Coastal squash players took the honours at the Huster Wanderers Open Squash Championship on Saturday, with Brandon Grane and Charne Fourie winning the men and women's A Division titles.
Grane of the Buccaneers Squash Club in Walvis Bay, who is ranked second in Namibia, beat the third-ranked Le-Hugo van Rooyen of Wanderers 3-1 in the men's final, while Fourie of Swakopmund Squash Club beat another coastal player, Chantelle de Gouveia of Buccaneers 3-2 in the women's final.
The men's final was evenly matched, with Grane winning the first set 11-5, but Van Rooyen drew level after taking the second set 11-6. Grane, however, impressed with his speed around the court and impressive retrieving shots and gradually pulled away to win the next two sets 11-5 to complete a resounding 3-1 win.
Afterwards, Grane said it was a great match.
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"Coming into the game, I knew it would be a tough one against Le-Hugo, because he's always a physical guy. I knew I had to step up to the plate to take on that physical side of him and just keep my head cool.
"It was a really good game; he pushed me throughout, and I think we pushed each other to a very good level," he said.
"I put in a lot of time and effort coming into the tournament, and I came in with the right mindset. That was always one of my things that has helped me, and I think I'm on the right path to keep it as level-minded as possible, just to keep my squash at a consistent level," he added.
Grane said the title meant a lot to him.
"I really wanted to come and perform in Windhoek after many previous tournaments where I did not perform. So coming into the tournament, I really wanted to prove myself and prove what we can do and what we are doing at the coast. There's always a strong rivalry between Windhoek and Walvis Bay, and we always push each other, so it's very competitive," he said.
Kyle Kriel won the bronze medal after beating Danie Greeff 3-2 (11-5, 9-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-9) in a close contest.
The women's final was a thriller as Fourie beat De Gouveia in a tough five-setter. Namibia's top-ranked woman, De Gouveia, seemed to be on course for an easy win when she took the first set 11-3, but the second-seeded Fourie dug deep to take the second set 15-13.
De Gouveia once again cruised through the third set, winning it 11-3 to go 2-1 ahead, but Fourie showed great resolve to win the fourth set 11-9.
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The momentum had turned to Fourie, while De Gouveia also started making some unforced errors as Fourie went on to take the fifth set 11-7 to win the match 3-2.
Vasti Oelofse finished third after beating Carla Nortje 3-2 in the third-place play-off.
Clinton McElhone won the Men's B Division after beating Andrew Forrest 3-2 in the final, while Franco Lambert came third after beating Jonathan Abbott 3-0.
Adam Nel won the Men's C Division after beating Philip Kuhn 3-0 in the final, while Edmond Nel beat Shereef Martin on a walkover to finish third.
