UK trade envoy visits squash hub

MANILA, Philippines — Conservative Member of Parliament for Gloucester Richard Graham recently made a sentimental visit to the Makati Sports Club, where he used to play squash, an hour before leaving for the airport to end his third official trip to the country as UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s trade envoy.

Graham, 59, was based in Manila for two years as the Swire Group’s country manager for Cathay Pacific in 1984-86. Under the eligibility rules of the East Asian Squash Championships, Graham was qualified to play for the Philippines as a resident in the 1984 and 1985 competitions. Graham, an Eaton College squash champion in 1972-76, racked up victories over Thailand’s Peerapon Poonsiri, 8-9, 9-3, 9-2, 9-6 and Indonesia’s Bambang Gatot Soebroto, 9-7, 9-1, 9-7 in the 1984 tournament in Singapore but went winless in four matches in the 1985 edition in Manila.

After his Manila posting, Graham joined the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office where he was assigned to Kenya and China. He then moved to Barings Bank as chief representative in China in 1993 and became a director of Baring Asset Management three years later. Graham was voted to the House of Commons in 2010 and re-elected in the 2015 and 2017 general polls. Last year, he was appointed by the Prime Minister as trade envoy to the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and the ASEAN Economic Community. His recent visit to the country was his third in an official capacity since the appointment.

It was UK Embassy director of trade and investment Michael Moon who arranged Graham’s stop at the Makati Sports Club with Philippine Squash Academy (PSA) president Bob Bachmann and secretary-general Vince Abad Santos. Graham’s former Philippine teammates Ricky Espiritu, Cheli Espiritu-Tabuena and Jaime Ortua surprised him by showing up for the reunion.

Graham put on the same white shorts he wore in 1985 and played a few games with Ortua and national players Robert Garcia, MacMac Begornia and Dondon Espinola. He teamed with Garcia to play doubles against Begornia and Moon. Bachmann and Abad-Santos presented Graham with a Philippine squash team shirt as an honorary lifetime national player.

Graham was in the country for four days and had several top-level meetings with high-ranking government officials in Bataan, Pampanga and Manila to discuss bilateral trade and investment opportunities. Squash wasn’t left out in his agenda.

“Mr. Graham was all smiles reminiscing the past with his former teammates,” said Bachmann. “It’s been over 30 years since he played at the Makati Sports Club. He wanted to make a squash stop before heading for the airport and stayed with us for about an hour and 15 minutes.”

Bachmann gave Graham a briefer on the latest developments in Philippine squash which marked several firsts in the recent SEA Games. The Philippine team bagged two silvers and six bronzes, the richest harvest ever for the country in the sport. The Philippines had never claimed a silver before so the two medals were a feat.

“Mr. Graham was quite pleased with our progress,” said Bachmann. “We told him that the PSA now hosts tournaments in the world tour and four of our national players are in the pro circuit. We also briefed Mr. Graham about our plans to build a National Squash Center and the work at the Rizal Memorial where we hope to put up two public courts before the year ends.”

Bachmann said if the PSA is able to tie up with a conglomerate to support the construction of a National Squash Center, it will fuel the development of the sport. “Squash is considered the world’s healthiest sport by Forbes and our showing in the recent SEA Games is an indication that we can excel in this sport,” he said. “We’re now talking to a major sponsor for the National Squash Center which will have eight singles courts, four doubles, one jumbo and one all-glass.”

Since the SEA Games, Bachmann said the country’s top players have seen action in three international events. Last week, Aribado shocked world No. 47 Tong Tsz Wing of Hong Kong, 6-11, 11-7, 10-12, 12-10, 11-6 in the semifinals then dropped a heartbreaker to world No. 50 Rachel Mae Arnold of Malaysia, 8-11, 11-1, 5-11, 11-2, 18-16 in the final of the Singha Thailand Open in Pattaya. Aribado, who is world No. 92, led, 16-15, in the fifth set and would’ve won if only the referee ruled a stroke instead of a let in a crucial match point. “We’re not taking a break,” said Bachmann. “We’re pushing on. Our goal is to win our first-ever gold medal when we host the SEA Games in 2019.”

The PSA will stage another international competition at the Palms Country Club on Nov. 24-26 with over P50,000 as prize money. The country’s top players and foreign pros are expected to compete.