Doha, QATAR, Oct 29 (ePRESS) – Matheesha Wijesekara, Sri Lanka’s junior squash champion from Royal College, made history this week by reaching the semifinals of the Doha Junior Open Squash Championship, an Asian Junior Super Series (AJSS) event held at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha, Qatar. This marks his first appearance in the semifinals of an international tournament.
Seeded third in a competitive draw of 32, Wijesekara faced tough opponents from squash powerhouses like Qatar, Pakistan, England, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, China, and Iran. In a closely contested semifinal, he fought hard but narrowly lost with scores of 9/11, 10/12, and 10/12. Unfortunately, he also suffered an injury to his left shin during the match, which affected his performance.
In the match for third place, Wijesekara faced a Pakistani player who had recently secured fifth place at the Asian Junior Individual Championship in Pakistan. However, he was unable to overcome the pain in his shin and lost that match as well, finishing fourth overall with scores of 8/11, 9/11, and 8/11.
Earlier in the tournament, Wijesekara excelled by defeating a strong Egyptian player in the quarterfinals with a score of 3-1. He had a successful start, winning his opening match against an Iranian player and another straight-sets victory against a Qatari opponent in the pre-quarterfinals.
His remarkable performance has drawn praise from referees, players, and coaches alike, all predicting that Wijesekara will achieve greater success in the future and bring attention to Sri Lanka’s junior squash sector. Squash experts believe that with proper support from sponsors and officials, he could achieve significant honours for Sri Lanka before the end of his junior career in two years.
Looking ahead, Matheesha Wijesekara will travel to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Singapore in early December to compete in two more Asian Junior Super Series events: the REDtone KL Junior Open and the Singapore Junior Open Squash Championships.
