11 months ago
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THE CURTAIN came down on Saturday night in front of a full house at the 45th All-Jamaica Senior Squash Championships at the Liguanea Club in New Kingston.
The male and female champions battled their opponents in tension filled, nail-biting finals but in the end the number-one seeds Mary Mahfood and Lewis Walters stamped their class with fitness, better ball placement and overall better on-court decisions.
The matchup between Mahfood and number-two seed Mehar Trahan gave the appreciative crowd a lot to cheer for as they went shot-for-shot in a battle to get the upper hand by winning the first game.
Mahfood’s trademark power came to the fore, giving her a 13-11 win in that first set but Trahan never gave up, opening the scoring in the second game and was up 5-4 at one point. She lost that lead but recovered to equalise at 9-9 courtesy of some excellent rallies.
The second game went to Mahfood 12-10. In the third and final game, Trahan changed into a gold shirt but it brought her no luck. Mahfood was in a no-nonsense mood, quickly moving into an 8-1 lead, before ending the set 11-2. The win was Mahfood’s fourth on the trot.
“You know this one feels exciting. I came out here with the mindset of just to have fun and I think that’s exactly what I did. I’m so impressed, as I’ve said previously, by the sport and how many youngsters are out here playing and really putting their best foot forward. There’s so much potential, so this one just felt like I was happy to be here,” said Mahfood.
She praised Trahan for how well she played but was happy that her preparation and constant gym work helped her to be able to outlast all her opponents in the championship. Mahfood lost just one game and won all her matches in straight sets.
Katherine Risden defeated Sanjana Nallapati, 11-7, 11-7, 12-10, to grab third place.
The men’s final between top seed Walters and number-two seed Bruce Burrowes had all the fireworks but less tension as the former seemed to float quietly but as accurately as could be across the court, holding his own in almost all the long rallies. Burrowes, who is known for outrunning opponents, did not seem to have the legs to do so in the final.
He might have been tired from playing a gruelling five-set semifinal.
The men’s final lasted 32 minutes with Walters dominating, 11-6, 11-3, 11-5, for his first All-Jamaica title.
“I played really well today. I think I probably got through my semifinal match a little bit more comfortably than Bruce did. He had a long five-setter, so I think that that played a part in tonight’s match. He was starting to get a feel of the heat and probably the effects of the match last night but yeah overall really happy with the matches I’ve played all week.”
Third place went to Jonathan Walker, who beat Tahjia Lumley 11-6, 9-11, 11-7, 11-8.
President of the Jamaica Squash Association, Karen Anderson, who is a 13-time All-Jamaica winner, was pleased with the quality of this year’s championship. “Squash is on the rebound. We have been on a good trajectory as it relates to the sport itself, the crowd support and the level of play of our players, so we’re very excited for this All-Jamaica championship. It was very exciting.” She also said that the year will be busy with Jamaica hosting the Caribbean championship in November.
The sponsors of this year’s All-Jamaica Junior and Senior Squash Championships were GraceKennedy Capital Management, Boilerco, Binds Designs, and WATA.
English (US) ·