Squash Australia claim the future is bright Down Under
We love a little irony here at Squash Mad. Just a few days after we broke the news that youngsters from Down Under would not be attending the World Junior Championships, Squash Australia has published the following article detailing how well their leading juniors are performing.
The future for squash in Australia is looking bright, with the latest world rankings showing Australians ranked in the top ten in both the boys and girls Under-19 divisions.
Queensland’s Jessica Turnbull is ranked fifth in the world, with Egyptians filling the top three positions on the ladder.
Turnbull is currently ranked a career-high 85th in the world across all divisions. Nour El Sherbini is the world’s top ranked female Under-19 player.
In the men’s Under-19 category, Victoria’s Sam Ejtemai is currently ranked eighth in the world, behind Jordan’s top ranked Ahmad Al-Saraj. Ejtemai is also currently enjoying his highest world ranking of 302 across all divisions.
Turnbull and Ejtemai have both made strong starts to 2014, winning their age divisions at the Oceania Squash titles on the Gold Coast.
Ejtemai caused a boilover by beating top seed Rhys Dowling in the final, while Turnbull was untroubled throughout the tournament.
AHAHAHAH This is a complete embarrassment for Aussie squash! I want to talk to the person who made this decision and question their line of reasoning.
OK, so even though we have two kids with top 10 junior rankings, we will not give them the chance to compete at the international level because we won’t finish in the top four. This will improve the game. Everything is fine. We are doing a great job. Let’s pat each other on the back.
I don’t think they realize the experience that they are ROBBING these kids of. Namibia is hosting the event. NAMIBIA WILL FINISH HIGHER THAN AUSTRALIA.
Not all top-level junior athletes go on to be professionals in their sports. Some of them go on to do other things. That’s just the facts. Not fielding a team is the worst thing you can possibly do for these kids. It will almost definitely discourage the current group from pursuing professional careers in the sport.
Squash Australia, you guys are idiots!