A RECORD number of entries for the National Squash Championship has got the organisers buzzing.
The BSP-sponsored tournament, which started on Thursday, is being held after a lapse of two years.
Tournament co-ordinator Pritesh Prasad said a total of 73 players have entered the Suva competition alone.
He said the 30-plus players in Lautoka took the total number of players above the 100 mark.
"This is by far the best response we have received from players in recent years," Prasad said.
"Also this is the first time we are playing the tournament separately in Lautoka and Suva.
"We will have the round-robin games this weekend and the top four players from Suva and Lautoka in the cup competition of each grade will meet in the quarter-finals next Friday."
Tournament official Kee Fong said the competition had been a good start for the year as the interim committee tried to rejuvenate the sport.
He said the most exciting part was the high number of young players that registered for the tournament.
"We've had good interest particularly in the novice category where there has been a lot of enthusiasm amongst the new players whose games have been competitive," Fong said.
"Two young juniors played particularly well and beat their older opponents. 11-year-old Neil Tukana won his C grade game and 16-year-old Jioji Simpson also won his first game in the Men's A grade.
"They have the potential to become future Fiji representatives if they continue with their development," he said.
Round-robin competition ends today.