Walker takes HKFC title

THATO KALA
Correspondent | Monday June 3, 2013 00:00

 

According to reports from Hong Kong, Walker cruised to the quarter-finals after subduing Australian qualifier Rex Hendrick in the opening round of the PSA International 25 squash event.He then dealt with home opposition when he took on Hong Kong number one Max Lee for a place in the last four.It then took Walker 37 minutes to book a place in the final after beating Egyptian teenager Mohamed Abouelghar. The Gaborone-born star sealed his HKFC triumph with a striking performance in the final, beating Anjema 11-8, 11-6, 11-7. Walker, at some stage, trailed Anjema in the first game, owing to uncharacteristic mistakes.

But midway through the game, Anjema made his fair share of unforced errors, and the Botswana international seized the opportunity to pull level and eventually win the game 11-8.The following game followed a similar pattern with solid depth squash interspersed with sudden attacks, but seemingly, no matter how tight and fast Anjema hit his drops, Walker would return strong shots. Again, Walker managed to retain his form and ran out 11-6 up in the second game. Anjema put up a stronger fight in the final game and started hitting more dangerous shots, forcing Walker to shuttle from corner to corner to salvage dead kill after another.Despite being a little under pressure in that game, the reigning African champion, Walker, kept a stranglehold on the match, eventually winning the final game 11-7.

The title triumph comes as a major boost for Walker, who will spearhead Botswana's campaign at the World Championships in France as the country makes a maiden appearance.Meanwhile, the United States-based star dropped one place on the world number one ranking, according to the June Dunlop PSA Men's World Squash Rankings which are published today by the PSA. Walker now sits at position 15 in the world.