分类： sports

As the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games entered another full day of competition in the Dominican Republic on Wednesday, Barbadian athletes delivered a mixed bag of results across multiple disciplines, with one standout qualifying performance highlighting a day of mixed fortunes for the Caribbean nation’s delegation.

The highlight of Wednesday’s action came from the athletics track, where rising Barbadian sprinter Kelia Bentham secured her place in the women’s 200m final after posting a new season-best time in her semifinal heat. Competing in the second of three semifinal rounds, Bentham crossed the finish line in second position with a time of 23.20 seconds, a personal seasonal best that earned her a spot in the sport’s marquee final round.

Bentham’s breakthrough was countered by early exits for two other Barbadian sprinters in the men’s 200m semifinal stage. Aragorn Straker clocked 21.22 seconds to finish sixth in his second semifinal heat, falling short of the time needed to advance. In the third men’s 200m semifinal, Kuron Griffith posted a 20.67-second run to take fourth place, also missing out on qualification for the final.

Beyond sprinting events, Barbadian shooters competing in multiple women’s shooting qualification rounds also posted solid but non-qualifying results. In the women’s 25m pistol qualification, Tesonna Alleyne finished 14th in the precision segment and moved up to ninth in the rapid fire segment, not enough to advance to the final round. For the women’s 10m air rifle qualification, three Barbadian shooters took home mid-to-back rankings: Brodella Ramchere placed 14th, Camara Williams 20th, and Calleah Walcott 21st respectively.

In racket sports, Barbadian competitors faced tough losses across draw matches on Tuesday and Wednesday. Men’s singles table tennis athlete Tre Riley was knocked out in the round of 32 by Venezuela’s Raymundo Medina, who secured a straight-set victory with scores of 11-7, 11-6, 11-9, 11-6. On the squash court, two Barbadian pairs fell to Guatemalan opponents in Tuesday evening matches: the men’s doubles duo of Khamal Cumberbatch and Darien Benn lost 11-6, 11-1 to Josue Enriquez and Alejandro Enriquez, while the mixed doubles pair of Amanda Haywood and Darien Benn fell 11-7, 11-2, 11-2 to Guatemala’s Jose Toscano and Winifer Bonilla.

In team sports action on Tuesday, Barbados’ national netball team suffered a 61-39 defeat at the hands of Trinidad and Tobago, marking the team’s second match of the tournament after an opening round 56-25 win over Bermuda. Other English-speaking Caribbean teams found more success in the same round: St. Lucia earned a 49-22 win over host nation Dominican Republic, while Jamaica recorded a dominant 79-19 victory over Bermuda.

In other athletics action, skateboarder Tarryn Alleyne secured a spot in Wednesday’s men’s street skateboarding final after finishing sixth out of 10 competitors in the preliminary round. For the 400m semifinal rounds held Tuesday evening, two Barbadian athletes failed to advance to the final: Desean Boyce finished sixth in the third men’s 400m semifinal with a time of 52.35 seconds, while Asia Foster took fourth in the second women’s 400m semifinal in 53.32 seconds, both falling short of the required rankings to move forward.

After eight straight defeats on the road in Test cricket, Pakistan finally snapped that dreadful losing run on Wednesday, securing a comfortable victory over the West Indies on the penultimate day of the second Test at Queen’s Park Oval.

Resuming the day at 103 for six, already on the brink of an innings collapse, the West Indies batting order could not withstand the pressure from Pakistan’s spin attack, and was eventually bowled out for 117 all out in 46.1 overs. Left-arm spinner Ali Usman led the final push to dismantle the home side’s tail, claiming two of the three remaining wickets to fall.

It took Usman just two overs to claim his first wicket of the day, with Kemar Roach playing a wild slog sweep that completely missed the ball, leaving him bowled for a duck without adding a single run to the West Indies’ overnight total. Next to fall was Justin Greaves, who was already carrying an injury through his innings. After battling for 32 balls to score just three runs, Greaves attempted a pull shot through the onside against fast bowler Mohammad Ali, only to inside-edge the delivery onto his middle stump, leaving the Windies at 115 for eight.

Aggressive all-rounder Shamar Joseph put on a brief show for the small but enthusiastic local crowd, hammering two consecutive boundaries from Usman through the onside. But his cameo did not last long: when he tried to repeat the shot in Usman’s next over, wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan completed the catch to end the West Indies innings. Brandon King was unable to bat for the tail, having suffered an injury while fielding on the previous day. Off-spinner Sajid Khan, who had done the bulk of the damage to the Windies batting line-up on Tuesday evening, finished with match figures of 4 for 32, while Usman ended with 4 wickets for 39 runs.

Chasing just 75 runs to seal victory and level the two-match series at 1-1, Pakistan encountered only minor resistance from the West Indies bowling attack, even losing two early wickets in the chase. Fast bowler Jayden Seales worked over Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq with a string of testing deliveries, eventually drawing an uncertain prod that edged to Greaves in the slip cordon, with Pakistan at 15 for one. Joseph then claimed a second opener, bowling Azan Awais for 18 when the batsman attempted a cut through the onside and inside-edged the ball onto his stumps, pushing the score to 42 for two.

However, Player of the Match Abdullah Shafique and captain Babar Azam combined for an unbroken third-wicket partnership of 35 runs, just as they had done earlier in the match, to steer Pakistan safely to victory without further loss. After surviving a tense close leg before wicket appeal, Azam finished the match in spectacular fashion, hitting left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican for back-to-back sixes over long-on and cover. Azam ended unbeaten on 24 runs from 30 deliveries, while Shafique finished with an unbeaten 24 from 51 balls.

In post-match honors, Justin Greaves was named Player of the Series for the second consecutive Test series, sharing the award with Pakistan captain Babar Azam.

In a recent matchup of the Barbados Football Association’s Kotex Women’s League at the Wildey Technical Centre, RF Prime claimed a solid 2-0 victory over Technique, but head coach Kirk Corbin is not letting his side get complacent. He is pushing the squad to lock in consistent performance as the season progresses.

The two goals that sealed RF Prime’s win came on either side of halftime, with Kerisha Catlyn breaking the scoreless deadlock just one minute before the break in the 44th minute, and junior talent Jamilah Neblett-Phillips extending the lead just two minutes into the second half.

While Corbin acknowledged he is satisfied with the three points, he emphasized that head-to-head fixtures between RF Prime and Technique have historically been tightly fought contests. The two squads have delivered very close results over the years, with players on both sides falling into a similar age bracket that leaves the teams closely matched physically. According to Corbin, matches between the two sides ultimately come down to mental preparation and the ability to capitalize on critical match moments, factors that ultimately separate the two competitors when they face off.

Corbin also took time to highlight the contributions of his two goalscorers, noting that both are foundational pieces of his RF Prime squad. He described Catlyn as one of the team’s young veterans: currently in her early twenties, she already boasts extensive experience with the national team, and the squad consistently looks to her to deliver game-changing moments. Her goal against Technique marks another milestone in her recovery from a recent injury, as she works her way back to full match fitness and form. For Neblett-Phillips, Corbin pointed out that the young junior national team player, who is currently entering her third year of secondary education, has now notched two goals for the current Kotex League season – a statistic that he says reflects the strength of the development work happening at RF Prime’s academy.

Looking back at the first half of the current season, Corbin admitted that his preparation and squad rotation have been disrupted by persistent injury issues and frequent player unavailability. Academic commitments have also kept several players off the pitch, with many squad members wrapping up final exams and graduation ceremonies in recent weeks. Corbin is optimistic that the upcoming school vacation period will let the squad regroup, saying that the priority over the coming weeks is to get all players back together, support injured athletes through full recovery, and build momentum for a strong second half of the campaign.

Beyond the ongoing Kotex Women’s League, Corbin has expressed enthusiastic support for a major new addition to Barbados’ women’s football calendar: the inaugural Prime Minister’s Cup, set to kick off its first season in the final quarter of the year, with a $100,000 grand prize awarded to the tournament champions. Corbin says female players across the country will welcome both the additional competitive opportunities and the significant cash reward on offer, noting that local female footballers have long voiced frustration over a lack of consistent playing time. With back-to-back tournaments now scheduled through the year, Corbin argues that teams have no excuse not to deliver a high-quality competitive product that will draw spectators to matches. For the first edition of the Prime Minister’s Cup, Corbin says the primary goal is to test the new tournament structure, identify areas for improvement, and build a framework for future iterations. Ultimately, Corbin says, women’s football in Barbados needs to evolve into a consistent, compelling product that makes audiences willing to invest their time and money in the sport long-term.

League action will return to the BFA Technical Centre this coming Saturday, with two upcoming fixtures on the schedule: RF Prime will face off against Whitehall, while Technique will take on Mavericks.