Three juniors from PNG Squash Club in the National Capital District are participating in the Oceania Juniors Championships in Redcliff, Australia.
Christopher Whitchurch, Amity Alarcos, and Lavau Nalu are on a quest in Australia with Coach Madako Suari Jnr, to gain exposure to participate in the Australia Junior Open in Gold Coast on Thursday and the upcoming Cairns Open in February.
The team has been training in Port Moresby in the past six months in preparations for these tournaments.
Port Moresby Racquets Club has in the last six months been training the juniors in preparation for the Oceania Juniors Championships in Redcliff.
These juniors have shown commitment and trained under the guidance of Madako Suari under the Junior Development Program by the Club.
All they need now is exposure. Christopher Whitchurch, Amity Alarcos, and Lavau Nalu are the three juniors who have participated in the Oceania Championships.
It was the aim of the club and their parents to further develop these upcoming rising athletes and bring them to a competitive level with the rest of the juniors around the Pacific and the world.
Their Team Manager, Merlyn Kriebisch, said, the recent results of the Oceania Juniors Championship was great exposure and experience for the juniors to give them that extra push to be better.
The three athletes went up against some of the best juniors in the world.
Nalu Finished 22nd out of 26 in the U19’s in the tournament while Whitchurch placed 12th out of 18 boys in the Under 15, beating his opponent Joseph Clyde of Tasmania, 3 sets to none.
Meanwhile, only female participant, Aalarcos, fought hard but eventually succumbed to a loss, 3-1, to settle for the 13th spot.
They are now preparing for the Australian Junior Open that will be held on the 18th – 21st January at the Gold Coast where top juniors across the Pacific, Australia, NZ and a couple from South East Asia will be participating.
The juniors are now looking forward to their upcoming tournaments this 2018 with more determination.
