The 2019 KFC-sponsored Guyana Squash Association (GSA) Senior National Championships concluded yesterday at the Georgetown Club Squash court with the Khalil siblings Ashley and Jason-Ray capturing the female and male titles respectively.
The pair recorded contrasting wins with Ashley winning her title 3-1 while Jason –Ray staged a remarkable come-from-behind win over Nyron Joseph after dropping the first two sets of the match.
In the female final Ashley Khalil got past her Pan Am teammate Taylor Fernandes in a stirring bout.
Both players came out with intensity in the first set but it was Khalil who managed to pull away in the end, after several lead changes, to capture an exciting first set 14-12.
Fernandes, powered her way back in the second, winning it 11-8 to tie the match 1-1.
However, Khalil was back in the lead after securing the third set 11-5 and closed it out 11-8 in the fourth to capture the female crown; it was her second senior national title. The men’s final, on the other hand, got off to a more measured start and was characterised by long rallies as Jason-Ray Khalil and Nyron Joseph – two super fit athletes – were calculated in their approach and sought to feel each other out.
However, first blood went to Joseph who won 11-9. The tempo of the match began to pick up in the second set which saw Joseph extending his lead by staving off a few strong runs from Khalil to take it 11-8.
Khalil then began his remarkable comeback by winning the third set 11-3 after setting up a few smart plays. He took that momentum into the fourth, taking it 11-8 to carry the match to five sets.
In the end, he completed the stellar effort by taking the final set 11-2 to capture the title.
In the men’s third place bout, Shomari Wiltshire and Regan Pollard took to the court but it was the younger Wiltshire who emerged as the winner, taking the match 11-6, 13-11, 11-5. Gabby Fraser, on the other, landed the third-place prize in the women’s category by outworking Abosaide Cadogan 11-7, 11-5, 11-9.
Pollard took the men’s over 40 title while former Caribbean champion Garfield Wiltshire took top honours in the men’s over 50 category.
