TT face Barbados for CAREBACO gold

THE stage is set for battle royale when the Trinidad and Tobago senior badminton stars take on their Barbadian counterparts for the coveted Caribbean Regional Badminton Confederation (CAREBACO) crown at the Jean Pierre Sports Complex today from 4 pm. Led by outstanding performances by triple-crown champion Anil Seepaul, eight-time national doubles champion pair Sabrina Cassie and Zeudi Mack and Kesma Bonito allowed Trinidad seniors and their loyal supporters to celebrate a hard-fought 3-2 victory over powerful Suriname on Friday night. Yesterday, the Barbadians led by three-time champion Ryan Holder, three-time women champion Dionne Forde and Miriama Eastmond edged out Suriname by a similar 3-2 margin. While TT secured victory before the final match , the mixed doubles contest, on Friday evening, Barbados prevailed in the decisive third set in the final match of their encounter with their Surinamer rivals yesterday. Barbadians Holder and Forde combined to register a 15-7, 6-15, 15-6 victory over Suriname’s Oscar Brandon and Stephanie Jadi. According to the CAREBACO president Joseph Clarke, who is also the 2003 tournament chief umpire, “The gold medal clash between TT and Barbados will be very exciting and hopefully we will have a very good crowd to see two evenly matched teams battle for regional supremacy. “All the matches will be exciting and fans would enjoy the thrills of this fast-paced sport. Both teams have experienced and talented players and everything depends on how well you play on the day. Trust me, the action will be riveting.”

Seepaul set the tone for TT’s triumph over Suriname when he overpowered promising 18-year-old Virgil Soeroredjo 15-9, 12-15, 15-10. But Suriname’s 10-time singles champion and 1999 Pan-American champion Oscar Brandon combined with Pan-American youth doubles runner-up Mitchell Wonsodrikomo to level the score 1-1, when they outplayed the TT doubles pair of Canadian-based Glendon Thomas and Cuban-based Darron Charles 15-6, 15-3. However, the tension eased for local supporters and players when eight-time national winning pair Sabrina Cassie and Zeudi Mack disposed of Caroline Davids and Stephanie Jadi 15-4, 15-10 in the doubles and Kesma Bonito turned back the challenge of Davids in the singles encounter, winning 11-4, 4-11, 11-6. Playing with an injured leg sustained on Sunday last, Cassie was forced to miss the singles. In the Barbados vs Suriname clash yesterday, 27-year-old Holder held off the challenge of Redon Coulor 15-9, 17-15 in the singles,  then teamed with 24-year-old Forde to clinch the mixed doubles match against the experienced and skilful Brandon and Jadi in the fifth and final match yesterday winning  15-7, 6-15, 15-6. Forde partnered Mariama Eastmond to defeat Davids and Jadi in the womens doubles at 15-6, 15-11. Brandon and Coulor were too good for Kevin Wood and Andre Padmore in the men’s doubles, romping home  15-13, 15-6, while Davids conquered Eastmond 7-11, 11-6, 11-1 in the women singles.. TT juniors lost to Barbados 1-4 margin on Friday night and were again beaten 0-5 by Jamaica who will face Suriname in the gold medal match today. Only Rahul Rampersad distinguished himself with a comprehensive 15-0,  15-0 win over Barbados’ Carlos Barrow and played in the most absorbing and thrilling encounter so far in the tournament when he was narrowly edged out by Jamaica’s Casif Bernard 15-13, 13-15, 12-15.