Rukunya wins Kipepeo Coast Open in Mombasa

This could be the year that Ian Rukunya finally breaks the monotony in the squash circles after he won the Kipepeo Coast Open in Mombasa on Sunday.

Fresh from finishing second and consequently becoming the first Ugandan to reach the finals of the Parklands Open in Nairobi last week, Rukunya was in better form beating Kenya's James Dalidi (retired) in the finals.

Dalidi took the first two sets; 11-9, 11-7, before Rukunya crawled back in the third winning it 11-6, and was leading 9-2 in the fourth when Dalidi injured his Achilles tendon after long rallies.    

"I had to change strategy in the third and the fourth quarters by employing drop shots which were really working him, until he couldn't play anymore with the injury, with the referee ending the match,"

"But winning like this isn't fun. No one loves to win like this, but at the end of the day; a victory is a victory and I'm glad I won it," Rukunya stated.     

"I have played six finals this year and I have won three of them. This has been a fantastic way to end the year. I will take a break now and gear up for next year in preparation for the commonwealth games in Australia in 2018," Rukunya added.  

En-route to the finals Rukunya had stopped Aston Guto 3-1 (8-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-4), in the semifinals, Bethel Ogwayo 3-0 (11-3, 11-8, 11-1), in the quarters and had earlier seen off Festus Ngari in the earlier round of the tournament.