SEVEN players from the Coffs Harbour Squash Club competed at the 2024 Australian Junior Open (AJO) and Oceania Junior Championships (OJC) in Melbourne last week, showcasing promising results.

Bodhi Wratten (boys under 11s), Jaida Wigley (girls under 13s) and Eden-Alma Poulava (girls under 17s) all advanced to the quarterfinals, facing formidable international opponents, particularly from Malaysia, Pakistan and India.

However, despite their strong efforts, Bodhi fell to Seng Hou Caden Fong from Macau, Jaida was bested by Elizabeth Wang from Sydney, and Eden-Alma was defeated by Mehwish Ali from Pakistan.

Squash coach Jemma Wratten applauded all of the results against tough competition.

“The AJO was particularly strong this year with many of the best junior players from overseas travelling to Melbourne in search of world ranking points, it was the biggest junior event in Australia for quite some time.”

“It was a fantastic opportunity for our players to experience this level of international competition and see how they stack up.

“It was very encouraging that our players reached the latter stages of such a big tournament, and it will serve them well in the future,

“All of our players did really well with Cleo Poulava finishing in ninth, Jayden Sparks (under 17 boys) finishing in 20th place, Sebastian Williams (under 17 boys) 27th place and Dylan Wigley finishing in 29th place,” she said.

The players wasted no time as they returned to the courts the following day for the first round of the OJC, achieving further success.

Bodhi Wratten and Cleo Poulava progressed to the quarterfinals, with Bodhi securing fifth place and Cleo seventh.
Wratten commended the players’ resilience in facing more international opponents.

“The players did well to back up and played against more international players including a strong contingent from Malaysia who have been a powerhouse in world squash over the years.

“We had two players reach the quarter finals, Bodhi and Cleo, and all of our players finished strongly with Eden- Alma, Jaida, Jayden, Seb and Dylan ending on a high note and gaining valuable experience,” Wratten said.

Results AJO Australian Junior Open

U/17 Boys

Jayden Sparks 20th

Seb Willians 27th

U/15 boys

Dylan Wigley 29th

U/11 Boys

Bodhi Wratten 11th

U/17 Girls

Eden- Alma Poulava 7th (finishes the highest place for a NSW Player and Australian Player in the draw)

U/13 Girls

Jaida Wigley 8th

Cleo Poulava 9th

Oceania Junior Championships

U/17 Boys

Jayden Sparks 20th

Seb Willians 27th

U/15 boys

Dylan Wigley 21st

U/11 Boys

Bodhi Wratten 5th

U/17 Girls

Eden- Alma Poulava 11th

U/13 Girls

Jaida Wigley 13th

Cleo Poulava 7th

By David WIGLEY