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Calgary Making a Racket

From the Canadian men’s open to the national junior and senior championships, Calgary is crushing it when it comes to squash.

Alberta’s largest city recently hosted the men’s open championship at the Bow Valley Athletic Club and attracted healthy crowds to the matches.

The event took place from March 4-7, culminating in a title final between Peru’s Diego Elias and Mazen Hesham of Egypt.

Elias won the first two games of the final by 11-2 scores before Hesham bounced back with an 11-9 triumph. The third-seeded Peruvian closed things out with an 11-8 win during the intense match.

“I feel super happy, really happy with the matches I played all week. I was really good and solid. I’m very proud of myself. I was up in the third and Mazen just kept pushing and playing so hard, it was so good from him. I got a bit tired but am just happy I could reset and push on in the fourth,” said Elias in an interview on TheSquashSite.com.

“The crowd has been amazing. Here in Canada, they love the sport and they support us every day. Every day it’s been full and thank you everyone for coming all week.”

Hesham, who is ranked seventh overall by the Professional Squash Association (PSA), also spoke glowingly of his Calgary hosts.

“I want to thank everybody here for coming out … I love being here in Canada,” said Hesham, adding he has a healthy respect for Elias.

“We’ve been playing each other for about 10 years. We’re friends today and we’ll be friends tomorrow. But for that half-hour to an hour on court, we’re just trying to beat each other.”

HOLDING SERVE

Up next for the sport in the Stampede City is the Canadian Junior & Senior Squash Championships.

That event will take place at the Glencoe Club from April 27th through May 5th.

“The Glencoe Club is always ready to put their hand up to support squash in Canada and are excited to host the combined junior and senior nationals under the same roof in 2024. We look forward to welcoming athletes, coaches, officials and spectators to Calgary in late April and early May for excellent competition on the courts and even better camaraderie off it,” said David Duncalf, head squash professional at the Glencoe Club, in a press release.

Squash players will compete for a total of 42 titles at the event, while $15,000 in prize money is up for grabs in the senior competition.

“The 2024 Canadian Squash Championships is set to be a wonderful celebration of our community; having the juniors and seniors compete together at a world-class venue like the Glencoe Club on the All-Glass Power Court presented by the Syra Group is inspiring,” added Squash Canada Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jamie Nicholls.

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