Ten-year-old Joanne Joseph is proving to be quite the ace in the squash court. Joanne, a student of Bacchus Marsh Grammar, who has only been playing the game for the last couple of years, has already made a mark for herself on court, and is currently the No 1 ranked player in Under 11 girls both in National Rankings—Australia as well as the Victoria State ranking.
Most recently, the Victoria state announced Joanne in their state team to play the prestigious Australian Junior championships to be held at Darwin on October 18. “Joanne is one of the youngest players to have represented the state in squash and would play the Under 13 team category for the state,” says her father Anil. He and his wife Susan moved from Mumbai to Melbourne in 2002.
“Indian parents like are more likely to consider popular sports like cricket, football, tennis, and but squash is a good option as well. Of late, there has been a spurt in the number of players from Indian and Sri Lankan backgrounds who are doing well,” he adds.
“I am hoping that Joanne’s achievements will encourage some of the parents or kids to pick up squash. It is a very popular game in India and the Indian team won the silver in the Commonwealth games held this year,” says Anil.
Some of Joanne’s other achievements this year in the sport include third position in the Australian Junior Open (QLD), silvers in the Tas Junior Open and GP#2 Junior Age, and winning the Westerfolds Squash Open 2018 and Masters Juniors Champs (section 11).
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