Namibia’s top junior squash player Francois Hanekom excelled at the Technifibre Bloemfontein Open over the weekend, winning the gold medal in the boys under 14 category.
The 13-year-old Hanekom won all his matches in straight sets to reach the final where he beat South Africa’s top-ranked player Codey Abrahams in straight sets to win the title.
According to Hanekom’s father, Francois senior, the Bloemfontein Open is the biggest junior squash tournament in Africa.
“The Techifibre Bloemfontein Open is the biggest junior squash tournament in Africa and it also serves as South Africa’s premier event for the selection of their national teams – if you want to count amongst the best you have to participate in the Bloemfontein Open,” he said.
“Last year Francois won the u13 categories at the Boland Open and the Stellenbosch Open, and this year he once again won those titles in the u14 category. That took him to the next level, the Bloemfontein Open, where he came up against the top junior players of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Botswana,” he said.
According to Francois senior, the tournament had a record entry of close to 500 players, while most of the age group categories had qualification rounds just to make the A division.
Hanekom opened his account with a dominant 3-0 victory against the 31st seed Kaelo Banda on Friday, conceding only two points as he won the match 11-2, 11-0, 11-0.
Later that day he took on the 15th seed Reece Earl and once again made quick work of his opponent, winning the match 11-3, 11-3, 11-1.
On Saturday morning he beat the seventh seed, Zander Smit in straight sets, 11-2, 11-5, 11-3, which put him through to the semifinals where he came up against Milton Posthumus, South Africa’s third-ranked player.
Posthumus provided a bit more resistance, but Hanekom once again won the match in straight sets, 11-7, 11-3, 11-5.
In the final, later that day, Hanekom came up against South Africa’s top ranked u14 player Anderson, in a highly-anticipated encounter according to Hanekom senior.
“Codey dominated the boys u13 and u14 categories over the past year and entered the Bloem Open with an unbeaten record. Even before the start of the tournament the showdown between South Africa and Namibia’s top ranked players was highly anticipated, and they finally met in the final,” he said.
The two players had never met before, which made the outcome even more unpredictable, but in the end Hanekom sealed a comprehensive straight set 11-5, 11-6, 11-5 victory to win the trophy.
“Francois dominated the match from the start, displaying more variety in his stroke play. It disrupted Codey’s plans because he didn’t know what shots Francois would come up with. Francois, on the other hand, soon figured out Codey’s strategy and managed to counter most of his low attacking shots,” Francois senior said.
Francois senior said he was now undoubtedly the top-ranked player in Southern Africa in his age group.
“We knew this was the big one – if he won it we could assume that he is the best in Southern Africa, and now he has done it. He had an amazing run, he didn’t drop a set throughout the tournament so I’m thrilled,” he said.
“I am now planning to send Francois to Europe next year. If I can raise enough funds I hope to enter him for the British Junior Open in January 2026 in the u15 category,” he added.
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