oct.12.2008

Day 1 of the III Commonwealth Youth Games saw play in only the sport of tennis, with no action for the T&T team. All three T&T athletes are seeded in the singles tournament, and therefore were awarded byes in round one of these events.

Round 2 of the female singles events start off on Monday 13th with Trini Carlista Mohammed (seeded at #11) playing against Matola of the Maldives .

Team flag bearer Olivia Bennett (seeded number 14) faces her first opponent Brown of the Cook Islands the same morning.

Their male counterpart Lendl Smith is seeded at 15 of the boys singles and starts play in round 2 of his event against M. Charmicael of Mozambique . Smith’s first match will be on Tuesday.

Boxer Bryan George is in the ring tomorrow morning fighting an Australian as his first opponent in the 64kg weight category. George was the first of the T&T athletes to arrive in India , along with his team manager Deopersad Ramoutar. They have since been joined by boxing coach Vicente Martinez.

Action on the Badminton court starts tomorrow afternoon. Alistair Espinoza goes straight into round 2 against Scotsman van Rietvelde. His team mate Keston Friday also commences competition in round 2 against the winner of an earlier match. Deron Seepaul joins the competition later this week, partnering with Friday in the doubles event.

At the Table Tennis arena, T&T athletes face two competitors each in the singles events. Kyle Borneo plays Dodd (GGY) and Ugandian Sekyanzi. Female player Ashley Quashie competes against Stevenson of Australia and Hunt of the Cook Islands . Avernelle Abraham vies against Tommy of Vanuatu and Hsein of Canada.

Swimmers Cherelle Thompson, Caryle Blondell, Cadell Lyons and Joshua McLeod continue their twice a day training regime under the guidance of coach Shawn Pouchet. The swim competition starts on Wednesday – day 4 of the Games.