Jamaica 6th as Barbados cop Caribbean Junior Squash Championship

Young players from Barbados pose with their trophy after emerging as overall champions at the 2018 JN General Insurance Caribbean Area Squash Association's Junior Championships. Barbados beat Guyana in the finals of both the boys' and girls' team competitions to claim the coveted regional title for the second-consecutive year. The team received their trophy from Lynford Reece (centre), senior manager, distribution at JN General Insurance, on the final day of the championships, which ran from July 8-14 at the Liguanea Club in New Kingston

Jamaica finished sixth as emerging power Barbados triumphed in an epic showdown with former regional giants Guyana to emerge as overall champions for the second-consecutive year as the JN General Insurance Caribbean Area Squash Association's (CASA) Junior Championships wrapped up on Saturday at the Liguanea Club in New Kingston.

Having upset perennial winners Guyana last year on Guyana's home ground, Barbados came to the competition to prove that 2017 was not a fluke. With three age-group champions in the line-up, the girls' team was dominant, delivering a convincing 4-1 beating to Guyana.

Under-17 champion Meagan Best dismissed Madison Fernandes 11-2, 11-1, 11-0; Under-19 champion Amanda Haywood trounced Rebecca Low 11-3, 11-2, 11-4, Jada Smith-Padmore beat Kirsten Gomes 11-7, 5-11, 11-6, 11-2 and Under-15 champion Sumiraa Suleman prevailed 9-11, 11-7, 11-5, 10-12, 11-8 in a gripping five-game battle against Abosaide Cadogan.

However, Rebekah Nichols' 5-11, 8-11, 11-8, 2-11 loss to Georgiana Fernandes meant that the boys' team final would decide the overall winner. Predictably, Caribbean Under-17 champion Khamal Cumberbatch and Under-19 champion Josiah Griffith delivered wins for Barbados with the former beating Rithew Saywack 11-3, 11-3, 11-6 and the latter taking down Alexander Cheeks 11-2, 11-3, 11-8.

Then Chemar Burnham lost 7-11, 5-11, 5-11 to Daniel Islam and that put Barbados' fate squarely in the hands of young Aidan Parris, who faced off with Michael Alphonso, who had beaten him to in the finals to take the Under-13 title. On this occasion Parris exacted revenge, keeping his head amidst the deafening cheers from rival supporters to post a 7-11, 14-12, 11-8, 11-7 win and make it two in a row for Barbados.

In their final match-up of the team competition, the Jamaican girls rallied to end a challenging week with a win over Bermuda. All Jamaica Under-17 girls' champion Mia Mahfood put Jamaica in the lead when she held off Charlotte Toogood 11-8, 11-8, 11-6, and then Mira Handa followed on with an 11-8, 11-8, 11-6 win over Hailey Moss.

Bermuda pulled one back when Mia Lake lost 6-11, 4-11, 9-11 to Abigail Brewer and then Jamaica fielded new regional Under-13 girls' champion Savannah Thomson and that settled the matter. Thomson beat Celia Robinson 11-2, 11-3, 11-2 to take the win for Jamaica and the girls finished fifth overall.