Chris Hind, (right) president of the Jamaica Squash Association, is all smiles after receiving a sponsorship cheque from Tarun Handa (centre), managing partner for KPMG in Jamaica, for the staging of the 19th KPMG Squash League. Sharing in the moment is JSA executive Douglas Beckford, who will serve as co-director of the tournament.
Exciting action was anticipated as the tournament's unique handicap format levels the playing field across age, gender, skill level, and experience, giving every team a realistic chance to win the championship.
While there is no clear favourite, the defending champions, Milex Eaglets, are considered top contenders with All Jamaica Under-19 champion Tahjia Lumley leading the charge. Lumley will be supported by his fellow junior players Aman Dhiman and Dylan Vaz as well as experienced competitor Shane Slater.
Among those looking to unseat the Eaglets are their stablemates, former champions, Milex Eagles, who suffered a shock defeat in the quarter-finals last year after being highly favoured to win the tournament. The all-girl team, which includes 13-time national champion Karen Anderson, former Caribbean junior champions Larissa and Akelia Wiltshire and the stylish Alex Jordan, will be seeking redemption at this year's tournament.
Also in serious contention are 2017 semi-finalists the Screaming Eagles, who bring depth and experience to the table. The team, which includes seasoned campaigners Stuart Murray, Shane Murray, Rajeev Venugopal and Jeremy White, have the skill and experience to make it to the winner's circle.
Tarun Handa, managing partner for KPMG in Jamaica, said: “This marks 19 years since the KPMG has been the sponsor of Jamaica's premier squash tournament and it has gotten better every year in terms of the quality of play, the level of sportsmanship, as well as the level of crowd support; and we are pleased to align our brand with a sporting event of such a high standard.”
Tournament Director Nathlee Boreland said, “We expect the 2018 KPMG League to deliver the usual exciting matches and strong competition that will make it challenging for the players and enjoyable for the spectators.”
The six-week long championship will start with an initial four weeks of round robin competition and finish with a three-stage knockout round as well as a plate competition. All matches will be played at the Liguanea Club in New Kingston on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
No comments:
Post a Comment