Vai takes Aussie title, NZ title next

PAPUA New Guinea’s top seeded female squash player Lynnette Vai, pictured, won her second Australia Open title last week.
The Malaysia-trained player swept through all that came before her in the 2017 Australian Junior Open titles in Darwin.
More than 170 players participated in Australia’s largest international junior squash tournament accompanied by coaches, managers, parents and the enthusiastic Darwin public.
Players from New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, PNG and Australia attended the four-day tournament.
Her first title was the Under 13 Australia Open in 2011.
After the Australian Junior Open, Vai will head to the Oceania Junior Championship and New Zealand Junior Open in April in New Zealand.
The 18-year-old, who is the defending Pacific Games champion, said her aims for 2017 were mainly to focus on her university studies and also maintain her fitness and stay in competition in preparation for the professional squash circuits and Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Australia, in 2018.
She thanked her major sponsor Pacific Balanced Fund for their support that made it possible for her attending tournaments last year.
In the finals Lynette played New Zealand’s number two, Kaitlyn Watts.
The match lived up to the hype and expectations, being nothing short of remarkable.
It was a grueling five-game match with its highs and lows with Vai eventually coming out on top 11-13, 0-11, 11-9, 11-2, 11-6, after dropping the first two games.