12 hours ago
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JAMAICA ENDED the recently concluded Junior CASA Championship in the Cayman Islands with a fourth-place finish and four medals, including one gold, one silver, and two bronze, and Squash Jamaica President Karen Anderson and Captain Sanjana Nallapati thought the team performed better than expected.
In the team competitions, the girls finished in fourth position while the boys ended eighth. But Anderson said they competed well despite the limited experience of the group.
“It was a challenging team competition. We thought our players were a little inexperienced going in. We had a young team, especially on the boys’ side. Ee didn’t have any under- 19 boys and we had some under-17 boys playing under-19. We didn’t have anybody at under-11 girls and under-11 boys. It was a bit of a challenge for some of our players. But despite all that, I think the team fought their hardest. They did the best they could,” she said.
“We are proud of how they handled and acquitted themselves. I hope this experience will fuel them to work to get better, to compete against the other teams. We finished fourth overall, and we are looking to improve on that position next year.”
Jamaica won their only gold in the girls’ doubles after Nallapati and Mehar Trehan combined to stop Barbados, 11-6, 11-7.
Trehan won the lone silver after an epic battle, which she lost to Babados’ Eboni Atherley in the girls’ singles under-19 final.
It was the first time the undefeated Bajan squash queen, Etherley, was losing a set in her years at the championships.
Etherley took the first set 11-7, but Trehan rallied to take the second, mirroring the first’s margin of victory. Etherley would go on to take the third set 11-3 to win the gold.
Nallapati won the bronze in the under-19 category after a win over Gabrielle Turchiaro of Bermuda in straight sets.
The pair of Elle Smith and Ethan Miller also teamed up to win bronze in the mixed doubles.
Nallapati, who was recognised for her positive leadership over the course of the tournament, believes that they punched above their weight.
“Overall, the team did very well because we had a young team with more beginners than experienced players, and I was proud that each player put in a hundred per cent effort for each of their matches, cheering along the way, which played a huge role in making Jamaica and the overall team very proud,” she said
“I am really grateful to have received the CASA Spirit award. It has been amazing growing with the squash community, pushing myself and just enjoying the game with so many great people
“I was so proud that I was recognised for the spirit, fun, and sportsmanship that I have tried to maintain throughout the entire tournament,” she said.
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