WONDER KID WEDNESDAY
With a relentless attitude, 13 year-old Naomi Nohar wants nothing more than to become a PSA (Professional Squash Association) squash player.
Currently in Grade 8 at Gems World Academy (GWA), Naomi has been pursuing the sport since she was a young girl. She started playing squash with her parents when she was only 4 years old and began to enter local tournaments in Ireland when she was 7. Naomi is currently recognized at National (Netherlands and UAE) and European level.
With a strong thirst for competing, Naomi participates in several ESF (European Squash Federation) junior tournaments per season- this is where the top European squash juniors meet and compete. In July 2017, she reached 3rd place (her highest ESF Junior ranking) for U13 Girls. On average she impressively made it to the semi-finals in the Super Series tournaments with a 3rd place finish at the Czech Junior Open 2017 and the Dutch Junior Open 2017.
As for Naomi’s future competitions, she has already got a few lined up. This month, she will be competing in the Girls  (Large).JPG)
Under 15 category.
To say Naomi is a dedicated young athlete, would be an understatement. She trains about 2.5 to 3 hours every single day, supported by her coach Khawaja Maqbool and ex world number 66 Coach Adil Maqbool. Naomi was recently offered a great opportunity to join a squash clinic with Raneem el Weleily (PSA ranked 3) and Nicol David (PSA ranked 6) at the PSA World Series Finals in Dubai earlier this year, due to the fact that she won the Dubai Open for Girls Under 15- while she was still 12 years old. This filled Naomi with happiness and only reconfirmed her goal of becoming a professional PSA player.
Fortunately, Naomi’s school results do not suffer from her intense and rigorous training/competition schedules. GWA luckily allows her to study “off campus” during tournaments, so that she can keep up with homework while abroad. She also takes full advantage of her school’s gym during her lunch breaks and before/after school hours so that she can maintain her fitness as well as improve to her fullest ability.
When you come across a young athlete with such a strong drive and healthy attitude, you can’t help but think to yourself that this kid will achieve nothing but great things in her life. We wish Naomi the best of luck!