Kijan Sultana (picture, right) won the Croatian Junior Open that was played in Zagreb last weekend.
After beating Nataniel Hernas (Poland) 11-2, 11-5, 11-2, Sultana, 12, then eliminated Hungarian no.1 Martin Mannheim in straight games 11-7, 11-4, 11-6 to reach the final against Scotland’s Finlay Martin.
Sultana won the first two games 11-5, 11-6 but Martin fought back to clinch the third game 16-14. Sultana remained composed and performed brilliantly to win the next game 11-3 and seal his first European Junior Circuit title.
Sultana’s success follows the second place he achieved in the Austrian Junior Open in February and the U-17 Malta Open title earlier this month.
The ranking points earned in Zagreb will elevate Sultana to a top-10 position on the U-13 European Squash Federation list. He had started the Croatian Junior Open at no.15.
Sultana’s squash development is being nurtured by professional player Bradley Hindle Deguara with the assistance of Christer Gustafsson at the National Sport School. He is also supported by the Maltese Olympic Committee, Sports Malta and Malta Squash.