Practice makes Canadian juniors a perfect lot at World Junior Squash Championships

CHENNAI : As the individual events came to an end at the World Junior Squash Championships on Monday, the focus shifted to the boys’ team event. Egyptians — who were the runners-up in the last edition at Bielsko-Biala (Poland) in 2016 — were given the top seeding after their dominating run in the singles category. But the surprise is the team immediately below them in the seedings table. Canada. Considering the racquet sport is way down in the popularity stakes (below ice hockey, lacrosse, football and basketball) , it is impressive to see their juniors in second place. Even in the singles event, three players advanced to the R16 stage. So how did a team that only finished 11th in 2016, enjoy a significant jump? 

 

Coach Jonathan Hill attributes this improved show to the increase in the number of international tournaments over the last couple of years. “Three of our players were not seeded. But they made it to Round of 16 in the singles event. Canada’s number one Julian Gosset has been fantastic. Julian along with James Flynn and George Crowne can provide a tough competition as a team,” Hill said. “They played British Junior Open, Pan American Championship, the Cologne and the Dutch Cup. Each year, they play the Canadian Junior open in December and US Junior Open in December and the British event in January. The more they play the better they become.”