Top-ranked Amara Urquhart will be seeking a third straight lien of the Girls Singles Under-19 Division crown when the T&T Badminton Association (TTBA) National Championships resumes on Saturday (March 15) at the National Racquet Centre in Orange Grove Road, Tacarigua from 9 am.
This after, the top-ranked Urquhart made light work of fourth-seeded Cheyenne Bhola 21-12, 21-9 and in her semifinal last week and will do battle with fierce rival and second-ranked T’Shelle Barnes who outplayed third-seeded Kara Ashley Robertson 21-12, 21-13 in their semifinal.
Urquhart will also partner Jonathan Julien in the Mixed Doubles U-19 finals, after the third-ranked duo stunned top seeds Kaveer Ramoutar and Robertson 21-15, 20-22, 21-18 in their semifinal and will meet second-ranked Jace Smith and Barnes in the decider after the latter pair beat Dante Homer and Emily Lewis 21-18, 21-14 in the other semifinal.
However, in the Girls Doubles U-19 semifinals, top-ranked duo Barnes and Isabelle Waller beat Urquhart and her sibling Aliyah Urquhart 11-21, 21-11, 21-19 and will next face second seeds Natalia Henry and Robertson, who stopped Emily Lewis and her sister Yelena Lewis 21-17, 19-21, 22-20 in the other sems.
Ramoutar will go after glory as well in the Boys Singles Under-19 final following his victory over Homer 21-11, 21-19 in their while Ethan Ramcharan booted Smith 19-21, 21-6, 22-20 in the other.
Samiya Karim will contest the Girls Singles U-17, Girls Doubles and Mixed Doubles finals.
This after, top-ranked Karim whipped fourth-ranked Arianna Mansook 21-10, 21-13 and second-seed Tenniya Tobias battled past Aliyah Urquhart, ranked third, 20-22, 21-10, 21-18 in the Singles semifinal while Karim paired with Ricardo Sagramsingh to beat second-ranked Nicholi Jeboodsingh and Kayleigh Rajkumar 21-15, 19-21, 21-17 in their Mixed Doubles semifinals, and will meet top-ranked Ramcharan and Aliyah Urquhart who rallied past Triston Sewdass and Mansook, ranked fourth, 19-21, 21-12, 21-14 in the final-four match-ups.
Karim then combined with Azaria Gaskill for a 21-9, 21-10 win over Adita Maharaj and Kayleigh Rajkumar while Mansook and Tobias cruised past Kimora Lee Bissessar 21-14, 21-10.
The Boys Singles U-17 final will feature third-ranked Jeboodsingh and Under-19 finalist Ethan Jitmansingh, ranked seventh, after their wins over eighth-ranked Sewdass 9-21, 21-14, 21-13 and Aadil Argour Mohammed 21-13, 21-14, respectively.
In the Boys Doubles U-17 semifinals, Singles finalists, Jeboodsingh and Jitmansingh, ranked second, combined to beat fourth-ranked Isaiah Persadie and Zachary Rigues 21-9, 21-16 while top-rated Ramcharan and Sagramsingh came from behind to defeat third-ranked Sewdass and Maximus Walsh 21-19, 20-22, 21-9.
Chijioke Kalu is the third player who will be going after three titles in the same age-group, the Under-15s after reaching the finals of the Boys Singles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles.
The second-ranked Kalu won his singles semifinals against Devan Durga 21-9, 21-19 and next battles top-ranked Liam Persad who overcame fourth-ranked Logan Waithe 21-3, 21-9.
In the Mixed Doubles U-15 semifinals, Kalu and Azaria Gaskill upstaged Naveer Salick and Tanvi Oire 21-12, 21-15 while number one duo, Logan Waithe and Rishelle Boodoosingh defeated Dimitry Romain and Jernyce Cadette 21-19, 21-11.
In the Boys Doubles U-15 semifinals, Kalu and Persad coasted past Zidan Hosein and Liam Rajkumar 21-7, 21-13 while second-ranked Javan Ramjass and Waithe held off Durga and Salick 21-12, 17-21, 21-17.
The Girls Singles U-15 championship encounter will feature top-rated Rishelle Boodoosingh, who beat Orie 21-14, 24-22 in their final-four clash, and Gaskill who shocked second-ranked Serenity Tinto 21-13, 21-13. The tournament resumes next weekend from 9 am on each day.
The duo of Asia Lee Waller and (Girls Under-13) and Kenaiya Gangoo (Girls U-11) will also be chasing triple crowns in their respective age-groups while Devonnye Vincent (Girls U-11), and Michael Balvin (Boys U-11) will compete in two finals each.
