The 2023 Pan American Junior Squash Championships in Pilar, Argentina have ended, and Team Canada has come away with three Bronze medals. The Championship, which ran from August 13-19, featured individual men’s and women’s, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, mixed doubles, men’s team, and women’s team events.
The Canadian contingent, comprised of Ashley Hall (ON), Amal Izhar (ON), Maddison Laine (AB), Gabriella Waite (ON), Roman Bicknell (BC), Sam Boulanger (AB), Ewan Harris (ON), and Faazil Khan (ON), were coached by Nicole Pirko (ON) and Chris Hanebury (ON).
In the Women’s events, Hall and Waite [3/4] competed in the Women’s Doubles competition against Paraguay’s Fiorella Gatti and Nikole Krauch [5/8] in the quarter finals, winning 2-1 (9-11, 11-9, 11-8). Unfortunately, the pair fell in the semifinals to Ecuador’s [1] Maria Emilia Falconi and Rafaela Garcia 0-2 (3-11, 5-11); the ladies earned a Bronze medal for their efforts. The Women’s Team [5/8] first faced Guatemala [3/4] in the quarter finals, surpassing them 2-1. They then competed against the United States [1] and unfortunately fell 3-0. The Canadian Women’s Team walked away with a Bronze medal.
For the Men’s Doubles event, Harris and Khan [5/8] faced Alejandro Ballon and Ignacio Cabrejos [3/4] of Peru in the quarter finals and won 2-0 (11-2, 11-6). Similar to teammates Hall and Waite’s semifinals match-up, Harris and Khan competed against Colombia’s Juan Irisarri and Juan Torres [1] in the semis and fell 0-2 (8-11, 0-11), claiming a Bronze medal for their efforts. The Men’s Team [5/8] of Boulanger, Khan, and Bicknell finished in 5th place.
“The Pan Am Junior Championship was an amazing experience and I am very grateful for the opportunity,” shared Ashley Hall, who earned two Bronze medals at the Championship. “I was lucky to travel with the talented team we had, and support one another through the competition. I enjoyed meeting new people and experiencing the competitiveness they had to offer; I am proud of myself and Gabby for getting Bronze in Doubles, along with the girls getting Bronze in the Team Event. This is a huge highlight in my junior career, and I will always cherish it. “
Full results can be found here for the individual, doubles, and mixed doubles events, or the team events. Photos are available here.
