Finlay Rentokil Squash Nationals should produce rich fare

SQUASH: The 30th Senior National Squash Championships conducted by the Sri Lanka Squash Federation and sponsored by Finlay Rentokil for the 8th consecutive year will be held at the Gymkhana Club (CCC) Squash Courts in Maitland Crescent from December 18 to 23.

The Squash Nationals started in 1981 and is a hotly contested tournament will be the culmination of the calendar of the Sri Lanka Squash Federation for the year.

A national ranking tournament, this year’s tournament should feature some fine performances with the participation of top ranked players who have participated in the Commonwealth and Asian Games in October and November this year.

The six-day tournament will consist of events: Men’s and Women’s Open, Masters over 45, Intermediates over 35 and a National Novices event for Men and Women and a new event for Boys under 23.

Running parallel to the Nationals would be the newly introduced 1st James Finlay Juvenile Championships for the age groups of Under 09, 11, 13 and 15. The age cut off date is at 23rd December 2010.

Entries will close at the SLSF Secretariat, Tamil Union C & AC, Colombo 8 upto 5 p.m. on December 14. The draw will be held on Wednesday, December 15 at the Gymkhana Club.

The President of the Sri Lanka Squash Federation Oliver Guruge said that this year the organisers have introduced a Juvenile Championship with a view to promote the game among the young players. It has been observed that under 17 players are involved with the GCE Ordinary Level Examination and the Under 19 players are senior enough to participate in the Open events.

There is tremendous enthusiasm for the game after the schoolboys and schoolgirls were given the opportunity of playing the game.

Director of Finlay Rentokil Ms Thushara Agus who actively participated at the press conference said that they were proud to partner the Squash Federation last year and are happy to give a helping hand to the organisers this year as well.

Of the players, five-time champion Navin Samarasinghe who won in 2009 is expected to defend his title but may well get a good running with the fast improving junior players Gihan Suwaris and Binura Jayasuriya. There is also the possibility of former National Champion Saman Tillekeratne who has made it known that he would return from France to play.

Among the women, the defending champion Nirasha Guruge, who has won the national title for 6 years may not find it easy as some promising young players Damindi Udangawa, Sharya Guruge, Nadini Udangawa in the fray.