1 month ago
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A 16-member Jamaica junior squash team will depart the island today for George Town, Cayman Islands, for the 2025 Junior Caribbean Area Squash Association (CASA) Championships, which takes place from tomorrow to July 5.
Team coach Renè Denis said though they have a young and inexperienced team, he expected the girls’ under-19 team to challenge for a medal.
Nevertheless, he said the group has worked extremely hard since February and has made enormous improvement, which he hoped would be on display at the annual competition.
“The squash association is trying to build a framework, both technical and tactical discipline, to get ready for the competition.
“We started a bit late. But the kids have worked extremely hard. Working Mondays through Saturdays. Doing track work at Emancipation Park, working out at the gym and fitness circuits.
“What is rewarding for me is to see how much they have developed in such a short period of time .
“I am trying to cap expectation because a lot of them are new to this. So all I can ask as their coach is for them to play their best and try their best,” he said.
Jamaica have two of the top-ranked under-19 female players in captain Sanjana Nallapati and last year’s under-17 champion Mehar Trehan, who has moved up to the under-19 category, and Denis anticipates good things from this group.
“I certainly want the girls under-19 to medal. The expectations are lower for the others because we are playing seasoned teams from other countries.
“The girls’ under-19 should do very well because we have two of the top-four seeds representing Jamaica.
“We have some younger players coming in who we think should do well. We also have some kids just starting out and they have improved immeasurably. So these guys are really doing well in that regard.”
Denis, who has worked with national teams on many occasions in the past, is a Canadian married to a Jamaican. He has been in charge of the juniors since February and is excited at the prospects of the coming week.
“I have worked with the Jamaican team at the Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games. I have also worked with the Canadian team and Jamaica stands alone in their pride for their country. So I am really excited about what next week is going to be like,” he said.
Team captain Nallapati said her aim is to keep the team together at all times. “I want us support each other and remember that we are one team no matter who is on court. Whether it is individuals or teams.
“The team is fairly young. A lot of them, it is the first time they are playing CASA, so we do not expect anything regarding hardware. I just want everyone to play their best squash and put their all into it.”
Nallapati is also looking forward to having a rewarding tournament personally.
“I hope to play my best squash. I hope to come home with the gold in the individual and women’s doubles. That would be amazing but I am hoping to play the best that I can.”
The boys’ team consists of Ethan Miller, Max Henzell, Govind Venugopal, Cole Brown, Judah Tavares-Finson, Jaden Emery and Devendra Stoddart
The girls’ team: Sanjana Nallapati, Mehar Trehan, Elle Wilson, Priya Stoddart, Rihana Stoddart, Varenya Singh, Hinal Lohana, Isabelle Robinson and Marley Price.
English (US) ·