By CrossRiverWatch admin
18 years old Cross Riverian from Obanlikwu Local Government Area of the state, Miss Alina Blessing Everian, has made Cross River proud by winning a Bronze Medal in the just concluded 3rd Under 19 Girls Squash Open Challenge.
The competition which was held at the Lagos Country Club, July 25, 2015 saw the young Cross Riverian from the Obudu Ranch who was making her first appearance in competitive tournament clinching a Bronze Medal at the end of the challenge.
Miss Everian, who is expected to leave for Cyprus for her first degree in Pharmacy, at the Eastern Mediterranean University, Cyprus, proudly displayed her medal and her squash racket while speaking to CrossRiverWatch in Calabar recently, said that she was elated over her feat in her first outing in a competitive challenge.
She explained that she developed interest in squash two years ago when she watch some persons playing squash after her volleyball training and that motivated her to join them and her interest on the sport increased, stating that due to lack of training facilities in the state, she sometime has to travel to Abuja or Lagos to train with older players who were preparing for local and international competitions.
Alina further explained that while developing interest for the game of squash and preparing for the Lagos competition, she disciplined herself a lot and forfeited her relaxation and other times to have more time to put into her training sessions, and that last year she went for the 10th Annual Calculux Indoor Games at Abuja, hoping that in the next five years she should be the Nigerian number one player and go ahead to be one of the world best in squash.
The Obanlikwu born budding star said that her not indulging in alcoholic drinks and staying away from too much pepper helped improve her because the game of squash is so strenuous and asserted that whenever the National Sports Festival commences, she will come back home to compete for honor for Cross River State and that she would be leaving for School in Cyprus by next month.
“Before now I used to play football and table tennis, I was the best female footballer in the secondary school, but I concentrate more on squash because of the love I have for the game”, Alina who is the last child in the family of Eight (five men and three women) revealed, and dedicated her medal to her mother who encourages her and who also saw to her gaining admission to study pharmacy in Cyprus; as well as her brothers who built the sporting spirit in her.
The young player who attended Government Primary School, Ranch and Annunciation Girls Secondary School, Ogoja appealed to the Cross River State Government to come to her assistance in her academics as well as provide standard squash facilities in the state to help groom upcoming talents.
Leave feedback about this