Siddle, Wood crowned Namibian Open squash champions

Lauren Siddle (women) and Michael Wood (men) were crowned as the 2014 Namibian Open squash champions in Walvis Bay on Sunday. Siddle, who is ranked second in South Africa (originally from the UK and living in South Africa) defeated the third-ranked South African Milnay Louw 3-0 (8-11, 11-9 and 11-8) in the final of the women's cup section. Wood defeated Jimmy Schlebusch 3-1 (5-11, 11-6, 11-7 and 11-5) in the final of the men's section. A total of 64 competitors from as far as Australia, South Africa and Zambia joined the hosts, Namibia, in action at the 2014 edition of the tournament, which was contested over three days. Games were hosted at Buccaneers Squash Club and at the Walvis Bay Indoor Sport Complex. Namibian Squash Association (NSA) chairman Nelson Herunga labelled the tournament a huge success. “It is evident that Namibian squash standards are improving,” he said. “The tournament also provided a good opportunity for Namibian junior squash players to compete. We want these players to mature by building and developing them through participation in top-class competitions,” Herunga reflected. The chairman said the field will be strengthened considerably by the possible participation of some big guns in next year’s competition, which will be played in an all-glass court in Windhoek. In other final matches, Lida-Mari Calitz defeated Lucinda Rodriquez 3-2 (11-7, 11-7, 11-5, 11-4, 11-9) in the women’s Plate Section final. Clifford De Wett won the Plate section of the tournament. Hein Bam defeated Daniel Conradie 3-1 in the final of the Men's B Conciliation division. Freddie Malherbe defeated Herunga 3-0 in the B Section Final. WALVIS BAY-OTIS FINCK