Houston was well represented in the 2016 US Open Junior Squash Championships held at in New Haven CT this past weekend. There were around 850 players participating from around 34 countries around the globe. This was a great opportunity for our juniors to demonstrate their skills and learn from the experience of playing with their competitors.
- Daksha Pathak, who is ranked 11 in US in Girls Under 17 category, got to play all her matches in the campus of Trinity College.
- Tanmai Pathak, who has just recently aged up to the Girls Under 15 category, is ranked 11 in US
- Alex Mehnert played his first US junior tournament in the Boys under 13 draw
Daksha, Tanmai and Alex were accompanied Met Club pro Muhammad Sadiq, who provided this detailed report from the tournament.
“Daksha was confident, being in the company of her coach and having played in Trinity before. With her strength being power shots and crosses from the front, she was able to pressurize her opponents in all her matches and made it through to the Round of 32. She got to play competitors from Canada and Ecuador as well as the US.
Tanmai felt focused in her games and did better than she expected. She displayed great skills, technique and fitness. Not only did she have fun but she also had a great competitive experience playing with opponents that she hadn’t played before. In the Round of 16, she had a tough fight with Nouran Youssef, who was seeded 2nd in the main draw. She tried her best, played to her strengths and focused on her opponent’s weaknesses. She ended up losing to her in a 3-set game, but it definitely boosted her confidence for later matches. She then moved to the consolation rounds where she played Nina Mital, who is currently ranked 3rd in Girls Under 15. She was able to tactically confuse her opponent, keep a fast pace and hit shots that were not expected. Despite losing the match, the experience that she gained will help her improve and win tournaments in the future.
Alex won his first-round match but lost in the round of 64 to Fathalia Youseff in a 4-game match. He then played in the plate and won through to the second round. Alex fought strongly and visibly increased in confidence through the tournament. I’m very sure this young man will make all of us proud in near future.”
Alex said ” I played my first time in the US Junior Open Squash Tournament and it was an amazing experience.”
Congratulations to all our juniors.
Click on the links below for more news and photos from the tournament
