Colette Sultana, 12 years old, obtained a prestigious result in the Girls Under 13 category of the British Junior Grand Prix that was held in Manchester. After narrowly losing the first match, she recovered well, winning the next three matches in convincing manner to win the plate.
She was presented with the plate by the legendary Jahangir Khan, considered by many as the greatest squash player of all time, and now President of the World Squash Federation. The presentation was held during the British Open, in front of hundreds of spectators who had just watched Nicol David, Ladies world number 1, beat Tania Bailey in the semi-final. The British Open is regarded as the ‘Wimbledon’ event of squash.
In her first match against Maria Bainbridge, winner of the plate in the English Junior Grand Prix a few weeks earlier, Colette lost narrowly 10/8 9/4 7/9 9/7.
The Maltese player came back strongly winning comfortably against the next two opponents Siobhan Baxter and Elin Harlow, only dropping two points to win both matches 9/0 9/1 9/0. In the final against Ella Grayson, Sultana had to fight back from one down to win 8/10 9/3 9/1 9/1.
This is another excellent international result for Colette Sultana following her top four finish in the Austrian Junior Open last March.
The trip to Manchester was also the first opportunity for the Maltese youngster to watch the world’s top senior squash players in action as they contested for the coveted British Open title.
The final of the Ladies’ event was one of the most dramatic matches, one that Colette will surely never forget. The Australian Rachael Grinham, world number 3, played some truly remarkable and outstanding shots to beat the Malaysian world champion Nicol David in a thrilling one and a half hour match.
To top it all up, Colette ended up with the match ball that the jubilant Grinham threw to the spectators following her victory.
Sultana, ranked 34th in Europe in the Under 13 Girls category, has already resumed her training programme in preparation for her next international appointment. In December she will be taking part in the Swiss Junior Open, a European Squash Federation ranking tournament.
Asked to comment, Colette’s father said that although he is of course very proud of his daughter’s achievements, what he appreciates most is her love for the sport and that she enjoys every minute she is on court. He also added that Colette always had a very strong character and this comes out when she is competing. She is lucky to be supported by international coach Paul Lake who has been coordinating her coaching since she was nine years old.
Colette has also benefited from the support being received from Malta Squash, Malta Olympic Committee, Malta Sports Council, Malta International Airport, Marsa Sports Club, Wilson and many others. In fact Malta Squash have already committed to provide some funding to enable Colette to take part in the Swiss Open in December.
Colette’s parents have financed her trip to Manchester and also the preparatory intensive training camp in Slovakia. They are now hoping that her achievements can help them attract some much needed longer term financial support. The next couple of years will be crucial for Colette as she will need to participate regularly in international tournaments in order to keep up with her European counterparts.
If Sultana can keep up this progress, the prospects are that in June 2011, when she will be just 15 years old and turning 16, she would be more than strong enough to form part of the Maltese Squash Ladies team that will compete in the Games of the Small States of Europe in Luxembourg, and boosting Malta’s chances of getting gold in this event.