Ashley and Jason Khalil for junior squash championships in Canada

For both of them this will be their second time at the Championships, having attended it together for the first time in 2007.

Ashley, who is also slated to participate in the Women’s World Junior Championships (WWJC) next year, said she hopes to do well but admits that she is uncertain of how far she’ll get. Ashley said this tournament is part of her preparation for the WWJC next year.

Ashley Khalil

“I hopefully expect to do pretty well,” she said. “I’ve been to other ones and I guess it’ll be the luck of the draw to see how far I get. I learn a little more from every tournament, so that we can try to improve on my weaknesses.”

This tournament follows Ashley’s participation in the Commonwealth Games, held in October in India. The former Caribbean under-15 champion had participated in the Games alongside Guyana’s top squash player Nicolette Fernandes, and while she was not able to go far she had said that the experience gained was invaluable.

In 2007 at the Canadian Junior Championships, Jason had made it to the third round before he was knocked out of the competition. Speaking with this publication yesterday, Jason said it was a great learning experience then and this time around he is hoping that he can do much better.

“In 2007 I got knocked out in the third round, but it was a good learning experience,” Jason said. “It made me wiser and helped me to understand the game more. This time I hope to learn once again but I hope to do much better this year. I’ve been training really hard and I’m hoping to do well.”

They will arrive a few days before the championships and the pair hope to do some winding down training in Canada before their participation begins. They will be travelling to the tournament with their parents.