TRINIDAD and Tobago’s coach Solangel Guzman and Barbados’ coach Shakeria Waithe have expressed satisfaction with their teams’ performances at the 2014 staging of Sports Development Foundation (SDF)/National Commercial Bank (NCB)/Caribbean Regional Badminton Confederation (CAREBACO) Championships.

The Championships were held at the Alfred Sangster Auditorium at the University of Technology (UTech) Papine Campus from August 7-15.

Guzman said that the tournament had been a successful one for them.

“It was a successful tournament for us and I am happy with the way that the T&T team played. They showed team spirit and the willingness to fight and that tells a lot about our commitment to the game of badminton,” she said.

“Last year we won 11 medals and this year we got 26 medals, including four golds and that is a great accomplishment by the team, as we are working hard in developing the sport of badminton in our country,” added Guzman, who is also the technical director of T&T’s Badminton Association.

Guzman, who is also a senior player, won gold in the Open women’s singles defeating Barbados’ Tamisha Williams 21-4, 21-11.

“It was a good match, the best match that I played in the tournament. As the number-one seeded player I knew that they were going to come hard at me but I came to the tournament well prepared and eventually I came out successful,” Guzman told the Jamaica Observer.

Guzman also teamed up with Nekeisha Blake to capture bronze in the Open women’s doubles.

Meanwhile, Waithe said that she was proud of her team as they displayed determination.

“This is our last major championship for the year and the team showed courage and fighting spirit. It turned out to be good for us as we moved from 19 medals to over 30 this year, as we won gold in the Open women’s doubles and young Amanda Haywood won gold in the Under-15 girls’ singles,” said Waithe.

The next CAREBACO Championships will be held in Suriname next year.