Lee on course to defend badminton crown

Perennial threat Alistair Espinoza got past a determined Renaldo Sinanan 21-16, 21-15, while Naim Mohammed had a short stay on the court dispensing of Jade Allman 21-7, 21- 11. Roger Moore also booked a place in the semifinals with a 17-21, 21-17, 21-14 win over Joshua Smith.

In the women’s singles quarterfinals, accomplished player Solangel Guzman had little difficulty getting past Latoya Walrond 21-1, 21-3. The second seed Avril Marcelle was pushed hard by Under-19 champion Ralitsa Wong, who eventually went under 21-10, 17-21, 21-19.

Also progressing to the semifinals was Leanna Castanada, who defeated Chequeda Deboulet 21-14, 21-12, while Jada Renales beat Arielle Gomez 21- 10, 21-8.

There were no surprises in the men’s doubles quarterfinals, as top seeds Espinoza and Lee eased past Amir Mahabir and Terence Rivas 21-2, 21-3. The number two seeds Mohammed and Sheraz Nabbie downed Gabriel Boodram and Alister Urquhart 21-10, 21-14, while Hayden Bishop and Ramjass had an epic win over Jeremy Lewis and Jewhel Smith 18- 21, 21-13, 21-17. The Sinanan brothers, Renaldo and Travis, both triple crown winners from the Solo Junior tournament recently held, proved a formidable pair as they defeated Navin Gayapersad and Sarajudeen Mohammed 21-14, 21-13.

Advancing past the mixed doubles round of 16 were Espinoza and Jada Renales; Travis Sinanan and Faith Mollah; Renaldo Sinanan and Kelly Mollah; Nathaniel Khillawan and Wong; Bishop and Solange Bailey; Lee and Deboulet; Smith and Castanada; Mohammed and Marcelle.

In the masters round robin, there were victories for Ronald Clarke and Derwin Renales over the pairs of Peter Harris and PJ Williams 21-10, 21-10, and Kario Bernard and Mckenzie Joseph 21-5, 21-8. Bernard and Joseph then lost to Andre Lewis and Derek Singh 21-7, 21-7, while Christopher Joachim and Arnand Maharaj registered a win over Harris and Williams 21-11, 21-6, but then fell to the pair of Lewis and Singh 21-16, 21-11. Bernard and Mckenzie lost again when they fell to Joachim and Maharaj 21-12, 21-13.

Clarke and Renales continued their top form with a 21-15, 21- 11 win over Shaffie Nabbie and Wilson Reyes. Shaffie Nabbie and Reyes were on the winning side over Harris and Williams 21-5, 21-8, but the pair lost 21- 16, 21-5 to Lewis and Singh.

The tournament concludes today with action from 9 am.