Henry shuttles his way into history

Delhi, India:

Badminton's rising star, Gareth Henry, became the first Jamaican in recent history to qualify for the round of 16 at the Commonwealth Games in singles competition, after he got the better of countryman Garron Palmer 2-1 at the Siri Fort Sports Complex yesterday.

Henry is currently in the form of his life and this latest accomplishment is a welcomed complement to his triple medal performance at the recent Central America and Caribbean Games in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.

In Puerto Rico, Henry secured silver medals in the singles and mixed doubles, in addition to a bronze medal in the men's doubles competition, and anything close to that here in Delhi, would certainly be a realisation of years of hard work and ambition.

Yesterday, Henry had to come from behind to turn back the challenge of his compatriot, battling to 21-12, 21-15 triumphs in the second and third sets, respectively, after falling 16-21 in the opener.

The promising pair then teamed up to secure another historical feat for the Jamaican team, earning a walkover against the Mozambique siblings Ibrahimo and Zulficar Mussagy, who did not honour the fixture.

Mixed doubles competition

In other badminton results, Palmer and Alya Lewis lost 2-1 (21-14, 17-21, 17-21) to Zambia's Eli Mambwe and Ogar Siamupangila in the Round of 32, in the mixed doubles competition.

There was also defeat for Charles Pyne and Kashif Bernard in the men's doubles round of 32. They went down to Joe Morgan and James Phillips 2-0 (21-9, 21-12), while Lewis and Kristal Karjohn lost by the same margin (9-21, 4-21) to Australian pair Renuga Vithi and Leanne Choo in women's doubles action.

Pyne, teaming up with Christine Leyow-Mayne, also lost in the mixed doubles category, going down 2-0 (12-21, 14-21) to Liu Goh and Peng Chan.

Henry and Karjohn lost 2-0 (13-21, 8-21) to Indian duo Jwala Gutta and Veetil Valiya in mixed doubles action, while Pyne went down 2-0 (5-21, 12-21) to another Indian, Kashyap Parupalli.

- Andre Lowe