Badrinauth second, DaSilva third in Bermuda open squash
By Michael DaSilva
Stabroek News
March 24, 2004
Local squash players Shawn Badrinauth and Damien DaSilva placed second and third respectively in the just- concluded Bermuda Open Squash Tournament.
Badrinauth, the national men's champion, lost to Bermudian James Stoute by a 2-3 margin in the Grade `A' final, while DaSilva, the Junior Caribbean under-17 champion, occupied the third spot with a 3-1 victory over Javed Alli in the third place play-off. Alli is a Guyanese who resides and works in Bermuda.
Badrinauth defeated Alli 15/11, 15/8, 15/8 to qualify for the final against Stoute who plays professionally in Europe. In the final, Badrinauth went down 15/13, 11/15, 15/5, 10/15, 13/15.
Badrinauth had earlier disposed of Bermuda's Steve Miller 15/7, 17/15, 15/1 to qualify for the semi-finals.
DaSilva, on the other hand, beat Bermudian Anthony White 15/8, 15/10, 15/12 in a quarter final, but lost 3-15, 9/15, 6/15 to the eventual winner, Stout, in the semi-final. In the third place play-off, DaSilva defeated Alli 15/2, 8/15, 15/12, 15/3.
Badrinauth said when he played Stoute in the final, the latter outplayed him. "His shots were really tight, but I was getting to them, and I managed to keep up with him, but in the end the better player won."
According to Badrinauth, DaSilva played well against Stout but was outclassed. However, Alli could not have kept up with DaSilva.
Badrinauth told Stabroek Sport the tournament was a very challenging one for himself and DaSilva and they both benefited from the experience. They were privileged to meet and hold discussions with some of the world's leading players who compete in the Professional Squash Association's (PSA) Leagues. These included England's Peter Nicol and Nick Matthew; Australia's David Palmer; Scotland's Thierry Lincou and Lee Beachell. The five were among a number of professional players who contested the professional category of the Bermuda Open. Beachell defeated number six seed Palmer to win the title.
Number one seed Lincou lost to Matthew in a first-round fixture, while number two seed Nicol lost to Palmer in the quarter-final round.
Badrinauth said the entire trip was a learning experience which he thinks will benefit not only himself and DaSilva, but squash in Guyana as a whole.
He expressed thanks to Andrew Arjoon, Lloyd Fung-a-Fatt, the Williams family, Billy Fung-a-Fatt, Philip Fernandes, David Fernandes, S.A. Nabi and Sons, Everest Cricket Club, Spads Inc, Beverley Harper, Anil Beharry, DaSilva's Optical and Joe Mekdeci for making his participation in the tournament a reality.