St. Paul’s College, Milagiriya schoolgirl Ifra Shasmin Booso emerged Girls Under-11 champion at the 32nd Junior National Squash Championship held at the SSC courts and has now been propelled to yearning for more laurels.
Ifra swept all before her defeating the top seeds Thedara Liyanage and Sithumli Mendis of Sirimavo Bandaranaike Vidyalaya on her way to capturing her maiden title at the Junior Nationals.
Ranked number three, Ifra upset top ranked Thedara Liyanage 3-2 in the semifinals winning a thrilling contest which went to the wire 11-9 4-11 11-4 5-11 11-9.
In the final she won 3-1 marking another hard-fought match 11-9 11-8 10-12 12-10 against second seed Sithumli Mendis.
Ifra also clinched third position in the Girls Under-11 event at the Junior Open Squash Championship conducted by Sri Lanka Squash last year.
The youngest in a family of three girls who represented their school in badminton, Ifra displayed her talent at the new racquet sport two years ago when she was placed third in the Under-9 category at the 30th Junior National Squash Championship.
Her second sister Aniqa Shazi Booso was placed third in the Under-15 Novices event at the Junior Nationals.
Ifra has blossomed as a future squash star after coming under the wing of former national squash coach Shamil Talagala training at Austasia Squash Academy where she trains four times a week.
She is the Under-11 badminton captain of St Paul’s who emerged doubles runner-up in the ‘E’ division All-Island inter-school tournament in 2019. Her eldest sister Farhana Shammama Booso was Under-19 badminton captain of St. Paul’s and was Vice-Games Captain of the school in 2019.
The Booso sisters can boast of a sporting pedigree with their maternal grandfather Thassim Junkeer being a former cricket umpire and renowned coach.
“Ifra’s aim is to become national champion and represent Sri Lanka in international competitions,” said Ifra’s proud mother Farzana Booso.