Wiltshire among top performers in 2019 Canadian Junior Squash Open
Guyanese Shomari Wiltshire (3rd from right) and other top participants pose with their medals.
Guyanese Shomari Wiltshire (3rd from right) and other top participants pose with their medals.

JUNIOR 2019 Caribbean Under-17 champion Shomari Wiltshire was among the top performers in the recently concluded 2019 Canadian Junior Squash Open.

Wiltshire was a part of a 4-man team which included Caribbean Under-15 runner-up Nicholas Verwey along with 2019 Junior Caribbean Under-13 runner-up Mohryan Baksh, Nicholas and Joshua Verwey.

The team though small gave a good account of themselves with spectacular performances, as Wiltshire who ended sixth in the U-13 division in 2015 and ninth in the U-15 in 2017, went even further this year as he made it to the final before losing to Canadian Gabriel Yun in 3 sets; 11-4, 4-11, 9-11, 8-11.

Wiltshire, who was seeded 13/16, defeated Canadian Max Shewchenko in the first round 11-4, 11-2, 11-5 before whipping Caribbean counterpart Caymanian Jace Jervis 11-9, 12-10, 11-5.

In the round of 16 he found himself matched up against the number 2 seed in the tournament, New Zealand’s Jack Conder. He upset his more seasoned opponent winning 4-11, 11-5, 11-7, 12-10.

In the quarter-finals Wiltshire battled 9/12 seed Canadian Griffin Manley and defeated him in straight games 12-10, 11-8, 11-7, before tackling seeded Canadian Amin Khan.

In 2015 while playing in the U-13 division Wiltshire beat Khan, fast-forward two years later in 2017 when Amin Khan was the number one seed in the U-15 category when the Guyanese lost 3-2.

This year, Wiltshire won the first game 13-11 but dropped the second game 9-11, before winning the crucial third game 12-10. He then closed out the match 11-8 to reach his first Canadian Open final. The final saw him clinch the first game 11-4 but then Gabriel regrouped to win the second game 11-4.

The Guyanese then went up 9-7, two points away from taking this game, but it was not to be. He lost the game 9-11 and the fourth 8-11 to finish as runner-up – a fantastic achievement.

Meanwhile, in the U-13 category, Baksh finished a creditable ninth place while in the U-15 Verwey, who was unseeded, faced Canadian Danny Leigh, an unseeded opponent in the first round where he thrashed the home guy; 11-2, 11-2, 11-4.

The four players now move on to the 2019 US Junior Squash Open in Massachusetts from December 14 to 17, in Allston, Massachusetts. U-13 division Baksh is seeded 49/64 and Nicholas 65/96, Joshua is seeded 33/48 in the Boys’ U-15 with Wiltshire in U-17 seeded 49/64.

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