Team Barbados made history on Thursday evening at the Pan American Under-23 Squash Championships in Bucaramanga, Colombia. Coming in unseeded, Darien Benn and Khamal Cumberbatch took silver in men’s doubles, and Barbados advanced two teams to the 2025 Junior Pan-American Games.
At 7:50 pm Colombian time, Khamal Cumberbatch and Darien Benn served off against the hometown pair of Juan Irisarri and Juan Torres, the top seed. The Bajans were swept 11-5, 11-9 on Court 2 at Club Campestre, ending with silver.
“It was an unbelievable experience,” said Cumberbatch. “I’ve been to a couple of Pan Ams before, and the level is increasing every time. Starting last year, South America had a world number one, which is new to the region, so that just kind of proves how strong it’s been.”
Cumberbatch and Benn were partnering for the first time, and they did so to great effect defeating the second-seeded team from Mexico, and the three seed from Peru, coming from behind twice en route to the final.
“Playing with Darien has been exceptional,” Cumberbatch insisted. “He’s a really solid player, and he proved this week how special he can be. He stuck in there with the older guys, and we came out with a really good result. So I’m very happy with the overall experience.”
“I’m very proud of the performance with me and Khamal,” added Benn. “It was a steady game that we played throughout the whole tournament, and patience was the key word that we used. I know Khamal has the ability and the shots to really put away the ball. I have the fitness to keep it going. So the plan was I keep the ball in play, and whenever he gets the opportunity, he goes for it.”
Benn noted that most of their games went over an hour, demonstrating their determination to stick to the game plan.
Karen Meakins, Barbados’ two-time Masters World Champion, has been providing support and guidance to the team in Colombia. She told Barbados TODAY just how impressed she was with the technical application exhibited by the young Bajans.
“So proud of them. Being unseeded and getting to the final was incredible!” she said. “Even more so considering it was the first time they have played doubles together.
“They worked perfectly together. Khamal is an excellent communicator in doubles. Darien defended solidly as he was the player that was attacked the most but he also played attacking squash when he had the opportunity.”
Craig Archer, president of the Barbados Squash Association, added his congratulations as well. He pointed out that in addition to the silver medal, Barbados was able to qualify two teams for Asuncion 2025, a noteworthy feat in and of itself.
“Both our teams won their first round ties yesterday,” he explained. “Barbados women beat Chile 2-1 and Barbados men beat BVI 2-0 to advance to the last eight (the quarterfinals) this morning and ensure Barbados’ qualification to the Junior Pan-American Games in Ascension, Paraguay in July 2025.” (TF)
