National squash champions crowned in Pretoria
The last round of the national squash championships was played on a special built glass court in the Brooklyn Shopping Centre in Pretoria last week.
The Growthpoint South African national squash championships came to a close in a picturesque all-glass squash court last weekend in the Brooklyn Shopping Centre, Pretoria as number one seeds Milnay Louw and JP Brits were crowned South Africa’s champions.
This championship is used to determine South Africa’s best squash players and select the national team players that will represent the country later in the year at the WSF World Squash Championships.
It did not disappoint as the Men’s and Women’s top seeds both made it to the finals.
Milnay Louw headed into the tournament at Brooklyn Mall as the clear favourite to win the women’s division. She went the entirety of the tournament without dropping a single set. In the final against Lizelle Muller, after a tight start in which she won the first set 13-11, she comfortably saw out the match with 11-5 and 11-6 games respectively.
After her victory Louw expressed her delight with the tournament and the help of the sponsor, Growthpoint.
“To be able to play this event in an incredible venue like this is amazing and I am just so happy to have won this title again. I am now looking forward to the Growthpoint SA Open that is heading to the Waterfront in Cape Town where I can test my abilities against some of the world’s best internationals on home soil,” said Louw.
In the Men’s final, JP Brits overcame Clinton Leeuw to win his first South African title.
Brits won the first but a strong second set from Leeuw tied it up at one set apiece. In some brilliant squash, Brits just edged out Leeuw in the third and then continued his slight advantage to close it out in the fourth.
“I am so grateful to everyone who has helped me get here. It is a dream I have had since I started playing squash and to finally win it is an amazing feeling,” said Brits.
Last weekend’s action also had an eye on the future of South African squash as the Growthpoint Rising Stars Initiative took place throughout the day in the build-up to the final. This initiative aims to support and supplement existing squash programmes across the country by assisting free coaching sessions for underprivileged children.
A host of clinics was held for those children in the Thusong, Egoli as well as Glenn High School and CBC Pretoria, with a final curtain raiser taking place to the pleasure of a capacity crowd.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites:
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram.
