Fong into semis
SECOND seed Daniel Fong is through to the semi-finals of the Jack’s of Fiji Nadi Open Squash Championship A Grade after defeating Mahima Goonesekera in three straight sets at the Nadi Sports and Social Club (NSSC).
Daniel defeated Goonesekera 11-8, 11-2 and 11-4.
Having taken up the sport actively in 2016, Daniel is one of those players who has risen up through the ranks rapidly.
He attended Nadi Airport School and then schooled at Nadi Muslim College before moving to
Suva for university studies.
This was where he met Fiji women’s number one Alison Yee who introduced him to squash.
“My achievement in squash has been pretty big because I haven’t been playing the sport for long,” Fong said.
“I had a quick rise. “Alison introduced me to squash and I loved it from there.
“I started playing it in 2013 and then took it up seriously in 2016 by participating in the major tournaments.”
The tournament has attracted a total of 76 players.
Jack’s of Fiji marketing public relations officer Biu Tadranu said this marked their second year of sponsorship of the event.
He said they were happy to be the main sponsor and were also excited since they were a Nadi-based company.
“It is an opportunity to promote our sports brand Qaqa,” Tadranu said.
“Our main aim is support minority sports but we also sponsor major sports like football and rugby.”
NSSC sports director Leilani Tokalautawa said they were grateful to the sponsorship from Jack’s of Fiji for the second consecutive year.
“The level of competition across the board will be balanced,” she said.
“In the A Grade we have very good players although we are missing some because of family commitments. We are trying to invite the people not just to watch the sport but to take it up as well.”
The tournament continues today.
Results: (A Grade) Daniel Fong def Mahima Goonesekera 11-8, 11-2, 114. (B Grade) Jack Fong def Satya Nadan 11-4, 11-5, 11-7. (C Grade) Finau Gonerogo def Jason Pillay 11-8, 11-9, 11-8; Hong Liang Yu def Navneet Nair 9-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-5; Semantafa Samisoni def Adrsh Kaylash Nadan 11-5, 11-4, 7-11, 14-12; Raynal Singh def Diraj Kaylash Nadan 11-3, 8-11, 11-5, 11-2. (Novice Grade) Tuvitu Silatolu def Nikhil Reddy 13-15, 11-5, 11-7.