, we found the weaker player and we just attacked him relentlessly.”

For Thong and Sorrillo, it was about enjoying the experience playing doubles, a format of squash that is relatively new to them.

Sorrillo said: “It was real fun. It is something new for both of us. It was a good experience; we tried we best, but they took plenty points in the front court.”

Thong remarked: “I basically think the same thing. It was kind of hard adjusting because we don’t really play doubles too much- we don’t have doubles courts back home. It’s just a few mistakes we fell short on, and hopefully next time we do better.”

The ENet Senior Caribbean Squash Championship is set to continue all week, with the final day of action being Saturday.

Matches are being held at the National Racquet Centre on Woolford Avenue and the Georgetown Club Courts on Camp Street.