Reigning national Under-19 champion Jason Ray Khalil completed a resounding victory against Nicholas Narain to win the Guyana Squash Association’s (GSA) Bounty Farm Mash Handicap tournament yesterday at the Georgetown Club’s squash facility.
Khalil, who was given the most severe handicap of the tournament (-20), affirmed his dominance in the tournament by clinically taking out Narain, who had a -2 handicap, in straight games 15/12, 15/7. The 18-year-old former runner up sportsman of the year has now won two of the last three Bounty Farm Handicap tournaments.
Narain, who was later adjudged most improved player of the tournament, (male) had played tactical squash to overcome four opponents including two-time Caribbean junior champion Nyron Joseph, GSA president David Fernandes and Steven Xavier. But against Khalil, Narain did not even get a chance to execute any of his tactics or strategies, as Khalil was in control of the match from the get go.
Khalil set the pace for the match with his superior shot selection that turned Narain into a permanent retriever, with a limited his choice of shots based on the how Khalil placed the ball. Khalil worked Narain around with several variations but what was probably most effective was Khalil’s way of deceiving Narain throughout the encounter.
Anticipating your opponent’s next shot is imperative in squash and Khalil’s tactics was to mislead Narain as to the shot that he was attempting with a variety of pre-shot movements before playing a totally different shot. Narain fell prey to this technique on several occasions, and the strategy of calling for let on several occasions that he had employed during his encounter against Nyron Joseph, hurt more than it helped him in yesterday’s final. Steven Xavier (-12) defeated Benjamin Mekdeci (0) to claim third place in the open category.
Rebecca Low (0)overcame her handicap to defeat Lucas Jonas who possessed a +7 advantage to win the Category A section of the tournament. Low, who was a semi-finalist in the Under 13 category at the Caribbean Area Squash Association (CASA), Caribbean championships last year, was adjudged most improved female player of the tournament. National Coach Carl Ince told Stabroek Sport that Low’s dedication and devotion to the sport has been exceptional and it comes as no surprise that she is excelling among those players in her age group.
The tournament was organised by GSA and sponsored by Bounty Farm Limited. The GSA’s next event will be the Toucan Industries Junior tournament later this month.
