Malinga ready for test against SA’s top squash players

Exciting South African squash prospect Awande Malinga is relishing the opportunity to gauge her progress against the country’s top female players when the Growthpoint SA Nationals take place from October 15 to 17 in Pretoria.

The country’s premier individual domestic tournament adopts a new format this year, with eight qualifying events being held around the country before the winners of each duel for the top honours on the all-glass court at the Brooklyn Mall.

The 15-year-old Malinga, who lives in Pretoria and is a Grade Nine learner at Midstream College, has made her mark in the junior ranks, punching above her age. Last year at 14 years she finished as the number two player in the u-16 division.

That represented an improvement from ninth the previous year and a sure indication the Northerns teen is one to watch.

Now, in a year which has been frustrating for sports players worldwide, Malinga is looking forward to some real competition. She will compete in the Northerns qualifier from October 8 to 11, where she is seeded fourth, behind former pro Farrah Sterne, Helena Coetzee and Makgosi Peloakgosi.

“I am definitely excited to play against some of the top females in South Africa so I can see where I stand among them, as well as to improve my squash game,” she said.

Introduced to the game by her father, Celumusa, she showed a certain maturity by focusing not only on results.

“I must say that playing squash is more about fun, loving the game, playing with your friends and improving my performance – it’s not all just about winning.”

But there is no denying her competitive edge when she said: “My favourite moments were Sundays where the finals would be played and I would often win a prize because that showed that my hard work had paid off at the end of the day.

“I also do athletics, sprints and long jump, and I sometimes play social table tennis. But my favourite of them all is squash, where I seem to be doing the best.”

Selected for the SA Schools team for the first time in 2017, she took part in the annual Asian Tour of Malaysia and Singapore, something she repeated in 2019.

“I did better in 2019 by coming out as the best South African player among girls of all the age groups in the teams. I finished ninth in Malaysia and sixth in Singapore.”

She has helped her school represent Gauteng North at the SA Top Schools tournament, winning all her matches at number one, and has been the province’s top u-16 player for the past three years.