By Yvonne Sakala –
TOP seed Manda Chilambwe yesterday started his campaign in the Zambia State Insurance Corporation (ZSIC)-sponsored Midlands Open squash tournament on a bright note, beating Willard Sikwakwe 3-0 in the first round.
Chilambwe made short work of Sikwakwe to better his chances of winning the K6, 500 top prize at Lusaka Squash Club.
In other matches, seed two Frank Wabo trounced Lewis Mwape 3-0 while Chris Mulubwa, who is seeded fourth, outran Steven Mwansa with an identical score.
Enos Mwale bashed Joseph Ngoma 3-0, with Eric Muma having the easiest of victories after his opponent Paul Chanda failed to show up for the game.
Ngosa Musonda beat Mwiinga Lengwe 3-2 in a tightly-contested game as Kachinga Kabwe cruised past Chris Banda by 3-0 while 10th seed Alfred Muma outclassed George Nkonjela 3-0.
In the ladies’ category, the games started late with only two games played by Press time where eighth seed Sheila Musukuma edged Eunice Geza 3-2 while Emelda Mambwe saw off Abigail Chanda 3-0.
In the executives’ category, Frank Mumba beat Mlotha Damaseke 2-0 while Ian Ncube beat Rupesh Mekkant with a similar margin.
Lusaka Squash Club captain Sylvester Chisenga said the club was impressed with the massive turnout of players especially in the men’s section, and predicted a tough competition.
