Women’s team in Dominican Republic for first game

Guyana’s Under-20 Women’s National team is currently in the Dominican Republic preparing for their first match against Suriname in the Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship Qualifiers.

The match will be played on Saturday, April 15 in the Felix Sanchez Stadium in Santo Domingo from 3:00p.m.

The local team, along with Guyana Football Federation (GFF) officials, departed Guyana on April 10th and 11th.

A record 32 teams are in six groups - two groups have six teams and four groups have five teams each - competing between April 14th and 23rd. Guyana is in Group C with the Dominican Republic, Suriname and Dominica.

Head Coach Paul DeAbreu said the locally-based and overseas players are focusing on game strategies in training sessions.

“We are very thrilled to be competing in this tournament and to have the entire group together. The team had its first two training sessions yesterday, with the first session mainly focusing on skills through game scenarios practice and the second session focusing on game specific drills with moderate intensity. These sessions have proven to get the best out of the girls and have helped them to mesh as a group. The coaching staff will continue to work with the group in preparation for our first match on Saturday.”

The GUMDAC Badminton Tournament got off to an exciting start on Tuesday evening at the National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue. The tournament saw players competing from the Nursery Badminton Academy, Yonex Badminton Club and the Berbice Badminton Clubs.

They competed in the Open Men Doubles, Women Doubles, Mixed Doubles, Under 19 Boys Singles and Under 19 Girls Singles categories. The Guyana Badminton Association was very happy and delighted with the participation and enthusiasm shown by the players. The competitiveness was evident in the games played. The persons who lost in the first round are given a chance to redeem themselves in the consolation draw

Below are the matches for Day One of the GUMDAC Tournament.

(Winners are highlighted for ease of reference)

Under 19 Boys: Yuvraj Singh vs. Gabriel Felix: 21-17, 21-10

Under 19 Boys: Mohamed Farouk vs. Jerome Williams: 21-10, 19-21, 21-16

Under 19 Boys: Frank Waddell vs. Marcus Samuel: 21-6, 21-1

Women’s Doubles: Himanshi Kumar/Sarah

Lewis vs. Mishka Beharry/Leshaunte Berkeley: 21-12, 21-6

Under 19 Boys: Nathan Morrison vs. Phillip Stephanas: 21-6, 21-12

Under 19 Boys: Jonathan Caesar vs. Jaquan Nedd: 21-9, 21-14

Under 19 Boys: Amaan Khan vs. Juan Ferreria: 21-6, 21-5

Mens Doubles: Gabriel Felix/Nikolas Pollard vs. Xavio Alexander/Jamal Sinclair: 21-12, 21-13

Under 19 Boys: Matthew Spooner vs. Renako Bender: 21-10, 22-20

Under 19 Boys: Lennox Morrison vs. Onayi Andrews: 21-2, 21-5

Under 19 Boys: Matthew Foo vs. Nathan Vanbrook: 21-12, 21-13

Mens Doubles: Nathan Morrison/Jaquan Nedd vs. Jahiem Carmicael/Osafa DosSantos: 21-10, 21-17

Under 19 Girls: Gabrielle Felix vs. Genvieve Bookram: 21-13, 21-17

Women Doubles: Navaeh Eastman/Malia Haley vs. Alima Eastman/Asiya Eastman: 2113, 21-15

Under 19 Girls: Mishka Beharry vs. Aaliyah Bacchus: 21-4, 21-3

Men’s Doubles: Marlon Chung/Wenyuan Chen vs. Amar Crawford/Andrew Williams:

21-10, 21-5

Men’s Doubles: Haresh Persaud/Matthew Spooner vs. Lennox Morrison/Nathan Vanbrook: 21-19, 22-20

Under 19 Boys Consolation: Yuvraj Singh vs. Jerome Williams: 16-21, 21-6, 21-7

Under 19 Boys: Marcus Samuel vs. Phillip Stephanas: 21-19, 21-11

Mixed Doubles: Avinash Odit/Anna Perreira vs. Jedidiah Uwagboe/Alima Eastman: 21-7, 21-16

Mens Doubles: Viraj Singh/Colin Bowry vs. Jedidiah Uwagboe/Juan Ferreria: 21-12, 21-17

Womens Doubles: Anna Perreira/Shivannie Persaud vs. Aaliyah Bacchus/Gabrielle Felix: 21-9, 21-9

Under 19 Boys Consolation: Jaquan Nedd vs. Amaan Khan: 22-20, 21-13

Under 19 Boys Consolation: Renako Bender vs. Onayi Andrews: 21-8, 21-10

Mens Doubles: Damon Dully/Raoul Wilson vs. Raah Russell/Frank Waddell: 21-9, 21-15

Under 19 Girls: Himanshi Kumar vs. Malia Haley: 21-5, 21-9

Mixed Doubles: Chet Bowling/Ayanna Watson vs. Gabriel Felix/Navaeh Eastman: 21-9, 21-9

Mixed Doubles: Viraj Singh/Jefina James vs. Raah Russell/Asiya Eastman: 21-15, 21-10

He added: “We have a very young and talented group and we believe a lot of good is to be expected. We encourage our fans to cheer us on wherever they may be.”

Women’s Football Association (WFA) president, Andrea Johnson, said she is confident the national team will perform exceedingly well in the qualifiers and advance to the next round.

“Congratulations to our players and staff on being selected to represent our beautiful country at the Concacaf U-20. I am confident that our team will perform exceedingly well as we have been drafted into a group that, I’m certain, we’ll advance out of. Over the past few years our Lady Jags have been performing magnificently and this time will be no different.”

She, too, encouraged Guyana to support the junior squad on their journey to the championship.

“As our team competes over the next few days. I want to encourage the entire Guyana and Guyanese in the diaspora to support them because Women’s football is the future,” Johnson added.

The winner of each group will advance to the May 2023 Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship in the Dominican Republic, joining top-ranked teams such as the United States and Mexico.