Enjala on fire
Walvis Bay hosts squash action
Wanderers Squash Club's Max Enjala emerged victorious in a Namibian Closed Squash tournament over the weekend, while Chantel de Gouveia took the crown in the women's competition.
Nikanor NangoloMax Enjala from the Wanderers Squash Club defeated Danie Greeff after winning three sets in the best-of-five tournament men’s finals, while Chantel de Gouveia took top honours for the women on Sunday.
Sanctioned by the Namibian Squash Association, the Namibian nationals squash tournament saw more than 30 players contesting at the Buccaneers Squash Club and Jan Wilken Indoor Sports Complex in Walvis Bay.
Enjala defeated Greeff with an impressive three out of five sets (9-11, 9-11, 11-9, 13-11, 11-4). According to him, his opponent took hold of the first and second sets, which motivated him to get focused.
“After I lost the second set, I decided to get my focus back, apply more pressure and make minimal errors. I succeeded with that in the third game.
“In the fourth set, I decided to make him run, with my aim being to get the energy out of him by moving corner to corner. It was almost 50/50, but eventually I got a hold of the fourth set.
“In the final set, that’s when I went in for the kill and I was certain that I was going to take it,” he said.
No stranger to winning
Enjala pointed out that he is no stranger to winning.
“I have been winning for quite a while now. Last month we had country districts in South Africa where I won 50% of our team’s matches.”
Meanwhile, Greeff told Namibian Media Holdings that his game against Enjala was “very tough”.
“I was two up and then I lost three. Max did very well; I think I gave it my everything but, at the end of the day, he was the better player of the day,” he said.
In the women’s finals, De Gouveia defeated Carla Venter, winning three sets 11-8, 11-6 and 11-7.
Enjala alongside four other top male players in Namibia will be leaving for Port Elizabeth in July to go head-to-head with South African players.