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Canadians eliminated at Holtrand Squash Tournament

Feb 10, 2017 | 3:45 PM

 

 

MEDICINE HAT, AB — The winner of the 2017 Holtrand Open Pro-Am Squash Tournament will not be waving the Maple Leaf after a tough opening day for Canadian players on Thursday.

All four Canadian players were eliminated during the first day of the tournament at the downtown YMCA, including local professional Brock Janzer.

Janzer was knocked out in three straight sets (11-5, 11-5, 11-4) by Abdulla Mohd Al-Tamimi of Qatar, who is ranked 38th in the world.

Despite his loss, Janzer said he is proud of his performance, which was in front of his friends and family.

“It’s the only time during the year I get to play in front of everybody,” he said. “I get to show them that I have been working hard and improving and show them what I’ve been doing.”

Janzer has been playing professional since September 2016, and is currently ranked 366th in the world. He was turned onto the game six years ago by his uncle, who played in the amateur tournament.

“As soon as I saw it, I was hooked,” he said.

Other Canadians who have been eliminated include Calgary’s Andrew Schnell, who is the top-ranked Canadian in squash, along with Sudbury’s Michael McCue (ranked 90th in the world) and Nick Sachvie from St. Catharines (ranked 84th in the world). Schnell dropped a 3-2 decision to England’s Charles Sharpes (8-11, 11-7, 11-4, 5-11, 3-11).

“Medicine Hat is a friendly place, but the tournament has not been friendly to me,” said Schnell with a laugh. “I just haven’t had strong luck here unfortunately, but I’ll keep coming back just because I love the community and I love this event.

“Hopefully, one day I can get past the first round.”

The quarterfinals continue tonight starting at 5 p.m., with eight players representing six countries competing for the grand prize. The remaining eight includes Peru’s Diego Elias, who is ranked 22nd in the world and was seeded first at the tournament.

The final is set for Sunday at 2 p.m. The public is welcome to watch.