FINALS SEMIS QUARTERS DAY TWO DAY ONE DAY ZERO
2018 DAY TWO
Egyptians dominate as Quarter-finals are decided in Birmingham
Day two of the Dunlop British Junior Open confirmed the dominance of junior Egyptian squash, after at least one player from the country reached each of the quarter-finals across the tournament’s ten categories.
A long day concluded after 10pm as Ahmad Elmashed came from 4-10 down to clinch a 3-0 win and the final quarter-final spot.\
Emphatic Egyptians dominate quarter-final lineups
Day two of the Dunlop British Junior Open confirmed the dominance of junior Egyptian squash, after at least one player from the country reached each of the quarter-finals across the tournament’s ten categories.
England Squash report
A total of 35 players from Egypt will battle it out on day three of the tournament in Birmingham, with a remarkable eight ties featuring all-Egyptian duels.
The G13 sees no fewer than five Egyptians reach the third round, while the G19 sees the poorest representation of the country with Ingy Hammouda [¾] the sole candidate left flying the flag.
Top seed Marwan Tarek remains on course to defend his B19 crown as the 2017 champion sailed through to the quarter-finals, where he will face compatriot Mostafa Montaser (Egy) [5/8]. British Junior champion Tom Walsh [5/8] also reached the last-eight, as did Victor Crouin (Fra) [2], who ended Nick Wall’s hopes with a 3-0 triumph to equal his best ever run in the tournament.
The G19 features a strong contingent of English women with Lucy Turmel [¾], Elise Lazarus [5/8] and Jasmine Hutton [5/8] all still in the running. Lazarus will face Ingy Hammouda [¾]. Meanwhile, Hutton set up a date with Japan’s Satomi Watanabe [2], who continues her fine form following her best showing at the recent World Championships in Manchester.
Elsewhere, 2017 British Junior champion Georgia Adderley (Sco) [¾] joins England’s Alice Green [5/8] as the last two Brits standing in theG17. Green faces a tough battle against 2016 BJO winner Aifa Azman (Mal) [2], while No.1 seed Marina Stefanino (USA) [1] confidently booked her place in the last-eight with a convincing straight-game victory over Shenha Sivakumar (Sing) [9/16].
High-flyer Omar Torkey (Egy) [1] has yet to drop a game in the B17 and will aim to maintain that pristine record against England’s Jared Carter [9/16]. Hot on both their heels will be Egypt’s Mostafa Asal [2], while at least one Indian player is guaranteed to reach the semi-finals, as Saksham Choudhary [9/16] and Tushar Shahani [9/16] prepare to battle it out against each other after dispatching Malaysia’s Shahrul Izham Nurhaqiem [¾] and England’s Lewis Anderson [5/8] respectively in Round 4.
Meanwhile, last year’s B13 finalist Sam Osborne-Wylde (Eng) [9/16] could not avenge his BJO heartache in a repeat of the 2017 final against winner Ireland’s Denis Gilevskiy [5/8], who set up a last eight showdown with Muhammad Amir Amirul Azharin (Mal) [2] in the B15 after he fought from a game down to edge Ismail Mansour [9/16] 3-1.
Nour Aboelmkarem [1] spearheads the Egyptian charge alongside compatriot and 2016 champion Sana Mahmoud Ibrahim [2] in the G15. The top seed is set to face an intriguing match-up with Malaysia’s Aira Azman [5/8], while Kirstie Po Yui Wong (Hk) [17/32] could produce the biggest shock of the tournament yet when she faces England’s Katie Maliff [¾].
The G13 boasts the highest contingent of Egyptian players as the country dominating the quarter-finals with five players, while American Khushi Kukadia [9/16] and Malaysain pairSehveetrraa Kumar [¾] and Thanusaa Uthrian [5/8] will be bidding to end their last-four hopes.
Egypt’s Islam Kouratam [1] and England’s Jonah Bryant [2] wasted no time in securing their last-eight berths in the B13, where the top Egyptian seed faces qualifier Muhammed Ammad (Pak), who has enjoyed a superb run in the tournament so far. Bryant will face Hong Kong’s Jat Tse [17/32] who is also playing some impressive squash.
Meanwhile, the G11 last-eight features a quartet of Egyptians who will battle it out for a semi-final spot – including top seed Amina Orfi – while home hero, Charlie McCrone [¾] will fly the flag for England when she locks horns with France’s Lauren Baltayan [5/8] in the only last-eight European tie.
And the top five seeds in the B11 complete an exciting quarter-final line up which has it all – an all-Egyptian showdown, two home hopes in Englishmen Jude Gibbins and Dylan Roberts while Christian Capella (USA) [5/8] – the lowest ranked player left in the group – will relish his underdog status to rattle Malaysia’s Lee Hong Wong [¾].
