– Arjoon, Fung-A-Fat, and Jeffrey grab titles at the 2008 CASA Caribbean Junior Squash Championships
Victoria Arjoon, Mary Fung-A-Fat and Keisha Jeffery validated Guyana’s reputation for being the powerhouse of female squash in the region as they snatched three of the four girls’ titles at the CASA Junior Squash Championships yesterday.
The youngest of the trio Arjoon, the defending champion, got rid of Charlotte Knaggs of Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) 9-1, 9-0, 9-1 in the semifinal before disposing Bermuda’s Emma Keane in straight games 9/0 9/1 & 9/2 in the girls’ under-13 final to grab her second straight Caribbean title.
Mary Fung-A-Fat continued the Guyanese girl power as she captured the girls’ under-15 title after she defeated compatriot Ashley deGroot who shocked all by reaching the finals in her debut tournament.
DeGroot did not pack enough punch for the experienced Fung-A-Fat and was humbled in three games 9/0 9/0 & 9/2.
Completing the hat trick of female individual titles was two time-champion at this event Keisha Jeffrey who claimed the under-17 title after defeating her twin-sister Kayla in three close games 10/8 10/8 & 9/4.
Keisha has now captured one Caribbean title in each of the age group that she has played in at these championships (U13, U15 and U17)
In an interview via email last night Keisha told Stabroek Sport:” Well it feels good, it’s always a good feeling and I especially enjoyed this victory because it was against my twin sister so it made the match a lot more nerve-wrecking for me but it was a great victory.”
The other members of the girls’ team Daina King placed fourth in the always tough under-19 category.
King followed her outstanding performances in the earlier rounds with a close win in a five games thriller against Cayman Islands’ (CAY) Samantha Hennings 9-5, 6-9, 0-9, 9-3, 10-8.
Arjoon’s near hit
Alexander Arjoon could not follow in his younger sister’s footsteps and fell short of capturing his second Caribbean title as he fell to Cameron Stafford (CAY) 9-4, 9-1, 8-10, 9-4 in the boys’ under-17 final while Oliver Kear-Downes successfully battled Kale Wilson (T&T) 8/10, 7/9, 9/6, 10/8 & 9/5 for third place while Deje Dias defeated Chris Stout in three games to earn 7th position.
Raphael deGroot placed fifth in the under-19 category after winning the decider against Ryan McConvey (CAY) 9/1, 9/1 & 9/5.
Although Jean-Claude Jeffrey got the better of the encounters against compatriot Nyron Joseph at the local national, Joseph switched-on of the big stage and won their dramatic five-game duel (9/7, 5/9, 2/9, 10/8, 9/0) in the under-13 category.
Joseph went on to beat Jamaica’s Morrison Julian 9/5, 10/8, 9/6 to capture fifth while Jeffrey zipped Stewart St. John of Barbados for seventh.