Source: www.trinidadexpress.com
By Shammi Kowlessar
COLIN RAMASRA was absolutely brilliant as he gained sweet revenge over the top two Barbadian players Saturday en route to capturing the Lutchmeesingh Transport Caribbean Invitational Squash Tournament at Petrotrin Staff Club, Pointe-a-Pierre.
The national champion began the day by narrowly losing the opening set of the semi-finals, but roared back to win six straight sets and the first prize of US$1,000.
After Ramasra surrendered the first set 13-11 to Garvin Cumberbatch, the No. 2 seed came back with a vengeance to trounce the third seed 11-4, 11-5, 11-3 and roll in the title match.
Although the first two sets of the final were very competitive, the four-time national champ won them both and then ran away with the third to defeat six-time Barbados national champ Shawn Simpson 13-11, 11-9, 11-4 in about 40 minutes.
Ramasra had beaten Simpson in the final of the Trinidad & Tobago Open last year, but had gone under against the lanky left hander when they last met in team competition in the CAC (Central American and Caribbean) Games in July in Colombia.
The champ has a very good record against Cumberbatch, but lost their most important encounter when he had the virus going into the final of the Caribbean Championships two years ago.
Ramasra began the tournament on Friday night with an 11-7, 11-6, 11-7 victory over qualifier Chayse McQuan, while the top-seeded Simpson, also a national indoor volleyball player, whipped national under-17 champ Mandela Patrick 11-6, 11-6, 11-3 and came back on Saturday morning to halt Jonathan Gallacher 11-9, 11-13, 11-5, 11-9 in the semis.
The fourth-seeded Gallacher, a former British professional who is now the director of squash in Barbados, started by edging former national champ Paul Jerome De Verteuil in five sets (11-9, 4-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-9) and ended by whipping Cumberbatch with surprising ease 11-3, 12-10, 11-5 for third place.
McQuan claimed the plate with an 11-8, 6-11, 11-3, 11-6 triumph over Peter Pirtheesingh.
Ramasra, who became this country's first professional close to three years ago, plans to play his first tour event in more than six months in Denver, Colorado, USA, in two weeks.
The 27-year-old has been off the circuit since his mother passed away in a car accident in June and has slipped to around number 270 in the world from about 150.
Ramasra, who was based in Holland before the accident, plans to be training full-time in the United States from April with the goal of finishing the year in the top 100 in the world.