Urquhart and St Rose Shine at National Badminton Championships

The National Badminton Championships recently concluded at the National Racquet Centre in Tacarigua, showcasing impressive performances from Amara Urquhart and Zion St Rose. Urquhart demonstrated resilience, while St Rose secured a notable victory against a strong competitor.

Urquhart’s Path to the Semifinals

Amara Urquhart, the reigning CAREBACO (Caribbean Regional Badminton Confederation) Under-19 and open champion, advanced to the women’s singles semifinals with a dominant 21-5, 21-2 victory over Leanna Castanada . This followed a challenging first-round match where she narrowly defeated six-time national champion Nekeisha Blake 14-21, 22-20, 21-19.

However, Aliyah Urquhart, Amara’s sister, was defeated in her quest for a semifinal berth, losing to T’Shelle Barnes 21-19, 21-10. Barnes had recently retained her Under-19 title at the National Junior Championships.

Danyelle Barnes, sister of the 2024 CAREBACO Under-17 champion, also faced defeat, falling to Isabelle Waller 21-14, 21-14.

Rising Stars and Competitive Matches

The tournament also highlighted the emergence of young talent. Asia Lee, the 2024 and ’25 CAREBACO Under-13 Triple Crown champion, was defeated 21-16, 25-23 by Tenniya Tobias, the national Under-19 runner-up.

Chequeda De Boulet, a three-time defending national champion, defeated Samiya Karim 21-11, 21-11 in the quarterfinals, having previously won 21-8, 21-15 against Karim in the first round.

St Rose and Marcano Dominate Men’s Quarters

In the men’s quarterfinals, Zion St Rose, the 2019 CAREBACO Under-17 champion, secured a 21-18, 21-14 victory over Travis Sinanan, who had previously defeated second-seeded Vishal Ramsubhag.

Reece Marcano, the top-seeded 2024 champion, advanced with a commanding 21-5, 21-16 win over Liam Persad in the last 16, followed by a decisive 21-8, 21-4 triumph over Jace Smith.

Mikael Joachim also achieved a comfortable victory, defeating Leon Cassie 21-13, 21-8.

Lee’s Unexpected Semifinal Run

Will Lee, despite being unseeded, reached the semifinals without dropping a set. He defeated two-time defending national Under-19 champ Ethan Ramcharan and then CAREBACO open runner-up Vance Juteram 21-12, 22-20, and CAREBACO Under-19 champ Kaveer Ramoutar 21-12, 21-9 respectively.

The semifinals were scheduled to take place after press time, with the champions of singles and doubles to be crowned the following night.