AGI (Advantage General Insurance) defeated Almost Capable 2-1 in the final of the KPMG Squash League recently at the Liguanea Club in Kingston to be crowned league champion.

AGI’s Julian Morrison defeated Almost Capable's top player Adam Lee 3-1 (10-21, 21-18, 21-20, 21-20) to give his team an early lead. Tahjia Lumley secured the title when he beat Alan Roper 3-0 (21-18, 21-15, 21-18) in their best of five match-up.

With the title already lost, Daniel Chung clawed back some pride when he beat Stephan Morrison 2 -1 (21-18, 15-21, 21-18).

"Firstly the entire KPMG League was a successful league. I think it was a very good opportunity for everybody who’s playing to be able test their skills at deficit - playing better players,” said Morrison the AGI captain afterwards.

"I love it. I think it was great. I think that everybody played well throughout the entire thing because everybody has gotten through with three-game win.”

 Cereal Killers, who lost to AGI in the semi-final, was third while Big Shot was the plate winner that was decided between the top two losing teams. AGI's Dave Morrison was named the Most Valuable Player.

President of the Jamaica Squash Association, Karen Anderson was pleased with how the tournament played out.

 "It was fantastic. It brings out everything, the competitiveness, the sportsmanship, the cheering for the underdog, the underdog trying to bring down the big gun,” she said.

“The uniqueness of the event (the handicap system of play) is what makes it and what captures people's enjoyment with it and so we are very excited about the tournament."

Anderson said that the league was very important for the game locally, especially for the juniors who get to play against various types of players at different skill levels as they prepare for the upcoming Caribbean Championships.

According to Rajan Trehan, country managing partner of title sponsor KPMG, "We are thrilled with how the tournament went. I think the format of the game is so interesting. This along with the junior trials and the senior trials within the time period of this tournament, has really given the juniors a lot of practice and given them a basis to step up their game. I think the timing is just perfect for this tournament."

 

Tahjia Lumley and Alyssa Mullings were the surprise winners at the Jamaica Squash Association’s four-day national senior trials that concluded at the Liguanea Club in Kingston on Sunday.

Lumley won in a walk over after the number-one seed Chris Binnie, who had defeated him in the preliminary round, had to leave the island due to work commitments. Mullings, meanwhile, beat the number-three seed Savannah Thompson 3-1 to finish atop the women’s section.

Lumley, who defeated national champion Julian Morrison to reach Sunday’s final, was grateful just to get to the final.

 "It was very hard. It was difficult. I thought I was probably in one of the hardest groups playing against Chris (Binnie) and Bruce (Burrowes) in the group stages,” he said.

“I lost out to Chris and I knew that the match against Bruce was very important for me to come out on top in order for me to make it into the top four. So I was a little bit edgy and a little bit nervous in that match but I was glad I was able to come out 3-1 the victor.

“My body aches, my body hurts but I think my hard work paid off."

At the end of the trials, the top four men were Lumley, Binnie, Morrison and Dane Schwier.

The unseeded Mullings had a similar journey, defeating the number-one seed Mia Todd to get to the semi-final and then beat the number three seed Savannah Thompson 3-1 to emerge victorious.

"It was a really tough match. I actually knew of Savannah before coming here and all the other girls. They played really well and I am really proud of what women's squash is becoming. So it’s really great to come back out here and play and get a win," she said.

"I came in unseeded because I really hadn't been playing for a very long time. The last competitive tournament was maybe seven years ago so I really had to fight and get ready for this so it felt good coming back and doing so well."

Mullings said Thompson "played extremely well and she is quite fit. It was hard. It showed, her fitness is a bit above mine. I really have to work on that. I am really at a loss for words. I am really proud of what I was able to come out and do."

The top four ladies were Mullings, Thompson, Todd and Melissa Lue Yen.

Chairman of the Selection Committee Joey Levy was impressed with the level of play during the trials and believes Jamaica’s squash is in a good place.

"We had good groups of seven men and eight women and we saw some really tough squash over a compressed time. Overall, it was just four days in all so most people were playing two games a day (and) it wears on you but really, really competitive stuff, (and) a couple of surprises. We are very happy, the association, we are very with what we have seen," he said.

"Alyssa won the All Jamaica Championships, the Senior All Jamaica Championships at 14 about ten years ago. She stopped playing squash. She hasn't played for a while and has now come back. This is her first tournament since coming back so she came in unseeded. She was very impressive."

 

 

 

Jamaica's teams to the Pan Am Games in June and the Senior Caribbean Squash Championship in August will be announced in the near future.

Top seed Chris Binnie got off to a strong start at the Jamaica Squash Association's senior trials defeating the number-five seed Bruce Burrowes in straight sets 11-9, 11-9 and 11-8 at the Liguanea Club in Kingston on Thursday.

As the scores indicate, all three sets were competitive with Burrowes enjoying the lead over Binnie briefly in each set but was not able to convert any to a win.

 "Good game. I think that shows, you come, you have to play and everyone is competitive and today he (Burrowes) took it to me and it was really close so I am happy to get a 3-0 win and I am looking forward to tomorrow (Friday)," said the nine-time Caribbean men’s singles champion.

 "When you start playing events, you want to get that first win under your belt, you want to get that first match done with as well so little nerves to start getting used to the court. I am not based here so the courts I play on are a lot colder so getting used to all of that. I am super happy with how it ended. Hopefully tomorrow (Friday) I can be a little bit better and hopefully get another win."

Despite the loss, Burrowes was not unhappy with his play.

"Chris is a top notch player; Caribbean national player, Caribbean top player, top national player. He is definitely of a different level than the local boys that I am able to train with here but I was able to hold my own against him in the game with points 11-9, 11-9, 11-8,” he said.

“That's not bad even though it’s a 3-0 loss. (I) just have to move on to the next match. Wish Chris all the best in the rest of his matches and just hope that Jamaica can put together our strongest team of these trials."

The trials opened with number-four seed Dane Schwier defeating the number-six seed Stephan Morrison in straight sets.

Meanwhile, reigning national champion and number-two seed Julian Morrison beat the U19 champion and number-seven seed Tobias Levy 3-0.

 The four-day trials to select Jamaica's team to the upcoming PanAm Games in June and the Senior Caribbean Squash Championship in August, continue on Friday with matches starting at 6:00 pm at the Liguanea Club.

A confident Tobias Levy dominated the Jamaica Squash Association's national junior trials for the U19 and U17 age groups for girls and boys at the Liguanea Club in Kingston. The trials ran from Friday March 17 to 19 with 16 players vying for spots to represent Jamaica at the Caribbean Junior Squash Championship in July.

Competing in the U19 category, Levy, who also benefitted from a walkover, won three of his other four matches in straight sets but was taken the distance by Arjan Trehan, who eventually lost 5-2. At the end of it all, Levy won 15 of 17 games for a winning percentage of 88 per cent.

Alex Chin, meanwhile, was second with a 12-8 win-loss margin while Rhys Greenland was third with 11-9 margin.

Levy credits his dominance on the court to his work ethic.

"I have been playing squash since I was young. I have been dominant from I came on the scene,” he said. “I would say my racquet skills and how smart I am on court definitely puts me above everyone else. I think I understand the game very well. I have been training hard. It's not just talent, I have been training hard from when I was young so it helps me stay dominant,” said Levy, who said winning the U19 category was crucial.

"It means a lot, especially because I get to go represent my country as the best player in the junior age. It also feels good because I have a lot of competitors that are out for me and train hard to beat me but I keep training hard and play well so I stay dominant."

Thomas Overton won his three matches to top the Boys U17 ahead of the very competitive Lucas Thompson.

Savannah Thompson emerged top of the Girls U19 matches after beating Eleanor Hind in straight sets 3-0 before beating Katherine Risden 3-2.

Risden finished second overall.

Sanjana Nallapati did not drop a game to come out the victor in the Girls U17, despite being pushed by Mehar Trehan, who won half her six matches.

Nallapati said that it was tough to play her.

"Mehar and I go far back. It's always a tough battle because we are family and going against family is very tough because you don't want to whip them,” she said.

“With the two of us it’s always a five setter. It’s been that way for a really long time and its never really known who is going to win. This time Mehar played phenomenally. I thought I played well as well. We definitely played at a high intensity like we usually do.

"For the Caribbean Championship I hope to do extremely well."

 

 

 

Vice President of the Jamaica Squash Association expressed optimism about Jamaica’s chances of doing well at the Caribbean Championships.

"We have some strong players here in these categories, experienced players who have been to the Caribbean tournament before,” said Levy, who is also chairman of the selection committee.

“I think we have a good opportunity to win a couple of categories and hopefully also the team event. Hopefully we can bring home the Caribbean trophy this year for the team event and one or two of the individual events as well. It would be great."

The trials for the U15, U13 and possibly U11 players, will be held in June.

Guyana is set to build a new squash facility to enhance the country’s ability to host future international tournaments.

The new facility, which will also have doubles courts for the first time in the country's history, will be built at the National Racquet Centre on Woolford Avenue in Georgetown and is funded by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport at the approximate cost of G$65 million, and should be ready for usage within six to eight months.

Minister Charles Ramson Jr. made this announcement on Saturday and members of the Guyana Squash Association (GSA) and national players welcomed it with cheers after he further indicated that construction is to commence on January 9.

In detailing some of the plans, the minister revealed the building would cost approximately G$25M while the internal fittings for the courts are about G$40M.

To fast-track the process, the plan is to begin the installation of equipment at an appropriate point during construction so as not to wait until the building is finished to commence inputting the internal fittings.

Noting it is a joint effort between the National Sports Commission (NSC) and GSA, the minister firmly believes the completion of this facility will place Guyana in good standing to host Central American and Caribbean (CAC), and Pan American Championships in the near future.

“Once it is completed, we will be able to put our bids in of hosting senior games, and all of the sports we have identified as core sports, for which squash is one of them, we are looking to have the larger Championships being held here,” Ramson Jr. told the gathering.

According to Ramson Jr., the aim is to host the Senior Pan American Championships which would be a “big achievement” for Guyana and it will increase the competitive pool.

“It is important we set our targets early about what we want to do and take all of the sports and sports in general,” he lamented.

There is also the “unquantifiable factor” of inspiring the next generation to represent Guyana by being able to see top-level athletes compete in Guyana, and ideally, create a winning culture.

Additionally, Director of Sport, Steve Ninvalle, who had touted the construction of the courts in July as Guyana prepared to host the Junior Caribbean Area Squash Association (CASA) Championships, noted its importance that infrastructural development is vital to support the developing Sport Academies.

“This shows that we are doing exactly what we said we would do. I know we are speaking about squash but other disciplines will be able to have this sort of support from the government,” Ninvalle expressed.

Owen Verwey, GSA President, expressed similar by stating, “I am very much impressed that we have moved from the stage of speaking to now seeing implementation in a real form, that does not always happen but where we are going with the reality, is going to take us to a much higher level.”

Adorning that Guyana’s squash has done tremendously well within the Caribbean, this facility will help them make an impact at the international level, and it boosts their capacity to do more intense training.

Meanwhile, the minister said the works on the tennis court will soon be completed and construction will continue on the home for badminton and table tennis, with the foundation already being laid.

The National Racquet Centre opened in November 2011.

 

Ashley Khalil has described 2022 as one of her best years ever after cruising to the Women’s Singles title at the Guyana National Squash Championship that concluded on Friday night (December 2) at the Georgetown Club.

Former junior champion, Julian Morrison broke through to win his first senior national title at the recent 2022 All-Jamaica Senior Squash Championships held at the Liguanea Club in New Kingston. Meanwhile, Mary Mahfood returned from her hiatus to win a second women’s singles crown.

The absence of nine-time national champion, Chris Binnie, made it a more open contest in the men’s draw with Morrison, a former Junior Caribbean champion, Jonathan Walker, along with Tahjia Lumley and 2009 Champion, Dane Schwier, among others all in contention for the title.

Morrison dispatched Schwier 11-6, 11-9, 11-3 in the semi-finals where Walker toppled long-time rival, Lumley 8-11, 11-1, 11-3, 7-11, 11-6 as the respective winners earned a place in the championship final for the first time their individual careers.

With everything to play for, the in-form Morrison held off Walker in a no-holds barred battle of skill and will. No sooner had Morrison taken the first game 11-9 than Walker came roaring back to even the score, winning the second 11-9.

 The younger Walker then looked set to secure the lead in the third but Morrison dug deep and rallied for another 11-9 win. The hard-fought third game tipped the scales in Morrison’s favour and after a number of unforced errors from his opponent, he claimed the fourth game 11-6 to win his first All-Jamaica Senior title.

The competition among the women was equally competitive.

Returning to competitive action for the first time since winning the Women’s title in 2015, Mary Mahfood fought off the challenge of promising junior player, Katherine Risden, 11-9, 11-2, 11-7 in the quarterfinals before toppling the number-one seed and reigning All-Jamaica Under 19 girls champion, Savannah Thomson 7-11, 11-2, 3-11, 12-10, 11-7 in a bruising semi-final to book her spot in the finals. 

In the title match, Mahfood went head-to-head with the number two seed, rising star, Mia Todd, who had a more straightforward route to the final. She did not drop a set as she dispatched Nathlee Boreland 11-4, 11-3, 11-3 in the quarterfinals and then Melissa Lue Yen 11-5, 11-4, 11-6 in the semi-finals. Mahfood, however proved to be a much greater challenge and although Todd took the first game, the former champion recovered form to win 7-11, 11-6, 14-12, 11-8.

Other category winners included Kyle Gregg who beat young Aman Dhiman, 11-8, 15-13, 8-11, 11-8, to take the Men’s B title, and Nabeel Jawad who prevailed in a round robin fixture to win the Men’s C draw.

In the Men’s Over 40 category, Jerazeno Bell beat Mark Haddad 11-2, 11-2, 11-5 while Brian Yong turned back Warren Burrowes 7-11, 11-7, 5-11, 11-4, 11-5 to win the Over-50 title.

Tahjia Lumley and Melissa Lue Yen placed third in the Men and Ladies main draws, respectively, with Lue Yen beating Thompson 11-4, 12-10, 8-11, 10-12, 11-2 and Lumley winning 11-5, 12-10, 7-3 after Schwier retired injured in the third set.

Additionally, Mia Todd won the David Bicknell Award for exemplary performance and sportsmanship in the Ladies Competition while Allan Roper won the Tony Burrowes Award, the corresponding honour for the men.

 

As the global squash fraternity embarks on raising awareness for the sport, President of the Jamaica Squash Association Karen Anderson wants more women to be involved with the sport.

After years of coming up short, an insatiable hunger drove Ashley Khalil to her first ever Caribbean Senior Squash Singles title in Jamaica last week.

When Chris Binnie won his 10th Caribbean Senior Squash singles title last week, it felt a little more special than the nine others he had won. When the 33-year-old Jamaican dispatched Khamal Cumberbatch of Barbados 14-12, 11-5, 11-5 to win the 2022 title, it was the first time he was winning a singles title on home soil.

It is a feeling he will not forget.

“This is definitely up there for me because I haven’t won a title in Jamaica at the Caribbean level. I have always been winning them abroad,” he told Sportsmax.TV following his record-extending victory.

“All those times I had crowds cheering against me, my followers have just been watching through screens, so it’s great to actually win one here and to have the home support not matter what else was going on, they were so loud and getting behind me. It was great.

“I was super-excited about winning this 10th title. I am just grateful to everyone and this great support system I’ve had throughout the years to actually get 10 titles. It’s been a long journey. When you start, you just think about winning one at a time and then all of a sudden as the years have gone on they have just accumulated so being able to show up every year, play at a high level still I am just thankful for all of that.”

That said, Binnie revealed that playing at home did not make it any easier as the quality of his opponents has been consistent over the years.

“Every year it’s difficult. I don’t think this was any different. You have players who come through always ready to challenge you, ready to keep you on your toes and so,” he said.

 “I was always ready. I was getting ready to play, getting ready to win and treat every game as if it was difficult and as a result, I was prepared and ready to get some good results.”

His opponents were tough from the get-go and it speaks to the depth of talent across the region.

“From the quarter-finals on, there were always difficult matches. Playing Chase McQuan from Trinidad and Tobago, a very good player; Alex Arjoon from Guyana in the semis and Khamal Cumberbatch from Barbados in the final, it shows that there is talent all over the Caribbean,” he said.

“In each of those matches, I had to do different things to win. I was happy to get through them.

“This is a strong region. We missed a couple of players this year due to different things but this was like a stronger semis of players that you would get. We continue to see young players come through like Khamal. He is one to watch for the future. I just hope I can hold him off for another year.”

 

 

 

 

Guyana won the overall team title at the 2022 Caribbean Senior Squash Championships that concluded at the Liguanea Club in Kingston on Saturday.

Guyana’s Ramon Chan-A-Sue was returned unopposed as president of the Caribbean Area Squash Association (CASA) during the association’s Annual General Meeting held at the Liguanea Club in Kingston on Wednesday, August 24.

Janet Sairsingh of the Cayman Islands was elected vice president while Kevin Hannaway of St Vincent and the Grenadines was elected secretary. Bermuda’s Nick Kyme is the treasurer. Each of the eight-member countries will appoint a director before October 2022.

During the AGM it was decided that the junior and senior championships will be held in 2023. However, a host nation will be selected by October 2022. At those championships that a doubles category will be added for the junior Championships, while women over 60 will play in the senior championship.

Jamaica’s Chris Binnie won a record10th singles title at the Caribbean Senior Squash Championships being held in Jamaica on Tuesday, August 23.

The 37th running of the Caribbean Senior Squash Championship will take place in Jamaica, August 21 - 27 at the Liguanea Club in Kingston.

The 37th running of the Caribbean Senior Squash Championship will take place in Jamaica, August 21 - 27 at the Liguanea Club in Kingston. 

Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Guyana, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago and host country Jamaica are the eight countries who will field approximately 140 participants for the one-week tournament. 

Chris Binnie who is currently ranked #1 in the region is among the top Jamaica players who have won Senior CASA titles. Binnie is a 9-time All Jamaica and Caribbean Senior Men’s Champion. 

Meghan Best, defending champion in the female section from Barbados has registered to participate. The tournament will also feature 13-time All Jamaica Senior Women’s Champion, Karen Anderson.

Fierce competition is expected from Adrian Grant, former world #9 playing for Jamaica in his first CASA, young national champion, Shomari Wiltshire from Guyana, Chayse McQuan from T&T and Adam Murrils from the BVI. Teams will start arriving from August 19. 

Corporate support includes title sponsors Wisynco through their brand, WATA; Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF); Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA); Sports Development Foundation (SDF); Ernst & Young; Fleetwood; Levy Cheeks and Best Dressed Chicken. 

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