Her breakthrough run began with victory at the B Grade National Championships in Tauranga, before she backed it up by claiming the North Island Junior Championships in Hawke\u2019s Bay and the South Island Junior Championships in Nelson.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was honestly very good because before those three weeks, I put in a lot of effort,\u201d Rashid said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew there was no recovery time after those tournaments, so I had to really put in the effort, work on my game plan, strengthening, cardio, all that kind of stuff.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt also showed that all the hours I spent on court were really worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rashid described the B Grade National Championship as her toughest challenge, coming up against older and more experienced opponents, many of whom had been playing the sport longer than she\u2019s been alive.<\/p>\n
Yusra Rashid in action. <\/p>\n
Part of what drives her is the constant opportunity to test herself against stronger competition.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love the challenge because oftentimes the girls that I\u2019m versing in the under-19 grade are the girls who I looked up to when I was only 11 years old and I was really wanting to be exactly like them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe feeling of beating them or being in their division is just a really great feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rashid first picked up a squash racquet four years ago after watching her father and older brother play.<\/p>\n
Before that, she competed in swimming, hockey and football, but it didn\u2019t take long for her talent to shine through, winning her first national title at just 11 years old.<\/p>\n
Since then, she has amassed an impressive record, collecting 26 national medals, including 20 championship titles, along with three silver and three bronze medals.<\/p>\n
She has represented Auckland for four consecutive years, competed internationally for New Zealand, been part of the national development programme and featured in the transtasman series against Australia. Rashid has also drawn inspiration from New Zealand squash star Paul Coll, whom she recently met in Tauranga.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was really great to meet him because he\u2019s very nice,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve taken a lot of inspiration from watching him play.\u201d <\/p>\n
Her next major target is October\u2019s Junior National Championships, where she hopes to improve on last year\u2019s runner-up finish before turning her attention to a growing international schedule.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d definitely like to go to more international tournaments like the US Junior Open, Canadian tournaments and the British Junior Open,\u201d Rashid said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd in the future I\u2019d really like to represent New Zealand at the 2028 Olympics.\u201d<\/p>\n
Away from squash, Rashid excels academically, particularly in maths and science, and has aspirations beyond sport. She has already been accepted into Air Cadets and Young Eagles as she explores a future in aviation.<\/p>\n
For now, though, her focus remains firmly on the squash court, where a remarkable three-week title-winning streak has reinforced her belief that even bigger achievements lie ahead.<\/p>\n