No rest for winner of Open
Sydney-based squash star Joshua Larkin barely had time to soak up his victory in yesterday's men's final of the $18,000 City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder Golden Open before he boarded an overseas flight for his next assignment.
Larkin, 25, grabbed his maiden Golden Open title in 54 minutes, beating Jamaica's Lewis Walters in an entertaining final, 11-8, 11-9, 11-7.
But there was no time for Larkin to rest on his laurels ahead of a major event in New Zealand, starting today.
"I'm booked on a flight tonight at six o'clock for New Zealand and about 16 hours of travel," he said yesterday.
"I arrive in New Zealand three hours before I have to play my first match, but I can rest on the plane.
"I don't mind too much because it's what you have to do if you want good results."
Larkin has spent the past 2 1/2 years on the professional circuit and attributed his Golden Open success, where he was the No.3 seed, to renewed commitment to the sport.
It was Larkin's second Goldfields appearance after he bowed out in the semifinals last year.
"People had said to me I'd already won this (title) six weeks ago, just with my preparation," he said.
"If you prepare properly, it will get you over the line. By that I mean stepping up the training and a different mental approach - dedicating most of the time I had to off-court training, diet and on-court practice."
Larkin, who works full-time in sales for a furniture company, said he had devoted virtually every spare moment to improving his game.
"Any spare time I get in the morning and the evening I put aside for squash," he said.
"You have to sacrifice a lot of things and you don't get much of a social life (because) I spent every night watching PSA games, out on the court playing or training.
"It's a choice you make."
Also yesterday, Perth-based Cindy Meintjes continued her dominance of the open women's event with a victory over New Zealand's Katrina Palmer in just 17 minutes.
In a replay of the 2014 final, Meintjes prevailed 11-5, 11-6, 11-6.
It was her seventh Golden Open title.
