Squash: Noah Browne Targets First Round Win
[Written by Stephen Wright]
Noah Browne hopes to secure a spot at the Commonwealth Games by winning his first match of the Chubb Bermuda Squash Championships.
Browne will achieve the qualifying standard if he beats Egyptian Seif Shenawy in the opener at the Bermuda Squash Racquets Association in Devonshire tomorrow night [Tuesday].
Along with squash team-mate Micah Franklin, Browne is vying for one of six available additional spots in the island’s squad of 16 for the multi-sport event, held in Birmingham this summer.
Franklin, who competed at the Commonwealths in Glasgow in 2014 and the Gold Coast, Australia, in 2018, meets Josue Enriquez of Guatemala in the first round.
With squash never included in the Olympics, the Commonwealth Games is considered the absolute pinnacle for international squash players.
Browne, who represented Bermuda at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, in 2019, admits the Games have been on his “bucket list” for a considerable amount of time after missing out on Glasgow and the Gold Coast.
“It feels like the Commonwealth Games are within touching distance,” Browne told Bernews. “I’m so focused and intensified to win the first match.
“Micah and I have met the other qualifying standards; our final standard is to reach the round of 16 in this tournament.”
Browne said Shenawy, who is ranked 120th in the world, is somewhat of an unknown quantity but believes the home support can help him cause an upset.
“I don’t know too much about him,” Browne said. “He’s a young guy and pretty new on the scene. It’s a tough match-up, and I hope it will go in my favour.
“I’m hoping to make a little splash. If I can win the whole tournament, I will, but, at the moment, I’m just looking at getting past the first round.”
Both the men’s and women’s draws comprise 32 players who will compete for $10,000 in prize money in each category and a place in the Professional Squash Association World Open Championships, to be held at a venue and date yet to be confirmed.
The first round in the men’s and women’s draw pits ranked 9 to 16 against those ranked 17 to 32.
Other Bermudians receiving wild cards to compete are Taylor Carrick in the men’s draw and Emma Keane, Rachel Barnes, Eilidh Franklin, Isabella White and Hailey Moss in the women’s draw.
“We haven’t held this event for a few years because of Covid, and I’m super excited,” Browne said.
“It’s a chance to showcase Bermuda squash, and the island does have a depth of talent.
“Playing against these guys shows what it takes to reach the higher level and the amount of work required.”
The 28-year-old, ranked 139th before the Covid-19 pandemic, said competing has taken a slight backseat since returning to Bermuda to begin his professional career as an underwriter at Chubb.
“I’m looking for opportunities to represent Bermuda rather than flying off to play in different tournaments,” he said.
“It’s been a wild ride because of Covid, and being able to compete [overseas] has been unpredictable and not always possible.
“I moved back to Bermuda at the beginning of Covid and took the opportunity to build my professional career and started working for Chubb last summer.
“I’ve been balancing learning about underwriting while still playing squash. Hopefully, I can strike a balance between the two.”
