By Isaac Afolabi
Former Nigeria number one female squash player Yemisi Olatunji has won the 2024 Alberta Open Invitational championship in Canada.
The women took to the courts first with Yemisi Olatunji booking her spot in the final with a 3-0 win over Kyla Workman.
In the other Semifinal, the defending champion, Jaime Laird made her way to the final with a hard fought 3-1 victory over Leona Faller.
In the Women’s Final Olatunji lived up to her top billing and took the championship with a 3 -0 win over Laird.
According to her it was great to see our top women on the court during the event – hopefully we will see more of them in the near future.
Speaking on her performance, Olatunji expressed satisfaction saying her constant training,hardwork and consistency paved way for the success in Alberta.
On the men’s side Noman Khan showed off his shot making skills and variety with a 3-0 win over the #1 seed Ian Power who showed he still has lots of game despite only just recently returning to the court after a long break to have hip surgery.
In the second semifinal, Sam Boulanger continued his dominance with a 3-0 win over Rohan Pailwal in a match featuring incredible court coverage and a good mix of attacking and controlled/patient play by both players.
After the break, Boulanger and Khan put on a great display of court movement, shot making and resilience in a closely contested match that saw Boulanger come out on top with a 3-1 victory.
A big thank you to the BVAC for hosting Squash Alberta and Alberta’s top players in the 2024 Alberta Open Invitational.
Also, a huge thank you to our tournament officials, Rod McDougall, David Yound,Christopher Doyle and Colin Schille for their time and efforts behind the glass over the weeekend to keep things on track and ensure a fair outcome for all the players – much appreciated by all!