Three top seeds were eliminated in a day full of shock results at the British Junior Open.
Day three also saw two of the most exciting games of the tournament so far with the final rounds still yet to come.
Twelve-year-old Denis Gilevskiy of Ireland reached the semi finals of the tournament for the first time after knocking out the favourite for the Boys’ Under-13 title.
He and number one seed Omar Azzam (Egypt) both showed extraordinary agility and endurance in a an epic five-game match, full of long and entertaining rallies, in front of a packed crowd. Gilevskiy [17/32] twice went ahead but his opponent fought back on both occasions, before the Irishman eventually won 11/7, 5/11, 11/7, 6/11, 11/6. Reflecting on a hard-fought win, he said: “Every shot I played, I didn’t think he would reach any of them – and even if he did, I thought I’d have an easy shot to win the rally. But still he got them and he was able to hit them up and over me.”
He will now face Englishman Jonah Bryant [5/8], who was crowned England Under-11 National Champion last year, in the semi final, with Sam Osbourne-Wylde [3/4] (England) also through to play his first semi final against Kareem El Torky [2] (Egypt).
Possibly the most exciting match of the day – and the greatest comeback seen so far – came in the Boys’ Under 19s tournament at Abbeydale Rackets and Fitness Club, where unseeded Abhay Singh of India overturned a 2-0 deficit to beat England’s Kyle Finch 5/11, 6/11, 11/8, 11/7, 11/8. After the win, Singh said: “I lost to Kyle in the World Junior Championships and at 2-0 down that’s all I was thinking about. It helped me push through.” He progresses to play fellow countryman Adhitya Raghavan.
Elsewhere, Egyptian favourite Ingy Sherif Hammouda was beaten in four games by 5/8 seed Habbiba Saadallah (Egypt) 11/8, 9/11, 11/5, 11/8 in the Girls’ Under 17s. While Marina Stefano, top seed in the Under 15s draw, also lost to Sin Yuk Chan of Hong Kong [9/16] 11/4, 7/11, 11/6, 11/4 viagra tabletten. Saadallah will face Elise Lazarus [5/8] (England), who reached her first semi final after her win against Aifa Azman [3/4] (Malaysia), the reigning Under 15s champion, 11/6, 12/10, 11/9 in 48 minutes.
England’s Nick Wall [5/8] advanced to the semi finals of the Boys’ Under 17s tournament in his home town of Sheffield with a 3-1 win against Egypt’s Mostafa Assal [3/4], 6/11, 11/6, 11/9, 11/4. Next up for Wall is seed one Marwan Tarek (Egypt), who defeated Leonel Cardenas (Mexico) 8/11, 14/12, 11/6, 11/1.
The top seed in the Boys’ Under 15s draw, Yahia El Nawsany (Egypt), will play England’s Sam Todd in the last four tomorrow after Dodd dispatched America’s Thomas Roshini in just 23 minutes, 11/4, 11/6, 11/7.
Torrie Malik, England’s final hope in the Girls’ Under 13s event, was knocked out by seed one Aira Azman (Malaysia) 12/10, 11/4, 11/7. The match last just 21 minutes but Malik kept a cool head throughout.
And the draw went according to seed in the Girls’ Under 19s competition, with number one Hania El Hammamy safely through to the final four.
