President of the Guyana Squash Association (GSA) David Fernandes says he is impressed with the level of squash exhibited by the junior players at the recently concluded Bounty Farm Mash Handicap tournament at the Georgetown club’s squash facility.
Fernandes told Stabroek Sport in an invited comment yesterday that the performances
of the junior players were the highlight of the tournament.
“The quality of squash among our juniors is definitely improving,” Fernandes stated. The recently elected GSA president said that he was particularly impressed by the outstanding play of 13-year-old junior national player Rebecca Low who won Category A and former Caribbean Under-13 champion Benjamin Meckdeci who finished fourth in the Open category. Both Low and Meckdeci will be competing at the Under 15 level this year.
“It’s exciting to see how the juniors are playing right now and I am looking forward to see how they will perform in the next junior tournament,” Fernandes said.
The GSA will follow up the Bounty Farm Mash Handicap tournament with the Toucan Industries Junior Skills Level tournament later this month. Fernandes said he is hoping to see more juniors in competition for that tournament as quite a few juniors were absent from the Bounty Farm Handicap tournament due to academic commitments.
The Bounty Farm Mash Handicap squash tournament was won by 18-year-old Jason Ray Khalil who dominated the tournament despite having the most severe handicap (-20). Apart from Khalil, three of the top four finishers in the main draw are currently juniors. Steven Xavier, who was handicapped at -12, also finished third and he is among the top prospects to represent Guyana at the Caribbean Area Squash Association (CASA) Caribbean Junior Championships which will be held in Trinidad and Tobago from July 21-29.
Guyana has won the last eight consecutive overall team titles at the CASA junior championships and with such a good start, Fernandes was optimistic of Guyana’s chances of going for nine in a row.
“We stand a good chance this year and at this stage they looking good. It just now for them to go through their training and some other tournaments and they should be ready,” Fernandes added.
While the overall participation in the handicap tournament was down this year, Fernandes said that he was pleased with the performances of the juniors. However, Fernandes said that efforts will be made to sensitise the public more about the tournament which has always been open to the public for players of all skill levels. Fernandes also challenged senior and more mature players “not to feel afraid” to showcase their talents against the younger players, as it adds excitement, variety and experience to the tournament.
