Pantin starts defence of badminton title today

The second seeded Pantin, who automatically progressed into the second round of competition via ‘bye’, will meet the winner of today’s stage one encounter between Cristars Hayden Bishop and Petrotrin Pointe-a-Pierre’s Vejai Samnarine. Bishop and Samnarine are scheduled to lock horns at 8.30pm, with the winner facing a tough task against Pantin from 10pm.

Seeded at the top in this division is Shuttle Force’s Alistair Espinoza, followed by 2013 winner Pantin, third ranked Keston Friday (FMT) and fourth seeded Jason Ramjass (Cristars). Other top local males in Men’s Singles action today are Cristars’ duo Anil Seepaul and Naim Mohammed among others. Additionally, Pantin is also expected to face stiff resistance from four prolific members of the Barbados national team, who are visiting and competing as preparation for their showing at the XX Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, later this year. The four-member Bajan squad includes multiple National champion Andre Padmore, who is fresh from winning a triple crown the Barbados National Championships which ended on Saturday. Also joining him is Dakeil Thorpe, Shari Watson and Women’s National Singles champion Mariama Eastmond.

The team will also be joined by their manager Janelle Denny. Meanwhile, a new Solo women’s champion will be crowned since last year’s winner Solange Guzman will not be participating since she is out of the country. However, the competition is still set to be difficult as former multiple national and Solo champion Nekeisha Blake will be in the running as well, along with other top players like Jade Joseph and Kristi Reno- Singh. The Barbados squad is certain to be no pushover as they are indeed quite a strong team and have been known to be fierce competitors to Trinidad and Tobago in the past.

This year’s Championships will also serve as an indicator of performance since the national squad is currently in preparation for the annual Caribbean Badminton Confederation Championships (CAREBACO) which takes place in early August in Kingston, Jamaica.

Derwin Renales, president of the Trinidad and Tobago Badminton Association, has indicated his satisfaction in the participation of the Bajans admitted that he is looking forward to them making the tournament even more unpredictable. Renales also expressed gratitude towards tournament sponsors Solo Beverages, and thanked them for their long time involvement with the sport of badminton and hopes to have a continued and prosperous relationship with them.