It’s been a highly productive and successful summer at the international level for players from the Shakiru Matti Squash Academy.
The Richmond-based program out of Sports Central has produced impressive victories around the globe.
It started at the 2016 Hong Kong Open where Jacob Lin captured the U11 title, becoming the first Canadian to ever win an age group at the platinum world series junior tournament. His division featured a whopping 120 players from around the world — a number that is typical of all entries in a B.C. based tournament.
The Matti contingent also included strong showings by Sarah Cao and Cynthia Cao. The trio then headed to Niagara-on-the-Lake where they joined other academy members Andrea Toth and Gabriel Yun for the annual Battle of the Border event against the United States.
The five-player representation on the 24-member Canadian team was by far the largest out of any academy or club in the country. The local group had a huge part in Canada winning the competition by collectively going 4-1 in their individual matches.
The overall result in the three combined age divisions — U13, U15 and U17 — was Canada 13 United States 11.
