Latest update January 6th, 2025 4:00 AM
Young Shomari Wiltshire begins Kool Aid Junior Squash tourney with a bang
Eight-year-old Shomari Wiltshire brandished an exquisite assortment of superbly placed shots to
Shomari Wiltshire
dispose of Mahendra Khusial on Tuesday evening during the Kool-Aid Junior Easter Tournament at the Georgetown Club’s squash facility.
On opening night of the tournament, which is sponsored by Toucan Industries, Shomari Wiltshire played with the skill and court sense of a teenage campaigner to dominate Khusial, who was in fact a teenager, by the 3-1 margin (11/9, 10/12, 11/3, 11/7) in category D. While Khusial was a relative newcomer to the sport, Shomari, who is the son of former national squash star Garfield Wiltshire, showed that he had inherited more than just a reputable squash last name.
But Shomari had visibly been lacking one of his father qualities; height. The diminutive eight-year-old saw his 14-year-old opponent towering above him and returning shots with twice his power.
However, those advantages were soon negated by Shomari’s superb shot placement as he mixed Khusial up with an ensemble of carefully thought out shots. Shomari’s front court game was as lethal as it was impressive with drop shots that were nearly impossible to retrieve.
What was even more remarkable was his technical knowledge of the rules of the game. Shomari’s ‘let’ appeals to the referee when he did not have a clear view of the ball or when Khusial obstructed his chances of retrieving the ball, were on point. He was able to take advantage of his opponent in this essential part of the game.
Shomari is expected to face Matthew Phang in his next match this evening while his sisters, Caribbean under 15 champion Akeila and runner up Larissa Wiltshire, were due to play their first matches last night.
In the other category D match, Matthew Phang defeated Travis Whitehead in straight games, while Lydia Alphonso triumphed over Rebecca Lowe in four games in the lone category E matchup.
Anthony Islam defeated Zach Persaud 2-0, while Sarah Lewis overcame John Phang and Maya Collins edged Daniel Islam in the category F encounters.
The tournament which was organized by the Guyana Squash Association (GSA) in collaboration with its number corporate sponsor Digicel Guyana, will continue each night beginning at 18:00hrs on weeknights at the Georgetown Club. Games will commence at 10:00hrs on Saturday and the Kool-Aid Junior Easter tournament will conclude on Sunday afternoon.
Tuesday’s results:
Category D
Matthew Phang defeated Travis Whitehead 11/3, 11/5, 11/4
Shomari Wiltshire defeated Mahendra Khusial 11/9, 12/10, 11/3, 11/7
Category E
Lydia Alphonso defeated Rebecca Lowe 11/6, 12/13, 6/11, 11/5
11/6, 13/11, 6/11, 11/5
Category F
Anthony Islam defeated Zach Persaud 11/7, 11/7
Sarah Lewis defeated John Phang 11/9, 11/3
Maya Collins defeated Daniel Islam 11/9 12/10
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