Ritzbury Junior Squash Nationals begin today

Over 300 players between the ages of eight to 18 years will compete in the Ritzbury Junior National Squash Tournament which will be worked off from October 17 to 23 at the Tamil Union Sports Complex, Colombo.

The events in which the players will be taking part are boys under 19, girls under 19, boys under 17, girls under 17, boys under 15, girls under 15, boys under 13, girls under 13, boys under 11, girls under 11, boys under 9, girls under 9 and in the Novices Tournament. Boys under 19, girls under 19, boys under 15, girls under 15, boys under 11, girls under 11.

Binura Jayasuriya will be the top seed and Gihan Swaris will be the bottom seed for the boys under 19 event while Nadindi Udangawa will be the top seed and Dulakshi Ellkawela will be the bottom seed for the girls under 19 event.

The President of the Sri Lanka Squash Federation Commodore Palitha Weerasinghe thanked Ritzbury for coming forward to sponsor the Junior Nationals for the fourth consecutive year.

This tournament will be followed by the Janashakthi open an Inter-Club Tournament and the Nationals in December and the Federation hopes to popularise the game in the rural areas with the support of the Ministry of Sports.

He also revealed that an Asian Level One coaching programme will be conducted by former national player Yasmin Zarook and Brigadier Tissa Jayatunge while another special programme will be conducted on November 5 to mark World Squash Day.

The SLSF President also said that the Ritzbury Junior Squash Nationals will be used as a qualifier for national ranking. Squash is gaining popularity in Sri Lanka and presently there are over 500 squash players in the country.

Ritzbury's Senior Brand Manager Nilupul de Silva said that Ceylon Biscuits Limited and Ritzbury was delighted to continue its support to the tournament. Squash is becoming more popular among schoolchildren.

It is an up and coming sport which needs energy and his company is happy to support a sport of that nature which gives youth an opportunity to develop their skills and go onto represent the national team in the future.

Nilupul said that Ceylon Biscuits has been sponsoring volleyball, football, athletics and under 19 schools cricket in a big way and will continue to sponsor sporting events in the future too.