Ramcharan stars in Solo Easter Junior badminton

Mitra Ramcharan, who plays in the Under-17 category, stepped up to upset Keeron Garcia and then beat Wolde Alexander in the Under-19 category  of the Solo Easter Junior Championships at the Central Regional Indoor Sporting Arena in Chaguanas on Monday. Ramcharan started aggressively against Garcia and took the first set 15-10, Garcia showed his teeth and took the second set 3-15 but Ramcharan with nothing to lose took the final set 15-10 to clinch a place in the quarter-final, there he met Alexander and, more accustomed to the level of competition, emerged 15-10, 15-10 victor.

Ramcharan was again present in the top flight, this time in the Under-17 Boys singles category where he beat Dov Jailal 15-4, 15-2 and will meet the winner of the Insaf Hosein/Roshan Ramnarine semi-final Justin Siu, Ramcharan’s Presentation College schoolmate, advanced to the Under-19 semi-final to meet Ramcharan with a 15-5, 15-3 win over Khaeer Khan. The other semi-final features Rahul Rampersad and Earnesto Dean competing for a place in the final. Rampersad strutted his stuff against Deepak Ramdath beating him 15-4 and 15-2 most effortlessly to present a challenge to the other four semi-finalists, Dean himself was equally imposing, beating Javed Deen 15-5, 15-2.

Vikie Singh, the favourite in the girl singles, will face Tenecia Hercules in the semi-finals while Leana Castanada comes up against Cindy Ann Ballantyne, Singh has been tipped as a strong contender for the girls Under-17 and Under-19 titles. Singh has already progressed to the Under-19 Girls final with a 11-5, 11-2 win over Keisha Hercules in their semi-final match, she will meet Nakiesha Blake who advanced on merit of a 11-4, 11-5 over Sherelle Pantin in the other semi. Insaf Hosein is into the Boys Under-15 semi-final after a strong 15-1, 15-1 victory over Kyle Tang Choon, he will play Deron Seepaul who beat Anil Bhagwandeen 15-8, 15-8 in the other  match. The competition will resume at 9 am on Saturday at the same venue, with semi-final and final matches in the Under-15, Under-17 and Under-19 age divisions.