Expectations for the first squash tournament under the COVID-19 guidelines is on a high note with 55 confirmed entries from around the country to compete across four open grades (mixed men and women).
Squash Fiji vice-president Edward Roxburgh has a good feeling the first round will be an interesting one with unexpected results.
“Top seed A grade player Romit Meghji will face tough competition from experienced players Daniel Fong, Andrew McGoon, Marika Matanatabu, Tim Stats, and Filimoni Lesuma,” he said.
“The B grade top seed is Mahima Goonesekera, a 13-year-old with excellent potential.
“He is expected to face a strong challenge from second seed Nathan Kumar on the opposite side of the draw,” he said.
With the ranking points up for the taking, both these B graders are likely to earn promotion into the A grade at the end of the tournament.
“The top seed in C grade is Andre Fatiaki and second seed is Atul Mangal.
“The Novice grade has Renita Reddy as number one and Adelle Macaskill, the second seed.
“There are several unknown prospects in ‘C’ and Novice grades so it is really going to be interesting to see who progresses through to the finals,” said Roxburgh.
“Squash Fiji has some late interest from a major sponsor, who we hope to announce shortly.
“We understand sponsorship will become harder to get for our competitions going forward however we remain positive as sponsorship always makes tournaments and prizes more attractive.
“With this being the first competition under COVID-19 guidelines, we must adjust to the new normal and set minimum standards to be replicated and implemented across all competitions around the country going forward.”
