Priyanna Ramdhani is Broncos Female Rookie of the Year ‘It felt great to achieve a major award for my college’ says Priyanna
Sean Devers, May 02, 2020 , Source - Kaieteur News Online, https://www.kaieteurnewsonline...llege-says-priyanna/
Eighteen-year-old Badminton player, Guyanese Priyanna Ramdhani was this week selected as Broncos Female Rookie of the Year.
Priyanna in action in the ACAC Individual Championships 2020 Edmonton Alberta Canada.
Hailing from Peter’s Hall, East Bank Demerara, Ramdhani maintained third place finishes all year long in women’s singles.
“I am happy to win Rookie of the year for Badminton and for my college.
As a first year student, it felt great to achieve a major award for my college and I was excited to be known around the school. My first year at Olds College was challenging and I knew the competition would be tough so I trained harder for it,” Priyanna informed.
She said she achieved bronze throughout the college tournament before taking a silver medal in the provincials which allowed her to participate in Nationals.
“At Nationals, I represented my college and the competition was even more tough, but I pulled through with fourth place after a hard battle throughout the tournament. I will train even harder and I hope that I get a better result next year,” the Guyanese teenager added.
Priyanna placed second at the ACAC championships earning her a silver medal in singles. She also partnered with Layce Donaldson to secure a bronze medal in women’s doubles.
Ramdhani led the team stretches all year, organized the team on group chat, and supported every player on the team.
She is extremely positive and her energy spreads throughout the team. Fantastic results for a first-year player, who represented the Broncos with a fourth place at CCAA nationals in Toronto, ON.
Priyanna, who represents Yonex in Guyana, reiterated that the COVID-19 restrictions has made a big impact on her training schedule.
“I usually train five times a week: three times a week on court and twice a week at the gym for strength training.
In order to keep up this training schedule, I would have to be outside of my house to attend practice, which will have way more benefit for enhancing my Badminton skills,” noted Priyanna.
In the 1980s Guyana produced outstanding players at the Junior Caribbean level but the Seniors never won any Caribbean Open tournament.
The only open title Guyana won back then was the Curacao International.
However, Priyanna and her 20-year-old brother Narayan is now taking Guyana’s Badminton to greater heights; winning in both junior and senior levels.
President of the Guyana Badminton Association Gokorn Ramdhani said he was proud of Priyanna’s most recent achievement.
“We have now moved out of the Caribbean to Pan Am, South American, International Tournaments and Games like CAC and Commonwealth,” Ramdhani added.
He said his dream for Badminton is for Guyana to qualify for the Olympics and the Ramdhani siblings are his best bet of achieving that accolade. (Sean Devers)