Caribbean number two Under-19 squash player dies in accident
By Isaiah Chappelle
Guyana Chronicle
January 4, 2004
CARIBBEAN number two Under-19 squash player Gerard Greaves passed away, following an accident on Soesdyke/Linden Highway, Friday morning, throwing the squash fraternity into disbelief.
President of the Guyana Squash Association, Khalil Ali, and members of the executive, along with several junior and senior players, were up at the Linden home of their fallen comrade, yesterday.
“I don’t know what is the ideal comment. Young Gerard was a friendly, polite and a promising gentleman. He is not only a great loss to his family, but a great loss to the association,” Ali declared.
“I don’t think that anybody has come to terms that one of the young brigade has gone. He was one of the individuals to replace the seniors. He had the right temperament for the game. He was very keen to develop himself,” Ali added.
Greaves struck silver in the Boys’ Under-19 singles in the Caribbean Junior Squash Championships hosted by Guyana July 18-26, last year.
He lost to professional player James Stout of Bermuda in the final, having beaten compatriot Ryan Farnum in the semifinals.
After that performance, Greaves was Guyana’s first player in the Under-19 division for the team championship, winning his match as the local boys disposed of the OECS 5-0. He beat Dominique Rivers, dropping just one point 9-0, 9-0, 9-1.
And in the Guyana-Barbados encounter, Greaves dropped just one game, before putting away Steve Miller 9-3, 6-9, 9-4, 9-4 as the locals triumphed 4-1. Guyana had lost in the Under-15 division.
In the championship brochure, the 17-year-old player was described thus: “Gerard is what is known as a ‘text book’ player. He has an excellent temperament and just seems to get the job done. These qualities make him quite capable of upstaging his more seasoned competitors as he makes a strong challenge for the Under-19 title.”
National Men’s champion Shawn Badrinauth trained with the juniors, including Greaves. “He was very disciplined. Always willing to train. He backed down from nothing, always giving a hundred per cent,” Badrinauth said.
Robert Fernandes has been closely involved with all the players, having organised and coordinated several tournaments in his capacity as chairperson of tournament affair in the Guyana Squash Association.
“You could not find a more pleasant chap. He got along with everybody and fitted into teams easily. He made both the junior and senior national teams for the first time, this year. He had the personality to be a good player. For the short time he was involved with the sport, he accomplished so much,” Fernandes said.
The senior player said that despite his youth, Gerard was a role model.
“If you could tell the young players of someone to emulate, it would be him. He was disciplined. He put his all into training. He came from Linden (to Georgetown) to train. He was now coming into his own,” Fernandes said.