Squash champs face tough test

MANILA, Philippines - The country’s top male player Robert Garcia and No. 1 female Myca Aribado test their mettle against world-class opposition in elite divisions of the Nissan Open Squash Championships, sanctioned by the Professional Squash Association (PSA), at the Manila Polo Club starting tomorrow up to Sunday.

Philippine Squash Academy president Bob Bachmann said yesterday the event will feature matches in the elite men, elite women, Division I, Division II, masters, women and juniors divisions with over 70 players, including 42 ranked by the PSA, competing in the first-ever world tour level-5 event here. Squashers from over 10 countries are listed in the pairings with pros from Malaysia, India, Hong Kong, Pakistan and Singapore expected to be in hot contention for the $902.50 first prize in both the elite men and elite women divisions.

Garcia, 31, will make his first appearance against top seed and world No. 93 Elvinn Keo of Malaysia in the elite men’s main draw at 3 p.m. on Thursday while Aribado, 23, battles No. 8 seed and world No. 97 Ooi Kah Yan of Malaysia in the elite women’s main draw at 5:15 p.m. the same day. Both main draws are made up of 12 players. Three Filipinos – David Pelino, MacMac Begornia and Dondon Espinola – will try to crack the main draw in the qualifiers involving 17 players. In the elite women’s division, three Filipinas – Aysah Dalida, Lovely Reyes-Katsumata and Joan Aribado – will join the qualifiers involving eight players in a bid for the main draw.

Philippine national squash coach Valentino Bong of Malaysia is the fifth seed in the elite division. The 28-year-old Bong, who is half-Filipino, received his PSC contract as national coach last March and hopes to compete for the Philippines in the Jakarta Asian Games next year.

Aside from Keo, the player to watch in the elite men’s division is India’s world No. 95 Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu. In the elite women’s division, the favorites are world No. 54 Vanessa Chu of Hong Kong and world No. 57 Rachel Arnold of Malaysia. There are four Filipinos in the pro squash tour – world No. 328 Garcia, world No. 375 Pelino and world No. 475 Begornia for men and world No. 103 Myca Aribado for women.

Garcia and Aribado were recently in Hong Kong to compete in the Perrier Challenge Cup. Garcia beat Pelino, 11-7, 12-10, 13-11 in the qualifiers then took out Jong Myong Park of South Korea in the first round of the main draw, 14-12, 5-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-7 before bowing to James Huang of Chinese-Taipei, 11-4, 11-6, 11-6, in the quarterfinals. Aribado disposed of Wong Pu Yui of Hong Kong, 11-8, 11-2, 11-4, in the first round then lost to Chu in the quarterfinals, 11-5, 11-7, 11-6.

“This tournament will be huge for squash in our country,” said Bachmann, referring to the Nissan Open. “We’ve got players from all over the world joining. We’re inviting sports fans to watch the matches. We promise top-flight pro squash competition combining athleticism, skill, fitness, tenacity, power, drama and above all else, passion.” LED billboards and lamp-post streamers announcing the Nissan Open are now visible in Metro Manila, said Academy secretary-general Vince Abad Santos.

Bachmann said the participation of the four Filipino pros in the PSA world tour provides international experience and raises the quality of play. “We need to improve and enhance our game,” he said. “We can’t do it by just sparring with teammates day in, day out. Additionally, the tour allows our athletes to earn more, take their game to the next level and visit the best cities in the world while representing our country.”

Bachmann said on May 21, the Philippine squash team will leave for a 36-day training and competition in at least three PSA world tour events in New Zealand. The delegation is composed of Garcia, Pelino, Begornia, Espinola, Aribado, Dalida, Bong and coach Jun Paganpan. Rafa Yam, a Filipino who lives in Auckland and whose father Manny Boy was a former Philippine champion, will join in the training. Yam, 18, will represent the Philippines at the World Junior Squash Championships in Tauranga, New Zealand, in July and will play at the Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur in August.