Wilson mines gold

Jermaine Lannaman, Gleaner Writer

Jamaica's Shane Wilson yesterday overcame a spirited challenge from Canada's Desmond Wang to claim gold in the boys' Under-13 division of the Ocean Spray Wata XX Pan Am Junior Championships, which came to a riveting climax at the National Indoor Sports Centre yesterday.

Wilson, who, heading into the final day represented Jamaica's first and final hope of a gold medal at the 16-country eight-day championship, defeated Wang in three sets 21-9, 14-21, and 21-18.

In a thrilling affair, the player, backed by cheering, whistle-blowing hometown supporters, took the first set after making good use of his serve, much to the dismay of Wang, who, cheered on by his countrymen, could not find a remedy to Wilson's determination.

In the second set, Wang, serving with precision, utilised his fitness to more effect and, making a fight of every shot, silenced the home crowd by claiming the set and levelling proceedings at one set apiece.

This set up an intriguing third set, with both players exchanging fanciful shots and scoring at a neck-and-neck pace, much to the enjoyment of the crowd.

But showing a greater level of composure, Wilson, who is a student of DeCarteret College, showed resilience before taking the third and final set 21-18.

"It feels good to be a champion," said a smiling Wilson, who, off the court, was the centre of attention for Jamaica throughout most of yesterday.

"It was a pretty challenging matchup, as he was really fit and kept reaching for every shot.

"But I knew I had it in me to win, so I decided to change my game somewhat with more attacking shots, and more movements around the court and in the end, it paid off."

Wilson, a silver medallist at the last staging of the championships, in winning, moved Jamaica's medal tally to six - one gold and five bronze.

Bronze winners

The bronze medallists were Shawn Wilson (Boys' Under-15, Singles), Samuel Ricketts (Boys' Under-17, Singles), Alana Bailey (Girls' Under-13, Singles), Emily Reynolds and Shanon Morgan (Girls' Under-11, Doubles).

"It was a fairly decent cham-pionship, albeit we would have preferred more medals and medals of better colours," said Jamaica's coach Howard Ranger.

"It provided over 70 players with international experience, and the hope is that they all would have learnt something and, over time, will become better players and in the end make Jamaica proud."

Meanwhile, president of the Jamaica Badminton Association, Vishu Tolan, expressed delight at the overall running of cham-pionships, as it showed that Jamaica is more than capable of hosting international tournaments.

"The general consensus from the Pan Am board and the participating countries is that it was a well-run championship, and that Jamaica in the future should bid for other international events," said Tolan.

"It provided an opportunity for the profile of badminton to rise, and more officials to become internationally certified."

The next Pan Am Junior championship will be held in Canada.