The 2022 Oceania Junior Championships came to a great conclusion today in Sydney, with the best of Oceania junior squash on display. 

After an incredible day of semi-finals action on Saturday and many upsets, their was no slowing down as the players took to the court ready to claim their final placings and fight for the title in their respective age groups. The atmosphere around the courts was electric as the finalists took to court and everyone gathered to see who would take out the top 3 spots. Whilst the finals were highly anticipated, the 3/4 playoffs put on a spectacular show with many matches going the distance in thrilling 5 setters.

The day commenced with the finals of the Under 11 Girls and Boys with Elizabeth Wang and Benjamin Boardman taking out the titles respectively. Both enjoyed the experience of playing against players from other regions that they hadn’t played against before. 

Tina Ma had a strong win  in the Under 13 Girls winning 3-0 (11-4, 11-9, 11-7) to her opponent, Emilia Scott. Scott put up a good fight and fought to stay in the match but in the end, Ma proved to be too strong, relishing the opportunity to compete at her first Championships. 

“It is pretty good, knowing that I trained for three months of hard work.. and it’s exciting to compete against people I haven’t played before and their styles were new to me which was fun,” said Ma.

In the Under 13 Boys rising star Henry Kross also delivered a strong 3-0 win (11-9, 11-7, 11-5) over James Boswell. While the 3/4 playoff between Thomas Wang and Max Aitkin was a remarkable match, seeing Wang take out the victory over Aitkin 3-2 (11-8, 10-12, 11-13, 11-5, 11-5).

Top seed in the Under 15 Girls, Sarbani Maitra, produced a sensational final to take out her New Zealand opponent Maiya Hotham 3-0 (11-3, 11-1, 11-3). Maiya put up a strong fight but Sarbani's skills were unmatched and found her unable to put a foot wrong.

The boys U15 title was taken out by Marcus Wang, 3-0 (11-9, 11-6, 11-8), with an elated Marcus shaking the nerves to deliver a strong win against his opponent Kasper Cheung.

“I was very nervous at the start as Kasper beat me last time at AJC (Australian Junior Championships). My plan going into the game was a lot of cross courts and to keep him on his toes, try not to play anything fancy and it worked out,” said Wang.

Hannah Slyth delivered one of the biggest upsets of the OJC, defeating number one seed Lijana Sultana in the final of the Under 17 Girls 3-0 (16-14, 14-12, 11-8). 

Sultana earlier this year defeated Slyth convincingly in the Australian Junior Open earlier this year, with Hannah crediting the win to her increased fitness and mobility. 

“The match was really tough. Lijana is a really good player, she whipped me three love earlier in the year. 

“I said to myself coming into this tournament I am just going to come back and play the best match possible. 

“My fitness and movement have been my big areas of improvement, and in this match I tried to attack as much as possible because she is also a very attacking player,” said Slyth.

Daniel Marsh took out the Under 17 Boys Championship defeating his Trans Tasman rival from New Zealand Christopher Hebberd 3 -0 (11-8, 11-8, 11-6). On the court next door, during the 3/4 playoff, there was an enthralling battle between Charlie Prince (NZ) and James Slade (NSW), Prince put Slade through his paces, but in the end, Slade came out on top in a gripping 3-1 victory (12-10, 7-11, 11-9, 13-11). 

In the Under 19 Girls it was a tightly fought out match between the top two seeds Ella Lash and Sophie Fadaely, the first finals match to go the distance and produce a superb five-setter. 

Lash, who hails from New Zealand, took the victory 3-2  (9-11, 12-10, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9), excited to take the win and pick up the first Championship of the day for New Zealand. 

“It was a bit of a slow start, I had a bit of nerves in the first game. I eventually got there in the fifth game after being down and I just tried to keep positive.  I could hear my coach saying ‘be positive’, it is something that got me through that and the whole tournament. 

“I was really excited to put the Fern on again and represent my country… it is all I wanted to do,” said Lash.

Whilst in the Under 19 Girls 3/4 playoff, Victoria's Amelie Guziak, who played up in the under 19 division, put New Zealand's Anne Leakey through her paces and fought hard playing some beautiful squash. In the end, Leakey proved to be too strong on the day and defeated Guziak 3-1 (12-10, 11-3, 10-12, 11-6).

The Under 19 Boys final with Oscar Curtis playing Kijan Sultana. It was a dominant win by the number one seed Curtis, taking the match 3-0 (11-5, 11-4, 11-8). Again, next door the 3/4 playoff was a battle of the fittest between Victoria's Harvey Allen and Connor Hayes, the longest match of the day at 52 minutes, the players left everything on the court with Allen taking out the win 3-2 (11-8, 7-11, 4-11, 11-7, 11-4).

The Oceania Junior Championships concluded today with a presentation of winners of each category, the full diversity of the tournament was on display with the flags of the seven competing countries proudly worn. This event saw a fantastic turn out from New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Fiji and Norfolk Island with the players putting the Australian's through their paces and providing the much needed international exposure that all players have required in the last 3 years.

For full results click here.

Catch up TV - on Cluch TV

Players attention will now turn to the Trans Tasman Test Series that commences tomorrow, 20th December and runs through to the 21st December at the Thornleigh Squash Centre, Sydney.

Final Placings:

Age Group

Winner

Runner Up

3rd Place

U11 GIRLS

Elizabeth Wang

Riyo Kawabata

Teagan Scott

U11 BOYS

Benjamin Boardman

Naveen Sanghera

Grayson Coleman

U13 GIRLS

Tina Ma

Emilia Scott

Jaida Wigley

U13 BOYS

Henry Kross

James Boswell

Thomas Wang

U15 GIRLS

Sarbani Maitra

Maiya Hotham (NZ)

Zoe Lepper (NZ)

U15 BOYS

Marcus Wang

Kasper Cheung

Brodie Bennett

U17 GIRLS

Hannah Slyth

Lijana Sultana

Soha Khatri

U17 BOYS

Daniel Marsh

Christopher Hebberd (NZ)

James Slade

U19 GIRLS

Ella Lash (NZ)

Sophie Fadaely

Anne Leakey (NZ)

U19 BOYS

Oscar Curtis

Kijan Sultana

Harvey Allen

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