Team Herald
PANJIM: Goa’s promising junior Yash Fadte emerged winner in the U-17 category of the US Junior Open Squash Championship which concluded at Connecticut, United States of Amercia, on Tuesday.
Yash, the first player from the State to win the prestigious championship and is ranked fourth in the country.
The 16-year-old boy from Vasco came through a field of 128 players draw to court victory in grand style.
In the final, he beat another Indian, but US-based second seed Ayush Menon 11-8, 1-11, 11-6, 11-8 to record a significant moment in his young career.
What was creditworthy was his fighting quality which came into full glow in the semi-final where he was down two games before beating Abdel Rahman Dweek of Canada 6-11, 6-11, 11-4,11-5, 11-9. Fadte’s best had come a step earlier when he downed the top seed Lewis Anderson of England 11-13, 11-3, 5-11, 11-5, 11-6.
Among other Indians, Adhitya Raghavan, the second seed in the U-19 section also won the spotlight when he came to the final before losing to the top seed Leonel Cardenas of Mexico. The Mexican beat the Chennai lad currently studying at Princeton University in the USA, rather comfortably 13-11, 11-2, 11-5. The once leading Indian junior had a good semi-final win over Egyptian Aly Hussein 13-11, 10-12, 11-8, 13-11.
While speaking to Herald, Yash’s father Dilip said that he was very happy with his son’s outstanding performance and felt that his hard work and dedication towards the game has paid off.
“Yash has trained with determination to win the US title. Besides, his daily schedule, he has been training extra hours which has taken him to such heights.”
“I have been travelling with Yash and I feel that Goa is one of the best places in the world to get the best players. Despite my cricket background, if I can do that for Yash, any other person can do it. Parents should support their children in bringing out their sportsman spirit and take maximum benefits from the State sports infrastructure,” he informed.
