Northerns star Awande Malinga will be just one of several local junior stars primed to make their mark when Growthpoint South African Junior Nationals squash championships take place in Cape Town next month.

The tournament will be held on the all-glass court at the iconic V & A Waterfront and will see the country’s best young players in the U15, U17 and U19 age-groups battling it out for the honours.

This junior event was initiated two years ago to create greater exposure for SA’s younger players, starting with the u.17 age-group tournament being played simultaneously with the Growthpoint Senior Nationals.

A year ago, it was expanded to include u.15 and u.19 sections, and from August 17-20 in Cape Town a total of 48 girls and boys (16 in each age division) will decide who are the country’s national champions.

The final field was decided by qualifying events through regional hubs which were spread around the country, and they threw up a sprinkling of familiar names who could again figure in the final reckoning.

Malinga, who was runner-up in the u.17 final in 2021, will be aiming to win her second u.19 crown in succession after outgunning Rachel Shannon for the title a year ago. She will go into the tournament an obvious favourite but will also be wary that there is a target on her back.

The u.19 boys’ division is shaping up to be a classic showdown between a talented group of players as Western Province’s Seth Flisberg tries to put behind him the disappointments of recent years.

The talented strokemaker underlined his potential by reaching the finals in 2021 (u.17) and last year (U19), but each time has found a Northens star standing in his way.

Two years ago, he lost a titanic final in five games to Luhann Groenewald (Northens) after fighting back from 2-0 down and last year he was outduelled by Luhann’s elder brother, Damian, in straight games.

Now Flisberg is back for another shot at the title, with Luhann Groenewald joining him in the u.19 top eight.

Other winners from last year back to try again are Elzandri Janse van Rensburg (Northens), who will defend her u.15 title, and another Northens player, Juan-Corne Brand, who moves up the u.17 division after winning the u.15 section.

The regional qualifiers are:

Girls

U15: Tara Neville-Smyly (WP), Anushka Janse van Rensburg (Northerns), Kate van Biljon (Border), Elzandri Janse van Rensburg (Northerns), Mikayla Naidoo (KZN), Starla Phillips (Northerns), Hanrie Duits (Boland), Vivienne van der Schyff (Free State)

U17: Lucy Malherbe (WP), Laura Smit (Joburg Squash), Anke Garbers (Northwest), Sasha Earl (Border), Chante Leppan (Northerns), Brianna Robinson (Eastern Gauteng), Cevana Naidoo (KZN), Cara Knott (Border), Lia Viljoen (Boland)

U19: Ashton Weir (Boland), Elske Garbers (Northwest), Caylin Nieuwoudt (Boland), Kelly Emslie (Border), Nicola Bentley (KZN), Jordin Phillips (Northerns), Awande Malinga (Northerns), Dene van Zyl (Boland)

Boys

U15: Christian Swanepoel (Eden, George), Ross Smorfitt (Eden, George), Savata Nkuna (Joburg Squash), Joshua Edwards (Border), Aiden McNeil KwaZulu Natal (KZN), Milan Raffa (Northerns), Joseph Myers (Northerns), Matthew Muller Eastern Province (EP)

U17: Hector Durbach Western Cape (WP), Louis le Riche (Boland), Joel Rix (Free State), Jody Emslie (Border), Tilak Nana KwaZulu Natal (KZN), Judah Phillips (Northerns), Juan-Corne Brand (Northerns), Carel Fronemann (Northerns)

U19: Seth Flisberg (WP), Devon Osborne (Boland), Diodivine Mkhize (Joburg Squash), Kobus van der Walt (Southern Cape), Luhann Groenewald (Northerns), Frederik Botha (Northerns), Bryce Blomquist (KZN), John Anderson (Joburg Squash)

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