By Iva Wharton
There was a surprise, though not unfamiliar name among the list of players who participated in the recent Bounty Farm Handicap Squash tournament at the Georgetown Club.
The name Garfield Wiltshire stood out like a sore thumb when the names of who were competing in the Open section of the tournament were announced.
But yes! It was true, Garfield Wiltshire, one of the most dominant male squash players this country has ever produced was back on the squash courts after some 11 years.
In an exclusive interview with Stabroek Sports, Wiltshire, a former three time Southern Caribbean men’s singles champion, explained that he had never really retired from the sport though his previous tournament was way back in 2001 at the Caribbean Championships.
“I never officially retired and I started training last year while my kids were training for the Junior Caribbean Championships, which were here.
I started doing some fitness work and I continued over the Christmas Holidays to see how it went. I have always said that if I will start back playing I have to be fit.”
Wiltshire’s two daughters, Akelia and Larrisa have followed in the father’s footsteps and are both national players. He also has a son Shomari who plays as well.
But Wiltshire is not ready to say goodbye to the courts where he has had such great, unforgettable moments and says he feels that he has reached a level of fitness where he could go back to playing the sport he loved competitively.
His run in the handicap tournament where he reached the quarter-finals despite playing with a minus 20 handicap showed that he still has what it takes to at least be among the top male players locally.
“I was satisfied. Even if I had won (his quarter-final match against Ryan Rahaman) I would have had to play two games back-to-back and I am not sure that I would have been able to play that seeing that I was coming from so far back in terms of my handicap. But other than that I thought that the tournament was a good one,” he opined.
Asked what his feelings were getting back on the court, Wiltshire said… “It was great! I enjoyed it. I had fun. I think I played fairly well and we will see how it goes from here.”
He said that the possibility exists that he will be competing in more tournaments.
“I played fairly well, but it all depends on how my body holds up because I am not as young as I used to be and it obviously will take its toll. “I felt pretty good throughout the tournament. I thought it was going to be a lot harder on my body. It was hard in some ways, but it surprised me how I was able to recover each day. But as I said, the last match, I am not sure that I would have been able to even if I wanted to play the semi-finals because I think the strain on me was a result of the last match.”
Wiltshire remains upbeat about the issue of shaping up.
Getting back into shape would not be difficult, he reasoned as he coaches his children at least four times per week. He said that with them getting better it gives him the push to get out back on the court.
“From that I have been obviously doing some work on the court which has helped and coming down to the last couple of weeks I would play of couple of matches with the guys on Saturdays and that helped me in preparation for the tournament.”
Wiltshire, who works with Bryden and Fernandes, said that had withdrawn from competitive squash to prepare for the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) examinations. According to him due to his squash commitments, he was not sure that he would have devoted the time required to his studies, so he took a break.
“And I just decided after that tournament that I would stop and concentrate on that. Subsequently, I was encouraged to return to the court, but I could never really commit to becoming fit enough to get back on the court.”
Now that he is officially back on the court, a laughing Wiltshire said the he is not looking forward to playing any particular tournament, but said that the ultimate goal is to participate in the Caribbean championships again.
“This year it’s in Trinidad and if things work and if I feel that I am playing as well as I can play and given the time of my layoff that will be the tournament that I will be gearing up to play if I actually come back out and play any tournament in the region.”
Asked about developments in the sport since he first took to the courts, Wiltshire said that the sport has truly come a far way.
“When I started playing squash we had a few courts but squash was mainly played at the Georgetown Club. Now we have two spanking new public courts which will do tremendous good for the game. It will enable people of all walks of life to have access to squash court. We know there is a lot of untapped talent out there but due to the fact that the courts were private courts, it sort of limited who had access to them and to squash. “But now, with these public courts, it will go a long way.”
Speaking about his three children who are all involved in the sport, Wilshire said that he is pleased with the progress they have made.
Asked whether he had anything to do with them taking up the sport, he said: “I play squash and they started to play also. But I don’t think I forced them to play squash. My older daughter used to play table tennis but she does not play anymore, but they just play the sport. My second daughter is very good at track and field. She is very talented, but I guess she does not want to train or put in the hours on the track. But other than that they are well rounded individuals.”
According to him, he and his wife understand the importance of striking the balance between education and sports which he said is working just fine as his children are enjoying the best of both worlds.
