Ja blank P’Rico, lose to USA in badminton tourney
JAMAICA trounced Puerto Rico 5-0 in men’s Thomas Cup, but folded to Mexico and Canada in the Women’s Uber Cup in Lima, Peru, last Thursday.
Both tournaments are used as qualification for next year’s Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico.
World-ranked players Charles Pyne and Gareth Henry led the way for the Dr Kingsley Ford-coached Jamaica who blanked Puerto Rico 5-0 in the Thomas Cup.
Pyne, ranked 165th in the world, polished off Puerto Rican Hector Rios, 21-10, 21-13, while Gareth Henry, ranked at 250th in the world, overpowered Fred Hernandez, 21-18, 21-18.
In the third singles, Garron Palmer made light of Aleandro Roman, 21-13, 21-13, while Anthony McNee and Dennis Coke, as well as Henry and Palmer, won their doubles matches to sweep the Puerto Ricans.
However, yesterday morning, USA defeated Jamaican 3-2, with only Pyne and Henry winning their singles matches,. Jamaica lost the other single and two doubles encounters.
Pyne overpowered American Nicholas Jinadasa, 21-15, 21-19, and Henry survived Arnold Setiada, 21-16, 17-21, 21-17. But Palmer, Pyne and Coke, and Palmer and Henry had no answer for American opponents in the other matches.
Meanwhile in the Uber Cup, Jamaica lost to Mexico 2-3 and 0-5 against Canada to exit the tournament.
Against the Mexicans, Olympian Nigella Saunders defeated Victoria Montero, 22-20, 21-8, and teamed up with Alya Lewis to win one of the two doubles, 11-21, 21-17, 21-18.
Lewis and Carla Grant lost their singles matches, while Grant and Crystal Karjohn lost in the doubles.
However, the Canadians were too strong for the Jamaicans, as was evidenced when world number 128 Joycelyn Ko fought off Saunders, 21-19, 17-21, 21-19, in the first singles in a match that lasted 50 minutes.
But the other Jamaicans failed to put up any resistance.
The men were gearing up for battle with Colombia last night. The Colombians drew blank in both their matches Thursday against the USA and Guatemala.