Anderson excited as squash gets ready for Olympic debut
Published:Saturday | October 21, 2023 | 12:09 AMOrane Buchanan/Staff Reporter
FOLLOWING the announcement of the inclusion of squash at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games by governing body the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the local fraternity is buzzing with excitement as the sport is set to make its debut on the global stage.
Karen Anderson, president of the Jamaica Squash Association, stated that upon receiving the news there was an air of excitement surrounding the association. She added that steps are already being taken to ensure that the country makes the most out of the opportunity.
“I sent out the notification immediately to the squash community and I just kept getting messages saying wow, fantastic, this is great. It’s been tremendously positive and we’re all excited about the next steps and what’s going to happen,” she stated.
Squash along with cricket, lacrosse, flag football, baseball and softball are all set to be involved in the Los Angeles Games. According to Anderson the plan going forward is to identify some possible players and back-room staff as early as possible in order to avoid any hiccups.
“We need a technical director and also to identify some talent who we can develop to get a squash player at the Olympics in 2028,” she added.
However, despite the buzz of excitement around squash’s involvement on the Olympic stage, it might be a bittersweet news for nine-time national champion Christopher Binnie. Binnie has been one of the country’s standard-bearers in the sport of squash for well over a decade and back in 2018 rose to a career best ranking of 65.
Anderson shared that while she doesn’t anticipate Binnie’s involvement for the Los Angeles Olympics, which is in five years’ time, there could still be a glimmer of hope for the veteran player. The squash president said they will have a discussion with Binnie on the matter. She added that any decision around his availability will be known after discussions have taken place.
“He (Chris Binnie) has been at this for a long time and this might be a little bit beyond him right now but we’re going to talk some more about it to see where he’s at and where his head space is at. I think he’s transitioning from playing the game at that level, so we’re going to look at some other players. But you never can tell because it’s the next five years and everything can change,” Anderson said.