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Youth Interactive Writer
At four years old, he was already playing squash, and at nine, he was part of the national team.
The journey of talented young squash player, Ryan Gwidzima makes an interesting read.
The star continues to make great strides in his career.
The Falcon College pupil believes he will make a big break shortly.
“I started playing when I was four years old at the club I was staying at.
“My dad was the coach there and he was playing squash at the top level in the country. I slowly got into the game and started playing for Zimbabwe when I was nine years old.
“I then played for three good years until I found my way out. Then I got a scholarship to go to England at the age of 12.”
“My father inspired me to play and I was also part of Zimbabwe’s national team last year in November that I played in the All Africa Championships in Zimbabwe.
“I had done well in the previous small tournaments that Zimbabwe hosted and that helped me to be selected. I managed to be placed third which propelled me to be in the national team.
“My first big match was against Namibia and managed to win 3-0 and finished nine out of the tournament. I am feeling more confident than I was before at the beginning. I wasn’t too sure about playing for the national team,” he said.
Ryan said he went to England at a young age.
“I became a three-time England champion for under 15, and 17,19 age groups. I managed to win Sportsman of the Year, and Junior Sportsman in 2018, and also in 2022 I lost the Zimbabwe award where I was competing with Marvelous Nakamba.
“I lost out to him due to the number of votes despite me being nominated among Zimbabweans performing well outside the country.”
Ryan has made it into the top 100 in the world.
“This year I managed to go to Australia for the World Cup Championships under 19, it was my first tournament in a couple of years.
“I finished number 54 out of 128 in the world. I went to Egypt in April for training in preparation for this tournament.
“This gave me a chance to connect with my friends and coaches who inspired me and this opened the doors to see what I can do in the future in terms of my squash career.
Ryan’s exploits locally and in South Africa have seen him dominating his age group while challenging the older players.
His accomplishments saw him being crowned the 2018 Junior Sportsperson of the Year at the Annual National Sports Awards.
Online Reporter