After failing to qualify for the Pan American Squash Championships in Colombia, Bermuda’s squash team will not compete at the 2023 Pan American Games.
Five qualifying spots went to the host nation, Peru, the United States, Mexico, and Canada, leaving Noah Browne, Anaya Smith, and Taylor Carrick disappointed.
In the singles, Browne started well with a 3-0 victory over Dane Schwier of Jamaica, but Bermuda’s No. 1 player fell to Colombia’s Miguel Rodrguez 3-0 in the round of 32.
Smith lost 3-0 to Mexican Juan Sebastian Salazar Gomez in the round of 64, while Carrick lost 3-0 to Jose Tomas Gallegos at the same stage.
Bermuda lost 2-1 to the Cayman Islands in their position nine to 16 encounter after being beaten 3-0 by the United States in the round of 16. As a result of torrential rain, Barbados was unable to play their match to determine where they would finish between thirteenth and sixteenth.
The Bermuda Squash Racquets Association’s head of squash believes the players will come back stronger.
“From what I’ve heard, the boys had some mixed performances in tricky conditions,” Franklin said.
“The temperature/humidity was high and the courts were very different to what they are used to. Some of the best players in the world were there saying the same. Noah had to play a top-ten player in the world on day one, which just shows what type of competition they were up against.
“I believe all three of them had some performances that they were happy with and some that they would like to forget about.
“However, sometimes those hard losses are the best matches to aid in improvement. I’m sure they will be disappointed not to qualify but I will reassure them to try to keep their heads high and learn from the experience.”
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