Winners and runners-up of the Bounty Farm Mash Squash Handicap tournament yesterday at the Georgetown Club on centre court with national coach Carl Ince (centre) and Bounty’s Assistant Managing Director David Fernandes (left)
In the battle of athleticism, creativity and youth versus decades of experience and skill, 16-year-old multi-disciplinary athlete Jason Ray Khalil dominated spritely veteran competitor Brendon Mounter to win the Bounty Farm Mash Squash Handicap tournament yesterday at the Georgetown Club.
Khalil defeated Mounter in straight games 15/10, 15/11 to win the main draw of the tournament, while Ben Mekdeci got past squash mom Lydia Fraser in a three-game thriller (15/13, 6/15, 15/10) to win the Category A title.
Khalil, who also helped his school team, Marian Academy, in the semi-final of the Saint Stanislaus Inaugural Basketball Tournament on Saturday, finished the Bounty Farm Handicap without dropping a single game. What made this more impressive was that Khalil received the third most severe handicap in this format of the game, where players receive advantages or disadvantages based on their skill levels. With Mounter ranked at -12 and Khalil rated at -16, the match began at zero to negative-four with Khalil trailing.
The 50-year-old Mounter, who also raced through his side of the bracket, was convinced that he would have won the title if Khalil had only faltered. However, the 2009 Caribbean Over-40 champion and current Middlesex County Over-45 champion in England said that his opponent’s game was impeccable in the final.
Age did not seem to matter in this encounter, as Mounter covered the court easily, showing more agility than some of the junior players. But Khalil’s shot selection was deadly, as he produced a tactically and skillfully superior performance to take Mounter apart in straight games.
Deje Dias (-18) defeated Alan Downes (-2), 15/11, 15/6 to claim third place in the main draw; while Patrick Fraser defeated Gabrielle Fraser 15/11, 16/17 and 17/14 in a fierce family duel for third place in category A. Joshua Abdool defeated Mikhail Carto in three games to win the Plate final of the main draw; while Jonathon De Groot edged Andrew Peroune (12/15, 15/11 and 15/12) for third place in the Plate category A. Debutant Adam Alves, who secured two victiories in the main draw, received the Most Improved Player award.
Comments are closed.