Multiple national champion Kerwyn Pantin will lead T&T's senior team as captain when they participate at the annual Caribbean Regional Badminton Confederation (Carebaco) Championships, which is scheduled to start with the team events from Thursday, in Kingston, Jamaica.
Pantin leads a number of top local senior players into the competition including Alistair Espinoza, Keston Friday, Anil Seepaul, Nekeisha Blake, Jade Joseph and Avril Plaza-Marcelle. They will be led by player/coach Solangel Guzman and Daron Dasent. According to president of the T&T Badminton Association, Derwin Renales, the competition will be used as a performance gauge for other upcoming important competitions on the Pan American Badminton Calendar.
The youth team, meanwhile, will be headed by up and coming junior stars in Naim Mohammed, Will Lee, Sheraz Nabbie, Adrian Nicholson, Kristi Reno-Singh, Jada Renales, Brittney Mohammed, Ralitsa Wong and several others.
The tournament will be held in two parts, starting with the four-day-long team events, followed by the individual competitions, which will conclude on August 15.
Some of the other countries participating for honours include the host country Jamaica, Barbados and Guyana.
The T&T team, which participated in the same event last year left with 11 medals and coaches have anticipated greater success from the highly rated T&T contingent as most players have shown significant improvement in their confidence and skills.
Last year the Trinidad and Tobago contingent copped eleven (11) medals and the coaches anticipate that this year the team should exceed that as the players are much stronger and much more confident in their abilities.
The first group of team members will leave for Jamaica on Tuesday.
Squads
Junior
Boys
Under-11: Travis Sinanan, Reece Marcano
Under-13: Vance Juteran, Zion St Rose, Alkalif Blake, Stephon Butcher
Under-15: Brandon Khillawan, Ihsaan Furlonge, Michael Constantine, Zane Juman
Under-17: Jerome Charles, Renaldo Sinanan, Joshua Smith, Aleem Ali
Under-19: Naim Mohammed, Will Lee, Sheraz Nabbie, Adrian Nicholson
Girls
Under-13: Waynetta Thomas
Under-15: Ananda Ramsingh
Under-17: Jada Renales, Britney Mohammed, Ralitsa Wong
Under-19: Kristi Reno-Singh
Senior
Men
Kerwyn Pantin, Anil Seepaul, Keston Friday, Alistair Espinoza
Women
Jade Joseph, Avril Marcelle, Nekeisha Blake, Solangel Guzman (player/coach)
Technical Staff
Derwin Renales (junior team head coach, assistant manager), Daron Dasent (senior team head coach), Wendell Labastide (manager), Leon Williams (physiotherapist).