Squash Captain’s Report: Day 1 at World Champs 2014

The Women World Squash Team Championships 2014 have kicked off here in Canada, and there’s no turning back now. We are ranked 12^th out of 20 teams, and our goal is to finish in the Top 10. In our pool we have some tough competitors, Hong Kong (4^th), France (5^th), India (13^th), Austria (17^th).

We have already had a taste of defeat and victory on Day 1. The tough match was the first one where we played Hong Kong in the morning. The matches were all a lot closer than what they looked on paper. Each of us had pivotal moments in the matches which could have turned the matches around, especially in tie-breakers, but Hong Kong finished them off better than we did. All in all, the basic groundwork was there, but we just needed to take our opportunities better when they presented themselves. That is exactly what we did when we played Austria later in the same day, and each of us won our matches in straight games.

As the captain of SA Team, I am really excited about what we can accomplish here at White Oak Resorts and Spa, as this is the first time our squad consists of only WSA professionally ranked players. Every single player has been working hard to get the right level of exposure by playing tournaments on the pro circuit and training at various locations overseas. We have a strong team with myself at no.1, Milany Louw (2), Cheyna Tucker (3) and Alex Fuller (4).

We hope to really bring some African flavour to the World Champs this year, on and off the court. With the Niagara falls just down the road, a reminder of God’s awesome creation, there are plenty of things that can be a source of inspiration to us to be the best we can be. For so long, we look to admire what other nations are capable of doing. It is time to show what South Africans are also capable of doing. Go Team SA!!!