Junior squash team to leave for Namibia

Ricky Zililo Sports Reporter
SIX players are expected to leave the country tomorrow for the World Junior Squash Championships set for Namibia from August 10-15.
Runyararo Kadyautumbe, Tafadzwa Mushunje, Luke Michael Mannion, Innocent Mukumba, Bryn Turk and Callum Lawton were selected during the Zimbabwe Junior Squash Championships earlier this year and are expected to fly the country’s flag high at the international tournament.

This is the first time for a Southern Africa country to play host to the World Junior Squash Championships and renowned juniors’ coach Jonathan Makola is confident that Team Zimbabwe will succeed in Windhoek. He said the team has been undergoing training since April at Belgravia Sports Club in Harare which was being facilitated by manager Mashumba Mukumba.

Last month the six players competed at the South Africa Inter-provincial Junior Squash Championships which they used as part of their preparations for the World Junior Squash Championships.

“In as far as preparations are concerned our junior team is ready for the World Junior Squash Championships. Everyone is raring to go. The six players were selected after our March national games and have been having regular training camps at Belgravia Sports Club in Harare during the build up to their trip.

“These Championships should be a stepping stone for these talented players who we believe can turn out to be Zimbabwe’s best if they are kept in the sport. Playing against opponents from developed countries will no doubt inspire the guys to do even better,” said Makola.

According to the official World Junior Squash Championships website, 166 players will compete in the five-day long tournament.

The first round will see Turk taking on Franco Andres Romiglio of Argentina with Lawton facing Malaysia’s Mohd Mukhtar while Mukumba will have to see his way past Santiago Carmargo of Colombia.

The other three Zimbabweans Mannion, Mushunje and Kadyautumbe’s first round opponents are Teboho Thabologo (Botswana), Khaled Aljenaidel (Kuwait) and Alexander Lundqvist of Sweden.