The Guyana Badminton Association (GBA) is ruing the impact of the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic which has curtailed the progression of the sport in 2020.
“The GBA is very disappointed that due to the pandemic, like many other sports, we are on a lockdown and our players are inactive on the court. While they continue to stay fit and watch videos, it’s still a setback as without the court play, their training towards improving is at a standstill,” the GBA noted in a press statement.
The association highlighted its successes over the years, including Guyana’s triumphs at the Caribbean Regional & International Championships, South American Games, Pan Am Championships, Peru International, and IGG Games.
“Our players also qualified for the Pan Am Games, Commonwealth Games, South American Games and CAC Games. We were doing so well getting there and it’s like our progress was just cut out from under us due to the pandemic,” the release added.
“We however, hope to stay at the competitive level with more consistent badminton awareness until we can get all our programmes started back again. When this is possible, we have outlined our Shuttle Time Basic Badminton to be introduced in Schools. This basically will involve Physical Education teachers and students to get knowledge of the game,” the association stated.
All sporting activities in Guyana came to a halt in early March after the country recorded its first case and death of COVID-19. The gyms and all sporting facilities have remained closed since and the COVID-19 cases have since skyrocketed to over 4,000 in seven months with 121 deaths.
The association said it wanted to thank its top players like Akili Haynes, Jonathan Mangra, Ambika Ramraj, Tyreese Jeffrey, Jayde DaSilva, Darrell Carpenay, Ronald Chang Yuen, Greer Jackson, Priyanka Shivnauth, Tyrese Richardson, Wonita Yang, Nicholas Ali, Kara & Cecil Abrams, Matthew & Miska Beharry, Vikash Mootoo, Priyanna & Narayan Ramdhani, for their commitment and contribution to the development of the sport locally.
