Top seed Umar Hoosen retains Umhlali squash title
Late burst carries him through in tight five-setter.
The Umhlali Country Club Squash Tournament finals delivered intense competition last week, featuring 30 players across A and B divisions. The tournament, which spanned three weeks, culminated over the weekend with thrilling finals that required some epic five-set battles to decide the winners.
In the B division plate final, newcomer Jason Young took on veteran Murray Moxham. Young raced to an early two set lead, but Moxham fired back with two of his own to set up an exciting fifth set. Young eventually triumphed 12-10 to secure the plate honours.
In the B division trophy final, 2nd seed Andrew Thomas faced 3rd seed Didier Quevauvilliers. Thomas drew first blood with an 11-8 victory, but Quevauvilliers dominated the next three sets on the trot to earn a 3-1 victory.
The A division plate final also went the distance, as 4th seed Nicholas Powell took on 8th seed Rashid Joosub. After splitting the first four sets, Powell stormed through the fifth with an 11-1 victory to secure the win.
That paved the way for a thrilling main A division final between two familiar names in the local squash world, 1st seed Umar Hoosen and 2nd seed Avesh Nurbadh.
Nurbadh has a glittering CV, with over 10 local titles to his name, while Hoosen has seen an exponential rise in his four years in the sport.
A sizeable crowd gathered to watch what promised to be an excellent final and they were not disappointed as the players served up a 5-set epic that took almost an hour.
Hoosen opened his account with an 11-7 first set win, before Nurbadh showed his guile to claim back-to-back sets 12-10 and 11-7.
The punishing long rallies and pressure eventually told and Hoosen’s youth proved paramount as he fought back to win the final two sets 11-6 and 11-8 to defend his title.
“It’s been a challenging year, full of injuries and obstacles, so coming out on top feels especially rewarding,” said Hoosen.
He thanked tournament organiser Arnold Fortmann, who in turn thanked the club and sponsors for making the tournament possible.
The players now turn to the Dolphin Coast Tournament next week.
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