Ashley Khalil is already quite a decorated female athlete. One would simply marvel at her career, which includes a number of junior and senior accolades at the local, regional and international levels.
Stabroek Sport examined her career to highlight some of her special moments.
In 2007, she astonishingly captured the Junior National Squash titles in the under 15, 17, and under 19 categories; the same year she was crowned the Junior National Badminton champion in those identical categories.
She continued to ride her form in 2007 and captured the girl’s under-15 Junior Caribbean Squash championship, two junior Pan Am medals (silver and bronze), and a silver medal at the Junior Caribbean Badminton championships.
It was quite a year for the then 14- year-old who was indisputably dubbed the National Sports Commission Junior Sportswoman of the year.
Those accomplishments were achieved over a decade ago, and we would be hard-pressed to recall all of her other achievements since then.
However, only last year, Khalil, who is also a junior Caribbean under-19 Squash champion and under-17 silver medalist, recorded her fifth Central America and Caribbean Games medal when she joined forces with Taylor Fernandes in the Squash doubles category, to hand Guyana its only podium finish at that edition of the games in Colombia. Boasting such an extravagant career, one would imagine that Khalil would have harboured hopes to extend her career to the pro circuit.
Instead, she contemplated quitting the sport, a move she instinctively went against.
“I wasn’t necessarily going to quit altogether but I wanted to stop playing in national tournaments and what not… when I decided to ‘retire’, everyone was telling me that I have too much talent which could go to waste and I could just play it for fun.”
Her decision also affected her father.
“It kinda hurt my dad too so I worked it out and found ways to enjoy the sport again. Now, there is no pressure and I’m doing it on my terms and that’s how I reconsidered and started taking it seriously again,” Khalil, who is one of the front runners for the 2018 Senior Sportswoman of the year award, said.
Her reinvigorated attitude towards Squash could possibly land her even more fortune in 2019 especially at this year’s Senior Caribbean Squash Championships slated for Georgetown in August, and the Pan Am games in July.
“Every year since I’ve started playing senior CASA, I’ve always lost in the semifinals so this year hopefully, I can get past the semis,” she revealed to Stabroek Sport during a recent interview, speaking of her desire to set a new personal benchmark.
While admitting that she is really just enjoying the sport on a day-to-day basis, Khalil, without hesitation, shared a message to the plethora of young and upcoming talented females in the sports.
“Women in sports is something really empowering and to see them starting from so young is really inspirational.
“It reminds me of when I was young. I just want to tell them, keep going. Blend sports with your academics and see where it takes you,” she advised, moments before waltzing on to the court for a workout with senior men’s champion Alex Arjoon as part of her preparations for an anticipated grueling 2019.
