Anderson pleased with ‘successful’ KPMG League
Published:Sunday | April 16, 2023 | 1:46 AMOrane Buchanan - Staff Reporter
PRESIDENT OF the Jamaica Squash Association, Karen Anderson, believes the 2023 staging of the KPMG Squash League, which made its return to the Liguanea Club in St Andrew after a three-year hiatus, was a tremendous success.
According to Anderson, the sport is seeing some growth in Jamaica.
“It was fantastic, we were very happy about the tournament,” she said.
“It’s interesting because it’s a handicap system. So persons who wouldn’t normally get to play against nationally ranked players, and players who are at the top of the game here in the country, now get to compete against them and then we have the team format. That also makes it unique in that sense. It’s 23 years. We’ve tweaked it over the years and we’re getting to the point where people are loving it, coming out more, and want to participate in it,” Anderson stated.
National representative and former junior champion Julian Morrison, who was one of the standout players in the league, went undefeated and was also part of an Advantage General Insurance (AGI) team which won the overall championships. Morrison, in the championship game, defeated Adam Lee, who represented the Almost Capable team, 21-10, 18-21, 20-21, 20-21, 20-21.
Morrison believes the format of the league was what made it competitive and believes it was a good test for the local junior players to build their competitive play.
GOOD OPPORTUNITY
“The entire KPMG League was a successful league and it was a good opportunity for everybody that played to test their skills, at a deficit, playing better players. For the juniors, it was a good opportunity for them to build their mental toughness, fitness and dealing with players who are more experienced than them,” said Morrison.
Rajan Trehan, member of title sponsors KPMG, said the format of the league gives the junior players a big chance to develop, which in return will help with the overall development of squash in Jamaica.
“We are thrilled as to how the tournament went. I think the format of the game is so interesting that it gives the opportunity for very experienced players to play with junior players, and therefore it helps the junior players to develop. It is also good for the overall development of the game in Jamaica and I think the timing was perfect for this tournament.”