Kenya to ditch trials, use players ranking to select squash teams

Nairobi, Nov 18: Kenya will do away with the trial system and instead use players' rankings when selecting squash teams for international competitions, officials have announced.

Kenya Squash and Rackets Association (KSRA) Chairman David Ngunjiri said on Thursday that players will be selected for international events based on the points they accumulate by participating in the association's league and other events that are sanctioned by the organisation, reports Xinhua.

"Most of the top players do not take part in our events because they are assured of a place in the national teams owing to their skills, thereby curtailing the growth of the game in the country," Ngunjiri told Xinhua.

"From now henceforth, only those players who participate in KSRA events will be accorded an opportunity to represent the country in global tournaments. Any player, however good, who does not play locally will not earn an automatic spot in any team," he added.

The chairman said the KSRA has demystified squash as an elitist game by decentralizing the game from its epicentre in Nairobi and spreading it across the country.

Ngunjiri's remarks came in the wake of the suspension of the coach of the national squash team, Prince Mukuka following breach of ethics.

Mukuka was barred from taking part in any squash activities sanctioned and approved by the association after the Zambian national supposedly asked parents not to enter their children in KSRA tournaments after he was denied the chance to accompany the national team to a global tournament. 

"The standards of the game dropped as a result after the young players were confined to only playing among themselves with nowhere to gauge their competence by competing with others around the country," Ngnunjiri said.