Meakins, Sealy basking in Masters squash success

 

By Morissa Lindsay

Barbados’ king and queen of squash at all levels, Karen Meakins and Mark Sealy, returned home this afternoon with individual gold and bronze medals won last week at the 2022 Betard WSF World Masters Squash Championships in Poland.

Meakins created history last week as the first Barbadian player to win a World Championship in squash at any level when she competed at the women’s Over-50 competition while Sealy did incredibly well to emerge among the top three in the men’s Over-60 category that featured close to a hundred participants.

These are two incredible players with vast experience between them as they both have been playing squash for over 40 years. They exited the arrivals area of the Grantley Adams International Airport just before 2 p.m. today and shared similar sentiments that it felt good to be back home after what they described as being an amazing past week.

The 50-year-old Meakins said it was really hard to describe how it feels to achieve a lifelong dream of being a World Champion but it was amazing and she was looking forward to defending her World Championship title in two years in Amsterdam.

“It has been a crazy couple of weeks and it is very difficult to describe what it feels like but it is my lifelong dream come through. I am looking to defend my title in two years’ time in Amsterdam, so I would be training for that from now on,” Meakins explained.

The former 15-time Barbados and three-time Caribbean champion added: “I had a week’s rest after the tournament but now I will be back on court getting some training. I’m not sure what tournaments are coming up but I am just looking forward to getting back on the squash court.”

There are a number of persons who helped to make Meakins’ dream of being a World Champion a reality and for that she expressed gratitude. “There are several Barbadian companies that sponsored me and helped pay my way for the tournament, my friends and my family. Mark who was brilliant at the tournament and coached me throughout the matches. So, thanks to everybody who has supported me and it is hard to name them all but thanks to everybody that has contributed to my journey in Poland. All the messages of support and congratulations are very humbling and I am grateful to everybody.”

At age 61, Sealy isn’t showing any signs of slowing down and he continues to represent Barbados with pride and distinction. He also shared how it felt to be back on home soil with a bronze medal around his neck.

“After the tournament I went and visited my family in England but I am feeling really good about the bronze medal. At every
world championship I have managed to improve a bit, the last one I was eighth so to get on the actual podium was a goal of mine,” Sealy said.

A true class act on the squash court, Sealy pointed to some areas in his game that needs work but also noted that fitness played a critical role in his success this year.

“I have identified a few areas that I need to work on in order to go steps further and get two or three more points off the top two guys, so I am looking forward to it in two years. It is a lot of work to do, a lot of training, a lot of movements to do, work on movements, a bit of technique, and I was really pleased with my fitness.

“I had a couple of very hard matches where I was down 2-0 and came back and won 3-2 and then last match for the bronze it was 2-2 and then I managed to win the fifth game quite easily 11-3. So, I think fitness played an important part but there are some areas
I really need to tighten up on which some of the top players are doing better than me,” Sealy shared.

He also credited his family, wife Jackie and son Daniel for being in Poland to support him at such a major sporting event. Sealy thanked fellow Barbadian squash players Meakins, Shawn Simpson, Rhett Cumberbatch, Stewart St. John and Darien Benn who assisted in his preparation.

A former eight-time men’s champion, Sealy also made special mention of Guyanese star player Nicolette Fernandes who along with Meakins talked him through his crucial quarterfinal match that went down to five sets. Then there was his team that comprised chiropractor Daniel Nuet, sports and physical therapist Jackie King along with Rachel and Georgia of Red Zen Pilates Studio – all of whom helped to make Sealy’s journey run as smoothly as possible. morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb