Ramsubhag pleased with Junior Carebaco medal return

T&T Badminton Association (TTBA) president, Chandrika Ramsubhag, was full of praise for the T&T players who recently returned home with a bulging bag of medals at the conclusion of the Caribbean Regional Badminton Confederation (CAREBACO) Junior Championships in Barbados.

Led by Kaveer Ramoutar and Amara Urquhart, who were crowned Under-19 Boys’ and Girls’ Singles champions, the T&T contingent secured 13 titles along with eight silver and 14 bronze medals for a total haul of 35 medals.

Commenting on the national junior team’s performance, Ramsubhag said the players did extremely well.

“This is three years in a row we have excelled at this level in the CAREBACO with 13 gold medals out of 25 at stake,” said Ramsubhag.

The TTBA boss added, “I want to congratulate all our athletes who represented us in Barbados and special congratulations to Asia Lee Waller, who completed the treble in her age-group for the second successive year.”

Waller won the Girls’ Under-13 Singles, whipping Suriname’s Cheyenne Ramlal 21-8, 21-11 in the decider before she paired with Under-13 Boys’ Singles champion Liam Rajkumar to outclass Suriname’s Jeremi Fraser and Ramlal in the Mixed Under-13 Doubles final 21-13, 21-12. Waller also combined with Kaia Jan to lift the Girls’ Doubles crown courtesy their win over Ramlal and Miley Schmeltz 19-21, 21-16, 21-19.

It represented a successful transition for Waller, who in 2023 won bronze in the Under-11 Girls’ Singles and double gold in the Mixed and Girls’ Doubles.

Turning his attention to the Boys’ Under-19 age group, Ramsubhag said, “We also captured the (Under-19) singles titles for a third straight year with Kaveer Ramoutar capturing the crown this time around, and this is a category which was previously dominated by Jamaica.”

Ramsubhag was also full of praise for the contribution of Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Phillip Watts.

“Minister Watts is new in his role, but he has already demonstrated his commitment to the sport of badminton, and he even visited the players while they were training at the National Cycling Center in Balmain, Couva, prior to their departure for Barbados.”

“The Minister had a one-on-one chat with some of the players and even asked for their input and ideas on how he can help improve what the government can do for the sport. Minister Watts also reached out to us today (Thursday) and invited the players to meet him at the National Cycling Velodrome in Couva, which further demonstrates his commitment to working with the children and promoting sport and youth.”

Looking ahead, Ramsubhag noted that the TTBA will host the CAREBACO Senior Championship from November 1 to 4, and several countries have already expressed their intention to participate.

“At the CAREBACO Junior Championships, I got commitment from Jamaica, Barbados, Suriname, and Guadeloupe for the competition, and they have also expressed their intention to stay on for a further week in T&T to compete in the T&T Open International Badminton Tournament from November 5-9.”

Regarding having more access to the National Racquet Center (NRC) for training, Ramsubhag said his association has seen some improvement.

He explained, “Usually when the NRC is not available to us due to the hosting of other events in the other sports there is no other option, but this year Minister Watts made the National Cycling Velodrome inner area available to us before heading off to CAREBACO, so we are seeing some positive changes in the availability of venues, but in the end it doesn’t help if the sport doesn’t have its own home. Then, we can train 24/7 and have a proper programme and house our athletes and work on all components of their game, whether it be physical, mental, and tactical, as well as their nutritional habits.”

Ramsubhag noted that his association still has the services of their India-born England-based coach Parth Mehta, who will be working with the senior team players for the CAREBACO Championship and Open International competitions.

“The last couple of months, we were focused on the juniors, and we have seen the results. We are now hoping the programme for the seniors can be just as effective,” said Ramsubhag.

T&T Junior CAREBACO 2025 medal haul

GS: Girls Singles

BS: Boys Singles

XD: Mixed Doubles

GD: Girls Doubles

BD: Boys Doubles

Total Medals (pairs counted as one):

Gold: 13

Silver: 8

Bronze: 14

Triple-Crowned Champion: Asia Lee Waller (Girls Under-13): GS, MD, GD

Under-11 medallists

Michael Balvin: gold XD, silver BS, bronze BD

Devonnye Vincent: gold XD, silver GS, silver GD

Aryan Bhagoutie: silver XD, bronze BD

Kenaiya Gangoo: silver XD, silver GD

Under-13 medalists

Liam Rajkumar: gold BS, gold XD, silver BD

Asia Lee Waller: gold GS, gold XD, gold GD

Kaia Jan: gold GD

Avari Wells: silver BD

Lillian Gordon: bronze GD

Mia Smith: bronze GD

Zidan Hosein: bronze BD

Nayan Nowbut: bronze BD

Under-15 medalists:

Liam Persad: gold BS, silver XD, bronze BD

Chijioke Kalu: gold XD, gold BD, silver BS

Rishelle Boodoosingh: silver XD, bronze GD, silver XD

Serenity Tinto: bronze GD

Azaria Gaskil: gold XD, bronze GD

Tanvi Orie: bronze GD

Devan Durga: bronze BD

Naveer Salick: bronze BD

Under-17 medalists:

Ethan Ramcharan: bronze BS, bronze BD

Nicholi Jeboodsingh: bronze XD, bronze BD

Aliyah Urquhart: bronze XD

Samiya Karim: gold GD

Tenniya Tobias: gold GD

Under-19 medalists:

Kaveer Ramoutar: gold BS, bronze XD, bronze BD

Amara Urquhart: gold GS, silver GD

Jace Smith: gold XD, gold BD

T’Shelle Barnes: gold XD, bronze GD

Dante Homer: gold BD, bronze BS

Isabelle Waller: bronze GS, bronze XD, bronze GD

Jonathan Julien: bronze BD

Cheyanne Bhola: silver GD