THE wall bashers at the Astaka Courts, here, were double the usual turnout this time around.
The recent Under-12 Inter-team Unity Squash Carnival saw 16 teams taking part. That’s a significant increase from eight teams in the past two years.
Interestingly, Singapore entered four teams this year.
The carnival was organised by Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) and SportsUnite Sports Club, and sponsored by Milo.
Mary Ong, a stalwart of junior squash for more than 30 years in Selangor and MBPJ, was again the organising chairperson of the carnival.
In the spirit of unity, a principle upheld by SportsUnite since its formation nine years ago, all the participating teams comprised children of at least two different races. The make-up of each team was two boys and two girls.
It was a two-day carnival with a round robin format on day one and the top four teams squaring off in the semi-finals on day two.
The team of Sarvish Nair, Tiyaggu K. Ramu, Vasthi Vinodhini Ambusamy and Charlize Chong emerged champions in the final, winning on countback against Team Yugal’s Eshwar, Benjamin Ma, Jelena Ellyn Chong and Kirtena Chandera Perakash after both sides were deadlocked at 2-2.
Team Aidan’s Khairuddin Yunus, Loga Anpalagan, Daksyani Muniandy and Laalitaambigai Vengdasalam emerged third with a 3-1 win over the team of Justus Chua, Rheshwan Anbumani, Jennifer Joan Lewis and Joy Ong.
Datuk Dina Rizal, chairman of SportsUnite, said: “There were no winners or losers, all the children who took part and the many parents who turned up to cheer them on were winners in helping to promote the game, develop new skills and inculcate a spirit of fellowship and unity.
“It was very inspiring to see children of different races having a great time together playing the game they love and making new friends in the process.
“Our thanks to Milo and MBPJ for making this carnival a reality.
“We look forward to the 4th carnival in 2015 with promise and more teams.”
The prizes were presented by Aznan Hassan, director, of the department of community development MBPJ.