Mihiliya Methsarani the emerging Squash sensation brought glory to her motherland yet again when she won the first medal for Sri Lanka at the 2nd Youth Asian Games currently underway in Nanjing, China.
Mihiliya a student of Sirimavo Balika Vidyalaya, created history becoming the first Sri Lankan squash player to clinch a medal at the Youth Asian Games. Mihilya who is ranked 8th in the Girls under 17 category in Asia as per the official rankings of The Asian Squash Federation was unseeded in this tournament.
In the first round Mihiliya overcame her Indian opponent Nadiyah Maudy Wafa in straight sets with the final score reading 11/8, 11/6, 11/4 in her favor. Mihilya who played a relaxed game finished the match in less than half an hour booking her a place in the quarter finals.
In the quarter finals Mihiliya had to play ¾ seeded Arnold Rachel Mae and the match turned out to be a complete turnaround of events. Much experienced and fancied Rachel took the first two sets easily at 11/5 each keeping the Malaysian dream of winning another medal alive. It was definitely not the day for the Malaysian star as Mihiliya who was determined to win a medal, fought really hard and took the last three sets at 11/3, 11/9, 11/7 keeping alive the Lankan dream of the a medal. The upcoming Sri Lankan Squash prodigy proved to be a tough fighter as it was the 20th ranked player in the Asian senior circuit that she held down with her magic.
However in the semifinal Mihiliya was halted by the top seed Malaysian Vanessa Raj depriving her proceeding any further. Mihiliya lost the match with the scores reading 11/0, 11/5, 11/9, giving a sharp fight back in the final two sets which was not enough to bring down the top seed.
This will definitely be an eye opener for the authorities responsible for the development of the game in the country. Though the Youth Asian Games consists of both the team event and the individual event sending a full team to represent Sri Lanka in both the disciplines was turned down due to financial constraints. The current squash contingent too was sent for the games after a lot of struggle since some authorities were quite pessimistic about their performances.
It his high time the authorities take notice of the talent of such junior Squash players and come out with a proper plan to develop them into future stars. With the next Youth Asian games scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka in 2017 a proper development program should be in place to increase the number and the value of the medals.
ThePapare.com congratulates this young star on her achievement and wishes all the best in her future endeavors.
