Lyon, Curtis score historic 3-peats at AJC
Published Thu 28 Sep 2023
It was a historic day at Brisbane’s Daisy Hill Squash & Racquet Club for the individual finals of the 2023 Australian Junior Championships.
Both Under 19 winners created AJC history by joining an elite group to have won the age division title at least three times.
Madison Lyon (QLD) put on an impressive display to beat opponent Courtney Scholtz (VIC) in just fifteen minutes 3-0 (11-0, 11-6, 11-4) to secure her third U19 Girls AJC title.
“Feels really great to have defended my title today, it is my last year as a junior so it is great to end on a high,” she said “Courtney was great competition, she really kept up with the pace.”
Lyon became the first female in over 45 years to win the title three times, joining Beverly Malcolm (1952-1954), Pat McClenaughan (1961-1963) and Rhonda Shapland (1972, 1974-1976) as the only ones to do so.
Not to be shown up Oscar Curtis (WA) who came from a game down to defeat Andre Lynn (VIC) 3-1 (9-11, 11-2, 11-2, 11-0), becoming the first male ever to achieve the U19 three-peat.
“I’m so happy to have won my third title,” said Curtis. “It was a bit rough on court at the start, I had to get it together to win the rest of the games.”
A recent move to Queensland has shown change is as good as a holiday for former Victorian Haider Naqvi who beat fellow 3/4 seed Jackon Wylie (NSW) 3-1 (9-11, 11-1, 11-3, 11-8) in the U17 Boys final.
Lijana Sultana (QLD) now has a professional squash career on her mind following her win over Joanne Joseph (VIC) in the U17 Girls final.
Sultana’s 3-0 (11-5, 11-9, 11-9) win secured back-to-back titles in the U17 Girls division.
“It was great to have a win on my home court and have all my support, friends and family close by has been a huge help,” said Sultana.
“I’m taking a gap year next year to hopefully play professionally, I’ve just signed up for PSA and can’t wait to get started.”
Kasper Cheung (NSW) overcame difficult conditions on the court to also secure back-to-back titles with his win against Joel Roshan Raj (QLD) in the U15 Boys final 3-0 (11-9, 11-4, 11-6).
“It was a tough match, eyewear was a big issue with the humidity, you have to constantly take them off and wipe them once every few rallies, it is what it is, you need to play the conditions,” he said.
Yet another defending champion reigned supreme in the U15 girls division with Sarbani Maitra (QLD) defeating Victoria’s Tina Ma 3-1 (11-4, 11-5, 10-12, 11-2).
“It feels amazing to have defended my title, the ball was bouncing around on court a lot,” said Maitra. “It’s Tina’s first year in U15s and she has come up really well, I was really glad to play her today and see her play well.”
A unique situation in the U13 Girls saw the final become a family affair with twin sisters Olivia and Nadia Van Zon (SA) playing one another.
In the end, Olivia claimed the title with a 3-0 (11-1, 11-4, 11-2) victory.
“I honestly didn’t expect to win but I am happy I gave it a good crack,” she said.
“Last night and this morning Nadia and I were definitely getting into each other’s ears about who was going to win. She played much better than I expected.”
The U13 Boys final saw first and second seed Kaveen Kohombange (QLD) and Thomas Wang (NSW) play for the title, with the Queenslander coming away with the 3-0 win (11-1, 11-4, 11-2).
The U11 Boys final was a five-game thriller with defending champion Kai Dumbleton (QLD) having to fight for his win against top-seed Benjamin Boardman (NSW) 3-2 (11-9, 12-10, 5-11, 7-11, 6-11).
Yashica Jiwa Mohan (VIC) defeated Annette Chow (NSW) in another five-game match to secure the U11 Girls title.
The Australian Junior Championships continue tomorrow with the start of the Team event which will be played across two divisions through to Sunday.
2023 AUSTRALIAN JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Daisy Hill Squash & Racquet Club, Brisbane QLD
Thursday 28 September - Individual Finals Day
U19 Girls Madison Lyon (QLD) d Courtney Scholtz (VIC) 3-0 (11-0, 11-6, 11-4)
U19 Boys Oscar Curtis (WA) d Andre Lynn (VIC) 3-1 (9-11, 11-2, 11-2, 11-0)
U17 Girls Lijana Sultana (QLD) d Joanne Joseph (VIC) 3-0 (11-5, 11-9, 11-9)
U17 Boys Haider Naqvi (QLD) d Jackon Wylie (NSW) 3-1 (9-11, 11-1, 11-3, 11-8)
U15 Girls Sarbani Maitra (QLD) d Tina Ma (VIC) 3-1 (11-4, 11-5, 10-12, 11-2)
U15 Boys Kasper Cheung (NSW) d Joel Roshan Raj (NSW) 3-0 (11-9, 11-4, 11-6)
U13 Girls Olivia van Zon (SA) d Nadia van Zon (SA) 3-0 (11-1, 11-4, 11-2)
U13 Boys Kaveen Kohombange (QLD) d Thomas Wang (NSW) 3-0 (11-1, 11-4, 11-2)
U11 Girls Yashica Jiwa Mohan (VIC) d Annette Chow (NSW) 3-2 (11-6, 10-12, 9-11, 11-9, 11-8)
U11 Boys Kai Dumbleton (QLD) d Benjamin Boardman (NSW) 3-2 (11-9, 12-10, 5-11, 7-11, 6-11)
MC Hazel Girls Winner - Best & Fairest - Joanne Joseph (VIC)
MC Hazel Boys Winner - Best & Fairest - Haider Naqvi (VIC)
Click here for all results.
