Bermuda’s squash team of Noah Browne, Micah Franklin and Nick Kyme lost 3-0 to Brazil in their opening pool B match at the Pan American Games yesterday.

The trio’s hopes of a top-eight finish suffered a major setback after losing all nine games against their South American counterparts at the Vedina Sports Complex in the San Luis district.

Browne, the No 1 seed, has been suffering with a stomach issue for the past few days and produced a tired-looking display, losing 11-5, 11-6, 11-7 to Diego Gobbi.

“Noah has been struggling with his stomach, which has had a knock-on effect for what he can eat,” said Kyme, who is also performing the team manager’s duties. “He was disappointed but he has been struggling.”

Franklin also failed to find his form during a 11-6, 11-4, 11-4 defeat to Pedro De Aguiar in the second of three matches. It was Franklin’s fifth match in four days.

“Micah was not happy with how he played,” Kyme added. “It was just one of those days, unfortunately. “He’s disappointed as he was hoping to do something today.”

Kyme, competing at the international level for the first time since the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014, came the closest to pulling off a victory.

The 38-year-old showed touches of real quality and pushed his opponent, Fernandes, all of way, losing a hard-fought match 11-9, 11-9, 12-10.

Kyme, a veteran of five Commonwealth Games, believes he did not quite show enough killer instinct at crucial moments.

“I played all right,” Kyme said. “I haven’t been able to get on court until today, so I was happy. I’m a little gutted I didn’t get at least one game as I had a few game points but that’s the thin line that we are playing to.”

Bermuda, who face Colombia in their second and final pool B match today, are competing in squash for the first time at the Pan Am Games.

Browne, Franklin and Kyme qualified the island for the multi-sport event at the Pan American Squash Championships in Cayman Islands last September, where they had to finish in the top 12. They claimed the final berth with a 2-0 win over the British Virgin Islands.