Squash player Gwidzima in US Open

17 Dec, 2017 - 01:12 0 Views
Squash player Gwidzima in US Open Ryan Gwidzima

The Sunday News

Ryan Gwidzima

Ryan Gwidzima

Ngqwele Dube, Sports Correspondent
BULAWAYO’S young squash prospect, Ryan Gwidzima is set to fly the country’s flag high as he contests among the world’s best at the US Junior Open Championships that kicked off yesterday (Saturday) morning.

The championships are taking place at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.

The Kumalo Primary School pupil is the only Zimbabwean player taking part at the prestigious tourney that attracts hundreds of emerging international stars every year.

Gwidzima, who left on Wednesday afternoon for the United States, was scheduled to play his first game at 3pm (Zimbabwe time) yesterday (Saturday).

The squash ace revealed excitement at playing at the world stage and competing against the best in his age group from all over the world.

He said he will take the opportunity to take a leaf from other players while learning more about squash at the event.

“I am excited about the trip. I am looking forward to a new experience in the States and I want to learn as much as possible from the event so that I improve my game.

“I know the atmosphere might be intimidating but I am going to do my best and come up with the best results,” said Gwidzima on Tuesday before he left for Johannesburg, South Africa en-route to the United States.

Gwidzima is being accompanied by Trevor Williams, a Suburbs Squash Club player and coach, whose daughter Lauren is resident at Yale where she teaches and coaches’ squash.

His father, Langton Gwidzima said his son’s impressive rise in the sport prompted him to throw him into the deep end and face the elite juniors in the sport.

“His impressive rise in the three years that he has been in the sport made me apply to the US Open and fortunately he was invited. I believe he is naturally talented in the sport as he has been dominating his peers locally and in South Africa since he started playing squash.

“I did not wait to test him against continental peers because we didn’t want to miss this chance and there is a lot we can learn in order for him to improve his game,” said Langton, who is also a squash player.

He revealed he failed to secure a United States visa hence he could not accompany Ryan.

Ryan’s exploits locally and in South Africa have seen him domination his age group while also challenging the older players.

In July, he made a clean sweep at the South African Inter-Provincial Tournament winning all his nine matches while a fortnight ago he emerged victorious in the Under-14 section at the Zimbabwe Squash Academy’s eighth anniversary celebrations tournament held in Harare.

Langton revealed Williams had managed to secure funding for the trip with Davis Granite, NMB and other members of the Bulawayo business community.

The US Junior Open Squash Championships are the largest junior squash event in North America and the tournament has attracted over 900 of the top young players.

 

Share This:

Survey


We value your opinion! Take a moment to complete our survey

This will close in 20 seconds