14 Aug 2024
Aspire Academy’s squash student-athletes have continued their hard work during the summer holidays with training camps and competitions.
Their schedule saw them travel to Europe, Africa and Asia in June, July, and early August.
Summer break is always a testing time for many young Aspire players as they move up age categories and face the prospect of playing slightly older players.
Nonetheless, there were impressive results at the Italian and Finnish Junior Opens, with several Aspire student-athletes finishing in the top four.
The Egyptian Junior Open featured many of the world’s best youth squash players, giving the student-athletes invaluable tournament experience and development opportunities.
Five of Aspire Academy’s student-athletes were chosen by the Qatar Squash Federation (QSF) to compete at the Asian Junior Championships, which featured categories for under-13s through to under-19s.
July also saw several Aspire student-athletes travel with the QSF to Egypt for a training camp.
Aspire Academy squash coach Francesco Busi praised the student-athletes for their incredible efforts and dedication in recent months.
“It really has been an intense summer for them that has included some excellent training camps and seen them take part in some really good competitions,” he said.
“The boys have all shown improvement over recent weeks as they go from strength to strength.”
“There have been impressive results at some of the competitions, like Khalid Al Hammadi reaching the final of the under-17s in Finland, where Talal Al Badr claimed third place in the under-15s.”
“And before that in Italy where Omar Farag was fourth in the under-15s and Ali Ouida eighth in the under-17s.”
“We are extremely happy with the way the group has progressed over the summer, and all the coaches are now looking forward to continuing their development over the next 12 months.”
The day-to-day training continues at Aspire as the student-athletes prepare for the Hungary Junior Open, which begins on 11 October.