Vusumuzi Dube
Brandon Moyo
DESPITE not finishing among the top players, Zimbabwe’s junior squash players, Ryan Gwidzima and Brayden Raynars gained valuable experience Down Under during the 2023 2023 World Junior Squash Championships.
The global showpiece was held at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatics Centres (MSAC) in Melbourne, Australia and the two Zimbabwe boys managed to gain exposure and experience of playing at the highest level as they were participating for the first time.
Out of 128 players, Gwidzima finished in position 58 while Raynars was in number 96 and the two youngsters will, however, have another opportunity to play in the next edition as age is on their side.
Gwidzima is 17 years old while Raynars is 16 years old and in the next event, which will take place next year the two boys will still compete and give an improved performance. The World Junior Championships are an Under-19 competition.
“This being the first World Championship for them, it meant valuable experience for them and next year they will improve,” said Squash Racket Association of Zimbabwe (SRAZ) Chairperson, Lucky Mlilo, who travelled with the players.
Pakistan’s Hamza Khan won the boys’ event and was followed, Mohamed Zakaria (Egypt) and Melvil Scianimanico (France) and Salman Khalil (Egypt), both in third place. In the women’s section, Amina Orfi from Egypt was crowned champion in a category that was dominated by the North Americans. In second place was Aira Azman (Malaysia) while in third there was Malak Khafagy (Egypt) and Fayrouz Aboelkheir (Egypt). – @brandon_malvin
Bongani Ndlovu