Squashers stay busy

Even as squash has been delisted from the SEA Games calendar in Hanoi this May and there’s no certainty if the national team, known as Kayod Pilipinas, will be given the green light to represent the country in the next Asian Games, the athletes’ pool isn’t sitting around idly. SEA Squash Federation and Philippine Squash Academy president Bob Bachmann said yesterday the squashers are doing exactly what they’re known to do – “kayod lang ng kayod.” The players are training in a private Muntinlupa court, staying fit, sharp and competitive.

The Philippines marked a breakthrough in squash at the 2019 SEA Games, taking second overall with a gold, two silvers and two bronzes behind Malaysia. The mixed team of Robert Garcia, MacMac Begornia, Myca Aribado and David Pelino struck paydirt in delivering the country’s first-ever SEA Games gold medal in the sport. Garcia took the silver in men’s singles and anchored the men’s squad to a runner-up finish. Garcia’s teammates were Begornia, Pelino and Christopher Buraga. Aribado pocketed a bronze in the women’s singles and joined Aysah Dalida and Jimmie Avila to finish third in the team event. Despite losing the chance to capitalize on the momentum gained from the SEA Games, Bachmann said Kayod isn’t taking a step back.

“Morale is fine,” said Bachmann. “We have many other tournaments besides the SEA Games. As SEA Squash Federation president, one of my initiatives is to have more SEA championships – individuals, juniors, team, doubles, jumbo doubles and Squash 57 for both men and women. As for the 2022 Asian Games, I’m hopeful we’ll make it to China. If not, we still have our world and Asian federation-sanctioned tournaments and the Professional Squash Association World Tour.” Before the year ends, Bachmann said Kayod will battle at the Asian Team Championships in Kuala Lumpur on Nov. 30-Dec. 4, the World Team Championships in Kuala Lumpur on Dec. 7-12, the Thailand International Individual Championships on Dec. 15-17 and the SEA Team Championships in Bangkok on Dec. 18-21.

In the men’s roster are Garcia, Pelino, Begornia and Drexel University varsity player Matt Lucente while the women’s lineup is composed of Aribado, Dalida and Lizette Reyes. Lucente, 21, played for New Zealand at the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires and has been cleared to represent the Philippines by World Squash Federation operations manager Carol Hackett after a mandatory three-year wait to effect the transfer. Born in Manila to Filipino parents, Lucente migrated to New Zealand with his family at an early age. Reyes, 21, is making her national team debut and has a brother Jonathan who is in Kayod’s youth program. Bachmann said the future is bright for Kayod with Reyes and Asia’s No. 1 U17 player Buraga, both 15.  The plan is to send Buraga and Reyes to the British Juniors Open next year. Another reason to be upbeat is the installation of the country’s first public squash courts at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex. Bachmann said the PSC and IATF recently gave the go-signal for the installation by M. E. Construction. “The courts will be installed under close supervision of Courtech Germany and Singapore via video teleconferencing,” he said.

Bachmann said a new event Squash 57 is gaining in popularity. “It’s played by two players on a regular squash court using racketball rackets and a specific Squash 57 ball which is slightly larger and more bouncy than a typical double yellow dot squash ball,” he said. “The livelier ball allows for added time to reach your opponent’s shot and means Squash 57 doesn’t require the same intense deep lunging movement that can be taxing on the knees, hips and feet. It’s ideal for older players or those with less racket sport experience and provides a great workout in a social setting.”