Seven junior titles cap impressive CAREBACO campaign; senior team takes second

Barbados returned an impressive haul at the 2026 CAREBACO Badminton Championships in Jamaica, finishing second in the senior team competition and third in the junior team competition, while the island’s young shuttlers also captured seven titles in the individual events.

The junior contingent provided much of the success during the individual championships, staged in Kingston from August 14 to 18, with Barbados winning across singles, doubles and mixed doubles competition.

Lyam Clarke and Yazmyn Eastmond were among the standout performers.

Clarke captured the Under-11 boys’ singles crown, while Eastmond took gold in the Under-11 girls’ singles. The pair then combined to win the Under-11 mixed doubles title.

Clarke was not finished there. Playing alongside Liam Bruce in the Under-13 boys’ doubles, he added another title as the Barbadian pair finished ahead of Jamaica’s Zamani Allen and Justin Dillon.

Eastmond also stepped up an age group to partner Jasmine Hope to victory in the Under-13 girls’ doubles, giving her three titles from the championships.

Sahara Brathwaite delivered another two gold medals for Barbados. She won the Under-17 girls’ singles ahead of Trinidad and Tobago’s Samiya Karim before teaming up with Xian Trotman to claim the Under-19 girls’ doubles crown.

There were several other podium finishes for the Barbadians.

Bruce finished runner-up in the Under-13 boys’ singles, while Isabelle Wood took second in the Under-15 girls’ singles. Siraj Brathwaite and Zaria Mayers also secured second place in the Under-13 mixed doubles.

Barbados featured prominently among the semi-finalists as well, with Jeremi Wright placing joint third in the Under-13 boys’ singles, Isaiah Hinds doing likewise at Under-17 and Trotman reaching the last four in the Under-19 girls’ singles.

Mayers was also a semi-finalist in the Under-11 girls’ singles, while Hope reached the same stage in the Under-13 girls’ event.

The results followed a strong showing in the team tournaments, where the Barbados seniors secured second place and the juniors finished third.

In the senior individual competition, Arianne Downes and Shania Forde added to Barbados’ medal count by reaching the semi-finals of the women’s doubles and securing a joint third-place finish.

Jamaica occupied both finalist positions in the men’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles, while Tahlia Richardson defeated fellow Jamaican Alexandra Beckford to win the women’s singles title.

Barbados’ senior team had earlier earned a place in the team final after overcoming Trinidad and Tobago 3-2, with Shae Martin and Sabrina Scott winning the mixed doubles, Kennie King taking the men’s singles and King and Martin combining to seal the men’s doubles. They subsequently faced hosts Jamaica for the senior team title.

The performances capped a productive CAREBACO campaign for Barbados, with the senior team’s runners-up finish complemented by a junior contingent that repeatedly found its way onto the podium.

The seven junior individual titles, spread across four age groups from Under-11 to Under-19, also underlined the depth of Barbados’ showing in Kingston.

(BT)