Meet the Junior National Badminton Champions

Our guests are going into 2022 having cemented themselves as the best junior players in Jamaica and the top prospects for Jamaica for Regional Junior Championships. Rihanna Rust, Triple Crown and member of Jamaica Junior Badminton Champion, and Nathaniel Finzi, member of Jamaica Junior Badminton Champion:

Rihanna Rust: won the triple crown in both the under 17 and under 19 age groups at the All Jamaica Junior championships held at the GC Foster College. She also placed second in the senior women doubles event. Triple crown means that she won singles, girls’ doubles, and mixed doubles. Arguably, Rihanna can be considered the top performer of the tournament. The former Caribbean under 13 champion, Rihanna is now the top junior girl in the country. In one of the most nail-biting performances, she saved 7 match points in the 2nd set of the under 19 singles final to push the game to a 3rd set and win decisively. She Under 17 performance was flawless as she cruised through the competition without dropping a set. She paired with Nathaniel Finzi in the under 17 mixed doubles to tie down the triple crown alongside him.

Nathaniel Finzi – Finzi has not been playing the sport for a very long time but has proven to display extreme tenacity and grit to become one of the prodigies for Badminton in Jamaica. In the Under 19 division, he made it to the singles final but lost to US-based Zane Reid. The following weekend Saw him defeating Mcbean in the under 17 boys final in a close 3 setter in one of the most outstanding matches of the tournament. Nathaniel then cruised through his doubles final on his way to securing the triple crown with Rihanna in the Mixed doubles. 

Going into 2022, both players have cemented themselves as the best junior players in Jamaica and the top prospects for Jamaica for regional junior championships. They are both members of the rusty rust badminton club, coached by Andy Rust. Notably, Andy Rust is the father of Rihanna.

Watch the full interview for more details: