Since the successes of Clijsters and Henin tennis has been hugely popular in Belgium. Although the popularity of tennis has a bit declined after the retirement of Clijsters and  Henin, it stil remains one of the more popular sports in Belgium. There is however a sport that looks a bit like tennis, that’s ridiculously unknown here in Belgium. I’m taking about squash, a racket sport played in a glass “cage” with two players and a small badly bouncing ball. A sport where it all depends on fast footwork, fast reflexes, lots of technique and lots of physique. A beautiful sport, that’s great fun to play with a friend (and because of the fact that it’s only played inside, there’s a fair chance of being able to relax with a couple of drinks afterwards).  

A sport where we also have a top junior player, named Tinne Gillis, who is currently ranked inside the top five of the junior world ranking (with three Egyptian players in front of her who’s only sorrow is to train and who don’t go to school any more , a bit different it is for 17 year old Gillis who has to go to school as well try to train daily). With a second place last month at the European junior championships, Gillis showed she is well on her way to have a great future in squash, a future which could lead to an Olympic dream, because at this very moment people at the top of the international Olympic are discussing if they are going to accept squash as an official sport at the 2020 Olympic Games. If squash would be a sport at the 2020 Olympic Games one thing is for sure, Belgium would have a new Olympic medal hope. And squash in Belgium would get the popularity it needs (and deserves)to keep on developing.

23-05-2015, 19:07 Geschreven door Rob Verwimp  

I have done wall climbing a couple of times in my live now (outside on a real mountain and inside in a sports hall), so far I’ve had mixed success. The one time I succeeded in climbing all the way to the top of a mountain I just managed to beat a twelve year old boy who practiced the noble sport of wall climbing (myself being 19) and I had muscle ache for more than a week.

23-05-2015, 18:40 Geschreven door Rob Verwimp