THE Jamaica Badminton Association’s (JBA) top players, siblings Gareth and Geordine Henry, along with junior champion Samuel Ricketts, were scheduled to depart the island yesterday en route to Havana, Cuba, to represent Jamaica at the XV Giradilla International.

Gareth and Geordine are currently the All Jamaica senior singles and mixed doubles champions, while Gareth and Ricketts are

the current men’s doubles champions.

Gareth will be playing all three events (men’s singles, men’s doubles and mixed doubles); Geordine will contest the women’s singles and will join her brother to play the mixed doubles, while Ricketts is also slated to take part in the men’s singles and will partner Gareth in the men’s doubles.

“I am going there with one thing in mind, and that is to win a gold medal. I have been working and training hard because I want to

do well at these Championships,” the local queen, Geordine, told the Jamaica Observer on Monday.

Ricketts said that he was focusing more on the men’s doubles.

“Even though it is at the senior level and I am still a junior and my plan is to go there and give it my all. I want to do well in the doubles with Gareth, as we are a good team. I want to gain as many points as possible to boost my ranking for the Commonwealth Games,” Ricketts said.

After the championships, Gareth and Geordine will then fly directly to Peru, where Gareth will participate in a special high performance training camp for selected players in the region before participating with Geordine in the Peru International.

“I am confident… I had a good tournament so I hope to carry that form with me. I expect to reach the finals in all three events, but the singles will be a little harder, but I will play at my best and hope to reach the final,” Gareth noted.

Ruth Williams and Kathryn Wynter will depart the island on April 7 to join the Henry siblings in Peru.

These championships are a part of the International Pan-Am circuit that has been established to allow the players to improve their level of play, as well as to qualify for the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) games, Pan-Am and the Olympic Games.

The players are sponsored by the Sports Development Foundation and Yonex International.