– Three-time Caribbean squash champion Keisha Jeffrey tells Kiev Chesney
Three seemed to be the theme for the Guyana girls’ team at the 2008 Caribbean Squash Area (CASA) Caribbean Junior Squash Champion-ships.
They won their third consecutive team title and claimed three individual titles one of which was captured by Keisha Jeffrey who is now a three-time Caribbean champion at this event.
Keisha made her debut in the competition at the age of 10, when she placed fourth in the under-13 category in front of her home crowd.
Five years later, Keisha has collected three individual titles which could easily have been four if she had not lost to compatriot Ashley Khalil in last year’s final.
“My best year would probably be this year. I played undefeated throughout the tournament [individual and team event] and I was named the Best Female Player since I won all the matches that I played without dropping a game, so this year was definitely my best year so far,” she said in an interview with Stabroek Sport.
In her second year at the competition which was held in the Cayman Islands Keisha won the plate competition after finishing fifth overall.
Since then, Keisha has made it to the finals of every individual category and has helped Guyana grab three team titles along the way.
Her maiden title was achieved when Trinidad hosted the event in 2006 and she won the under-13 category.
The next year, Keisha played her most challenging CASA tournament as she made the jump to the under-15 category where she had to overcome familiar but tough adversaries to get back to the winners’ circle.
She did.
“My most challenging year at CASA would have to be in Jamaica where I had both of my team-mates in the same draw as me. I had to get past my greatest rival, Ashley Khalil in the semis to reach the finals.”
Although a knee injury hampered her preparations for the next CASA tournament which was held in Tortola, US Virgin Islands, Keisha showed her resilience to earn a spot on the team. She also won the 2007 GT&T Cellink Plus senior championship to become the youngest ever ladies’ champions, two months after her 14th birthday.
That year at CASA however, Khalil was able to dethrone the then two-time Caribbean champion, a performance which accompanied by Khalil’s accomplishments in badminton, gave her the title of 2008 Junior Sportswoman of the Year.
After losing many of her local encounters against Khalil this year, Keisha had revenge on her mind, but was disappointed after Khalil opted out of participating at the last minute.
“I actually was hoping that she [Khalil] would make it. If I had won against her in the finals, it would’ve made this victory a lot sweeter because she’s my biggest rival and an excellent player so it would have been a huge accomplishment to beat her at these championships,” she said.
She added: “I don’t think there was anyone that could’ve stopped her from capturing her second title, her competition would probably be against us, her Guyanese team-mates, other than that, and she would have breezed through everyone.”
Sister-sister final
Without Khalil, the girls’ under-17 final was a family affair and Keisha put all kinship aside and defeated her twin-sister Kayla in straight sets.
“My most challenging match without a doubt would be the one against my twin-sister [Kayla]. The games were all really close, she was ahead in the first two games and I had a chance to take them, but I had to work extra hard to win the match,” she said.
The three-time Caribbean champion said that the determination and focus of the girls’ team rose tremendously in the team event in an effort to compensate for Khalil’s absence.
She also said that she took her game up a notch because she had gained confidence from the individual category and knew the virtue of winning the team title for her country.
Keisha said that claiming her third title at CASA this year and having one in each age category, was a very rewarding experience, and her performance this year helped to improve her perception of the game.
“It definitely changed my perception of the game, I learnt that once you stay calm and focused, it makes the game a whole lot easier to be in control,” she said.
Keisha says the persons responsible for her success and dominance at CASA this year were…“My coach, Carl Ince, Robert and Nicolette Fernandes, my parents, Denise and Kevin Jeffrey, my big brother, Kristian and my twin-sister, Kayla.”
