Royston Alkins

Co-captain of the junior national squash team, Alexander Cheeks, is not at all disappointed that Guyana, for the second year running, finished behind Barbados in the teams category at the just-concluded Caribbean Squash tournament in Jamaica. 

Guyana’s Junior and Senior Table Tennis Players are set for a packed summer where the national racket wielders will participate in the Caribbean Mini and Pre – Cadet Championships and the 60th (senior) Caribbean Championships respectively. 

Alex Arjoon and Mary Fung-A-Fat retained their respective Senior National Squash titles a few days ago and are keen to continue their careers along entirely different paths.  Arjoon, the number one player in the country, is focused on remaining in Guyana to develop his new business venture, which in the recent past has seen him forgo the opportunity of playing at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia.   He has also indicated to Stabroek Sport that he would not be participating in the upcoming Central America and Caribbean Games (CAC) scheduled for Columbia from July 19th to August 3rd. 

President of the Guyana Squash Association (GSA), David Fernandes has expressed his optimism of Guyana recapturing this year’s Junior CASA Championships which serves off this weekend in Jamaica.   Guyana, after 12 years of dominance, from 2005 – 2016, surrendered the 2017 Title to Barbados in Guyana, and ever since the juniors have been working their traps off to once again return to the apex of squash in the region.   Fernandes, in that regard, is banking on a total team effort from the South Americans, merged with what he describes as the ‘depth in this year’s squad’ to deliver the goods. 

A contingent of 87 athletes is set to represent Guyana at the upcoming Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC) in Barranquilla, Colombia from July 19 to August 3, 2018.  It is the largest number of athletes from South America’s only English-speaking country to ever appear at the games and the quest is obviously to collect Guyana’s most significant medal count.   “This is the largest contingent we have ever had attend the CAC Games,” Chef-de-Mission, Dion Nurse told Stabroek Sports during a recent interview.  

Chelsea Edghill, one of Guyana’s highly skilled female table tennis players, has her eyes keenly fixed on qualifying for the next Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. 

Defending champions Alex Arjoon and Mary Fung – A – Fat retained their individual male and female titles when  the Guyana Squash Association (GSA) Banks DIH – Rainforest Waters Senior National Championships concluded at the Georgetown Club Squash Courts, yesterday.  

Action in the 2018 edition of the Guyana Squash Association (GSA) Banks DIH – Rainforest Waters Senior National Championships will conclude today with some exciting finals billed for the Georgetown Club Squash Courts.   The men’s category will see a repeat of last year’s final with Richard Chin and Alex Arjoon expected to present yet another treat for the sport’s followers.   Chin, en route to the final, displayed his superiority and experience over a younger competitor in Nyron Joseph to take the first set 11 – 5.  His reflexes were something to admire and his superior skill level wore out Joseph who surrendered the next set 8-11. 

Action in 2018 edition of the Guyana Squash Association (GSA) Banks DIH – Rainforest Waters Senior National Championships shifted gear last evening as the men’s semi-final places were decided.   The first quarterfinal match of the evening saw last year’s finalist, Richard Chin using his experience and the wall blissfully to put on an exhibition for the small crowd by defeating Robert Fernandes in straight sets.   Chin executed some smartly-placed shots to win the first set 11 – 6 and continued to make Fernandes work with little to show for it as he surrendered the next two sets 6-11,  6-11.

Guyana’s female hockey team began the Barbados Hockey Federation (BHF) 2018 International Women’s Hockey series on a positive note after walking away with a win and a draw on the opening day in Barbados.   The South Americans in their second match of the day edged past powerhouse Trinidad and Tobago 1 – 0.    The win came courtesy of a Marzana Fiedtkou penalty corner conversion which ultimately decided the outcome of the game, as she continued her consistent goal scoring run. 

Defending champion Alex Arjoon, who is the number one seed in the country, began the 2018 edition of the Guyana Squash Association (GSA) Banks DIH – Rainforest Waters Senior National Championships on a winning note by defeating Gianni Carpenter in straight sets at the Georgetown Squash court, last evening.   It was an opening night where the winners, in the male category, made light work of their counterparts, all winning in straight sets.   Arjoon, against that backdrop, took his match with relative ease, winning in straight sets 11 -2, 11 – 6, 11 – 0 to send a stern signal to the other competitors.   Meanwhile, Nyran Joseph who is expected to pose a challenge for this year’s title also had a dominant outing, defeating Joshua Abdool in straight sets.

Guyana’s anchor – woman Marzana Fiedtkou says she is free from any pressure heading into the Barbados Hockey Board (BHF) 2018 International Women’s Hockey Series.    The Series which beings on June 28, will run until July 1 and will see the South Americans playing against the host and powerhouse Trinidad and Tobago.   The 23 – year old told Stabroek Sports that the outing would provide insight into both opponents who they will play against in the upcoming Central American and Caribbean (CAC) games at the end of July, in Colombia.   “No pressure going into the series in Barbados… it’s just a friendly, but obviously, we want to win,” Fiedtkou told Stabroek Sports midway the team’s practice session, late Friday evening at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC).   “We want to feel the turf, and see how we play as a team… they are going to be in our group, so it’s going be nice to play against them before we head into CAC games,” she added.   Fiedtkou is one of the central parts of Guyana’s mid-field and has an acute ability to score goals with relative ease.   In 2017, her goal-scoring prowess captured headline where she was in sensational form for Guyana, which copped her the National Sports Commission (NSC) Senior Sportswoman of the year Award (2017).  She carved out seven goals for Guyana in front of her home crowd at the conclusion of Pan American Indoor Hockey tournament.

It’s FIFA World Cup Football Season and a young Guyanese footballer Jeremy Garett, though not in Russia flying the Golden Arrowhead high, is currently doing so and impressing elsewhere as at the United States Pro Football Club DC United on his current stint there.  Garett, after being invited for a try-out in May, made the cut to join the club’s Under –  23 summer programme and is acquitting himself quite well.   This revelation was made by one of the club’s Under 19 and 23 academy coaches, Nate Kish.   Kish, who was hired by the club to spearhead the 2018 summer programme, says that the 18-year-old Guyanese has the ideal ingredients to make it to the next level.

On October 16, 2017, one of the major headlines in the sports section of the Stabroek News read, `Champs, at last, Essequibo win maiden tournament.’ 

Canadian based Guyanese cricketer Dillon Heyliger is one of the contemporary athletes who are benefactors of a now globalised sporting world.

Guyana’s national female hockey team will suit up for a number of international showdowns from June 28 to July 1 in Barbados when they participate in the Barbados Hockey Federation (BHF) 2018 International Women’s Hockey series. 

Guyana’s senior men’s hockey team is scheduled journey to the Twin Island Republic to match their skills against the Trinidad and Tobago men’s team at the weekend as part of their preparation for the upcoming Central American and Caribbean (CAC) games in Colombia.

Reigning Caribbean Area Squash Association U15 champion, Shomari Wiltshire, retained his Woodpecker Products junior national U15 squash title while also completing the triple by capturing the boys U17 and U19 titles at the Georgetown Club courts yesterday.

Following the conclusion of the Guyana Cricket Board/Hand-in-Hand Insurance inter-country under – 19 tournament, last weekend, only a few players raised their bats or had stellar performances with the ball with the engraving, “select me” to participate in this year’s regional under -19 tournament.

The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) on Friday named Sherwyne Caesar as its male Footballer-of-the-Year for 2017 while Tiandi Smith copped the female Footballer-of-the-Year award.