.....An iDEASCOPE MEDIA

30 Jul 2018

Egypt win record sixth Men’s World Junior title in Chennai





Surpassing a five-title record set 26 years ago by Australia, hot favourites Egypt today beat England 2/0 in the final of the WSF Men’s World Junior Team Squash Championship in India to win the biennial World Squash Federation title for a sixth time since 1994.

The Egyptian team, featuring both finalists in last week’s World Junior Individual Championship, cruised through the six-day event in Chennai without dropping a single game. It was Egypt’s eighth final appearance in a row, since 2004 – but third seeds England’s first time in the climax since 2002, which was also in Chennai.



The team’s top strings took to the all-glass showcourt at the Express Avenue Mall in Chennai first. Marwan Tarek, the 18-year-old 2017 individual champion from Cairo who lost out to team-mate Mostafa Asal in last week’s final, faced Englishman Nick Wall, also 18, from Sheffield.

Wall forced a tie-break in the opening game but Tarek took the opener, then comfortably the next two to claim the 12-10, 11-6, 11-7 win in 45 minutes which put Egypt in the driving seat.



In the second match between the third strings, Sam Todd – also from Yorkshire, but aged just 15 – threatened to give England a lifeline as he matched Egyptian Omar El Torkey ( all the way in the opening game, earning game balls at 10-9 and 11-10. Egypt’s bronze medallist held his nerve, however, to take the lead – and never looked back as he took the next two games comfortably give Egypt the title 13-11, 11-4, 11-4 after a further 32 minutes.



“We’re so proud and happy,” said the Egyptian coaching team. “The boys have worked so hard for this and they’ve got their reward, bringing Egypt another treble, just like the girls last year. This generation has taken over from those recent generations that have done the country so proud, and they have the talent and the desire to dominate the senior ranks in the coming years.

“Thanks to the organisers, the Indian squash federation and all the workers and volunteers that made this a great event and one that everyone will remember and can be proud of.”



Czech Republic and USA shared the bronze medal – USA repeating their finish in 2017 but the sixth-seeded Czechs checking out with their highest-ever finish.

Despite the absence of their top string Julien Gosset following his quarter-final injury, second seeds Canada beat Malaysia in the fifth place play-off to record their highest finish since 2010.

Hong Kong China beat defending champions Pakistan 2/0 in the play-off for seventh place to better their finish two years ago.

Their 2/1 win over New Zealand in the play-off for ninth place sees 12th seeds Switzerland not only exceed their seeding, but also record their best finish for 18 years.

After losing out to fierce Asian rivals Pakistan in the pre-quarter-finals, hosts India finished their 2018 campaign on a modest high after beating Argentina in the 11th place play-off.

Finally, event debutants Saudi Arabia – a young four-man squad featuring two 17-year-olds, one 15-year-old and a 14-year-old who have represented their country’s first ever appearance in a world squash championship – went down to Zimbabwe in their final tie to finish in 24th place.

Tragedy struck the championship on the final day when South African team manager/coach Graham Prior, the WSF African Coaching Coordinator, collapsed as he was boarding a bus after his team’s tie. It seems he suffered a severe heart attack and was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.

“The sense of shock, coupled with a complete numbness, is all that one can feel when something like this occurs,” said WSF CEO Andrew Shelley on hearing the news. “Graham was such an esteemed and popular leader amongst coaches, a mentor to so many. While that is how the world of squash know him, it is his family and friends, robbed of Graham so early, that our hearts go out to at this terrible time. He and they will be in everybody’s thoughts, I know.”

29 Jul 2018

World Jr. Squash Championship: Egypt, England seal final berths



James Wyatt (right) of England in action against USA's Thomas Rosini in the semifinals of the team event in the World Junior Squash Championship.   -  S. R. Raghunathan

Egypt and England will be looking to get their hands on a sixth World Squash Junior men’s team title in the final on Sunday. Egypt beat Czech Republic and England beat USA in their respective semifinal clashes.

Having won five titles each, it’ll be a race to become the most successful nation in the tournament. England has won three of its last four meetings in the final with Egypt. But while the last time England reached the final was in 2002, Egypt has played the summit clash in the past seven editions, winning four of them.

The odds are stacked against England as it takes on a team which hasn’t lost a single game so far in the tournament, but the third seed looks confident. “We’ve had a very open tournament so far where anything can happen. There have been a lot of upsets,” said England Coach Lee Drew. “We’ve got nothing to lose. We’ll be going into the match as the underdogs. But we’ll be looking to make it really hard for Egypt, getting our best performance out. If you do that, you never know what could happen”, he said.

Read: Without coach since March, India squad contingent fends for itself ahead of Asiad

The boys from England will come up against a team whose players occupy the top five seeds in the individual event. “Egypt will be really confident going into the game. They won’t be worried. But our boys have been very relaxed throughout the tournament. Their team spirit and attitude has pulled us through,” said Drew, who believes his players won’t be too nervous. Since 2002, England has missed out on the finals in almost every edition of the tournament, going out in the semis.

In Egypt’s semifinal clash against Czech Republic, there were no surprises as the No. 1 seed produced another dominant performance to win 3-0.

Czech Republic had been the dark horse in the tournament. Playing in only its second World Juniors, it reached the semifinals. The last time Czech Republic played the tournament was in 2008 where it finished 19th.

Marwan Tarek defeated Czech Republic’s No. 1 Viktor Byrtus quite easily. Only the first game that ended 11-8 resembled a contest as Marwan took the next two games 11-5 and 11-4. Egypt’s No. 1 Mostafa Asal sent Egypt through to the finals with a 11-8 11-9 11-2 win over Ondrej Vorlicek. The teams decided to play a third match. In the dead rubber too, Egypt managed to win in straight games.

With a 3-0 scoreline, England’s win against USA was pretty straightforward. USA had come into the match full of confidence after a dramatic quarterfinal victory over Canada, but it was no match for England. It didn’t concede a game in the course of the match.

England No. 1 Nicholas Wall did half the job as he defeated USA’s No. 1 Daelum Mawji in three games. James Wyatt then sealed victory for England with a 11-4, 11-8,11-7 victory over Thomas Rosini, who was USA’s saviour against Canada. In a dead rubber match, USA’s Ayush Menon took the lead but Samuel Todd won the next two games to complete a rout of USA.

Results

1-Egypt bt 6-Czech Republic 3-0 (Marwan Tarek bt Viktor Byrtus 11-8, 11-5, 11-4; Mostafa Asal bt Ondrej Vorlicek 11-8, 11-4, 11-2; Omar El Torkey bt Marek Panacek 11-3, 11-7). 3-England bt 8-USA 3-0 (Nicholas Wall bt Daelum Mawji 11-5, 11-8, 11-5; James Wyatt bt Thomas Rosini 11-4, 11-8, 11-7; Sam Todd bt Ayush Menon 5-11, 11-3, 11-2).

SA squash coach passes away in Chennai



News emerged that South Africa's manager cum coach Graham Prior passed away after suffering a heart attack outside the Indian Squash Academy on Sunday.
Team Sportstar



South African coach Graham Prior (centre) suffered a heart attack on the last day of the World Junior Squash Championships in Chennai.   -  World Junior Squash Championships

South Africa squash junior men's coach cum manager Graham Prior died of a heart attack outside the Indian Squash Academy here on Sunday.

The 67-year-old was on his way to board the bus to the team hotel after South Africa's playoff match against Singapore at the ISA, when he collapsed on the road.

Help came immediately as the ambulance outside the ISA rushed him to the hospital, but he was pronounced dead on arrival by the hospital.

The South African contingent was scheduled to leave on Monday. Prior was a coach at the Wanderers Squash Club in Johannesburg since 2003.

Growing up in Rhodesia, he played two World Cups for Zimbabwe in 1981 and 1983. Before coming to Johannesburg, he also performed coaching duties at the Salisbury sports club in Zimbabwe.

USA & Czech Republic defy seedings to make semis in Chennai



Upsets continued to play their part on day four of the WSF Men’s World Junior Team Squash Championship in India where Czech Republic and USA, the sixth and eighth seeds respectively, defied the seedings to claim surprise berths in the semi-finals of the biennial World Squash Federation event in Chennai.

The Czechs – in only their second ever appearance in the championship and with a squad of players none of whom had competed in last week’s individual event – outshone fourth seeds Malaysia. Second string Ondrej Vorlicek put the underdogs ahead after 45 minutes with an 11-4, 12-10, 6-11, 11-2 win over Malaysian Siow Yee Xian.


Top string Viktor Byrtus, a 17-year-old from Ostrava, sealed victory for the Czechs, fighting back from a game down to beat Darren Rahul Pragasam (both pictured in action above) 10-12, 11-9, 11-1, 11-6.

“When the draw came out we felt we could progress, but we didn’t want to get ahead of ourselves,” said the Czech team (pictured in celebration below), who are now sure of their best ever finish. “Beating the Swiss yesterday gave us confidence, and we knew we had a chance against Malaysia, but Ondrej and Viktor played so well, both finishing strongly.”


Czech team manager Jan Mutina added: “It’s an amazing feeling to be in the semis! At the start of the tournament we wanted to confirm our seeding, yet we overachieved it, which makes us very proud and happy.

“India provides us with a great service, therefore we would like to thank them, as well as the whole management. In the semi-finals we would like to show our viewers that squash is an amazing sport, and that it deserves to be on the Olympic Games.”

Czech now face Egypt, the favourites who brushed aside Hong Kong China 3/0.

The final spot in the semis was claimed by USA after a tie of unbelievable drama at the Indian Squash Academy. The No.8 seeds faced North American rivals Canada, seeded two and expected to achieve their best ever finish.

Tiber Worth got the USA off to a great start, taking the opening two games, only to see Canada’s James Flynn recover to put the underdogs ahead after an 8-11, 8-11, 11-2, 11-2, 11-6 win in 49 minutes.


With the Canadian Julien Gosset leading 2/1 in the second match and with match-ball at 10-6, a semi-final berth for the No.2 seeds looked a certainty. But in stretching for a ball, 18-year-old Gosset slipped badly, clutching his hamstring. After treatment, he returned to court but was clearly unable to compete and at 11-10 down, was forced to concede the match to Daelum Mawji (pictured above en-route to victory).

In the unexpected decider, it was USA’s Thomas Rosini who triumphed 11-9, 1-11, 11-5, 12-10 over George Crowne to clinch the semi-final berth for USA – much to the sheer delight of his team-mates!


“I’m proud of how our team has performed this week,” said Canada’s coach Jonathan Hill. “Obviously today wasn’t the best but the US played some great squash and we’ll look forward to the 5/8 playoffs and rebuilding our team.”

US Coach Simba Muhwati had mixed emotions: “Our hearts go out to Julien, he’d played an amazing match before that injury.

“The emotions involved from Tiber being two-nil up and losing, from Daelum being match ball down and winning, and then Thomas playing so well to put us into the semis!

“It’s a weird place to be, we want to be happy to be in the semis to match our best ever finish, but we feel so much for Julien and Canada.”

USA now face England for a place in the final after the third seeds defeated defending champions Pakistan 2/1. Yorkshireman Nick Wall clinched victory for the former champions when he beat the Pakistan No.1 Abbas Zeb(both pictured below) 11-9, 11-6, 7-11, 11-6.


“It’s great to be in the semis,” said England coach Lee Drew. “Pakistan put up a great fight as you’d expect – they would have picked up a lot from last night’s win here over India.

“James (Wyatt) held his nerve well and Nick overcame an opponent who was getting better and better as the match progressed, and did well to close it out.”

Pakistan deny hosts India a Quarter-Final finish in Chennai



In the day’s biggest upset in the WSF Men’s World Junior Team Squash Championship in India, Asian rivals Pakistan denied the hosts a place in the quarter-finals after a shock 2/1 defeat in the last sixteen round at the Express Avenue Mall in Chennai.

Earlier in the day, favourites Egypt, second seeds Canada, third seeds and former champions England, and fourth seeds Malaysia, all eased into the last eight without dropping any matches.

Seeded five and expected to achieve their best finish for six years, India had high hopes against underdogs Pakistan – hoping for their first ever win over their fierce rivals in the event. But, despite being the 11th seeds, Pakistan are the title-holders and were determined to perform like champions – despite their opponents’ clear home advantage.

India went ahead in the opening match between the third strings, but Haris Qasim reclaimed the advantage to put Pakistan 1/0 up after beating Rahul Baitha 5-11, 16-14, 11-6, 11-7 in 56 minutes.


The hosts also took an early lead in the next match between the teams’ top strings, but 16-year-old Peshwari Abbas Zeb held his nerve and silenced the crowd when he defeated Yash Fadte (both pictured above) 6-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-2 to put the 11th seeds into the last eight.

Veer Chotrani provided small consolation for the hosts by beating Pakistan’s Muhammad Uzair 2/0 in the third match.


The win bodes well for Pakistan (the three-man team pictured celebrating above) who have been finalists in the past eight championships. But the five-time champions now face third seeds England, four times winner of the title.

“We’re just so relieved now,” said Pakistan Coach Mo Yasin. “There was a lot of pressure on us today. Our boys started slowly but they both picked up the pace and I’m proud of how they handled it. The win has given the boys confidence now for the next match against England.”

The day’s closest tie also ended in an upset when Hong Kong China, the ninth seeds, beat seventh seeds Colombia 2/1. With the tie standing at one-all after the first two matches, Hong Kong’s Ho Ka Hei saw a 2/0 lead fall away as Colombian Luis Alejandro Mancilla fought back to draw level – then the decider went to a tie break before Hei clinched the match 11-8, 11-5, 8-11, 9-11, 12-10 in 55 minutes.


“A few unforced errors in the third turned the whole match around,” said HK coach Dick Leung (pictured above with the victorious HK squad). “But I’m proud of how he handled the end of a tough match to put us back into the top eight.”


Germany gatecrash World Junior Teams last 16 in Chennai




The second day of Pool play in the WSF Men’s World Junior Team Squash Championship in India featured intense action as the 24 teams battled for the top two places in the eight pools to ensure a place in the last 16 knockout stage in Chennai.

Favourites Egypt, hosts India and former champions England were resting, having been successful in two ties on day one.

The day’s biggest surprise came in Pool D where 18th seeds Germany took advantage of a tired France after the 13th seeds narrowly went down to Malaysia, the No.4 seeds, 2/1 in the morning session.


With the evening tie tied after the first two matches, Germany’s Nils Schwab held his nerve in the decider after French opponent Adrien Douillard drew level from 2/0 down. Second string Schwab went on to clinch the win 11-8, 11-8, 7-11, 3-11, 11-7 to take the underdogs through to the last 16 round – where they face third seeds England.


Hong Kong China had two ties to contend with in Pool H – and the ninth seeds started off well by upsetting USA, the No.8 seeds, 3/0  before clinching unexpected supremacy in the pool by seeing off Finland, the 21st seeds, 3/0.

El Sherbini Headlines China Open as Draws are Released


       
World No.1 Nour El Sherbini has been seeded to face World Champion Raneem El Welily in the final of the 2018 J.P. Morgan China Squash Open after the main draws for the PSA World Tour Gold event held in Shanghai were released today (July 26).

The Egyptian duo contested six finals on the PSA World Tour last season - including December’s World Championship title decider - and the pair will lock horns once again if they can make it through a top-class draw, which will battle it out at at a spectacular all-glass court staged atop the stunning Peninsula Shanghai hotel - which overlooks the iconic Bund - between September 5-9.

The top 10 women in the world will be in attendance in Shanghai, and El Sherbini is drawn on the same side of the draw as New Zealand’s World No.4 Joelle King. El Sherbini defeated the Kiwi in the semi-finals last year and the pair are set to meet at the same stage of this year’s tournament.

Meanwhile, El Welily is seeded to face compatriot Nour El Tayeb in the semi-finals, but the World No.2 could also have a difficult quarter-final fixture, with either 2016 champion Laura Massaro, eight-time World Champion Nicol David or India’s Dipika Pallikal Karthik likely to lie in wait.

Germany’s World No.5 Simon Rösner tops the men’s draw and is seeded to meet World No.6 Miguel Angel Rodriguez - the reigning British Open champion - in the title decider.

New Zealand’s Paul Coll is set to face Rösner in the last four, while Rodriguez could come up against former World No.1 Gregory Gaultier in the semi-finals.

Both the men’s and women’s draws will be contested by 24 players, while a record prize purse of $241,000 - over a 20% increase on the 2017 edition’s prize money - will be split equally between the male and female players.

First round, second round and quarter-final matches will be split between the SECA Academy Jinqiao Center and The Peninsula Shanghai, while all semi-final and final matches will be held at The Peninsula Shanghai.

Tickets will be available for purchase from the official website of the China Squash Open: www.chinasquashopen.cn in August.

Main Draw – Men’s 2018 J.P. Morgan China Squash Open
[1] Simon Rösner (GER) (bye)
Peter Creed (WAL) v [9/16] Mazen Hesham (EGY)
[9/16] Joel Makin (WAL) v Eain Yow Ng (MAS)
[7] Omar Mosaad (EGY) (bye)
[8] Nicolas Mueller (SUI) (bye)
Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu (IND) v [9/16] Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT)
[9/16] Alan Clyne (SCO) v Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS)
[4] Paul Coll (NZL) (bye)
[3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) (bye)
Mohamed Reda (EGY) v [9/16] Adrian Waller (ENG)
[9/16] Tom Richards (ENG) v [WC] Wang Junjie (CHN)
[6] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) (bye)
[5] Saurav Ghosal (IND) (bye)
Youssef Soliman (EGY) [9/16] Greg Lobban (SCO)
[9/16] Raphael Kandra (GER) v Ben Coleman (ENG)
[2] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) (bye)

Main Draw – Women’s 2018 J.P. Morgan Squash China Open
[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) (bye)
Mariam Metwally (EGY) v [9/16] Tesni Evans (WAL)
[9/16] Salma Hany (EGY) v Millie Tomlinson (ENG)
[6] Nouran Gohar (EGY) (bye)
[5] Camille Serme (FRA) (bye)
Hania El Hammamy (EGY) v [9/16] Alison Waters (ENG)
[9/16] Joshna Chinappa (IND) v Donna Lobban (AUS)
[4] Joelle King (NZL) (bye)
[3] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) (bye)
Jenny Duncalf (ENG) v [9/16] Victoria Lust (ENG)
[9/16] Olivia Blatchford (USA) v Joey Chan (HKG)
[8] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) (bye)
[7] Laura Massaro (ENG) (bye)
Dipika Pallikal Karthik (IND) v [9/16] Nicol David (MAS)
[9/16] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) v [WC] Li Dongjin (CHN)
[2] Raneem El Welily (EGY) (bye)

Hosts India scrape into World Junior Teams last 16 in Chennai



Whilst New Zealand produced the only upset on day one of Pool action in the WSF Men’s World Junior Team Squash Championship in Chennai, hosts India became one of only three teams to ensure their place in the knockout stage – but were taken the full distance in a dramatic tie at the end of the day before finally overcoming Switzerland 2/1.


Tenth seeds New Zealand upset the form book in Pool G, defeating Colombia 2/1 (see above) after the No.7 seeds beat Qatar 3/0 in the first tie of the day.

Favourites Egypt – boasting a powerful squad featuring the four semi-finalists in the world individual championship – cruised into the Last 16 knockout round following straightforward 3/0 wins over Singapore and Australia.

Third seeds England also won both their ties – but in the opening battle against South Africa dropped the first match before bouncing back to win 2/1.


Second seeds Canada – expected to record their highest ever finish in the 38-year history of the championship – justified their status with a 3/0 win over Scotland (both teams pictured above), and face Argentina in Wednesday’s second qualifying tie.

But the main interest on the opening day at the Indian Squash Academy was India’s second tie against Switzerland, the 12th seeds. In the morning session, the fifth-seeded hosts beat Saudi Arabia – the nation proudly making its first ever appearance in a world team squash championship.

Utkarsh Baheti put India ahead in the opening match against the Swiss, beating Campbell Wells 11-6, 6-11, 13-11, 11-9 – but the underdogs battled back top draw level when Nils Roesch beat Veer Chotrani.


The crowd were on the edge of their seats as Yash Fadte went down 2/1 in the decider – but the Indian number one regrouped to draw level, then took the fifth game against Yannick Wilhelmi (both pictured above) to win the match 11-8, 7-11, 5-11, 11-4, 11-9 in 68 minutes.

“That was so tense,” said the Indian team (pictured celebrating below) later. “In the end it came down to Yash’s fitness and determination, and the crowd probably helped too!”


Roshan Khan Squash Open postponed


The $20,000 Parco Roshan Khan International Squash Open has been postponed because of lack of sponsorship.
The tournament sanctioned by Professional Squash Association (PSA) for men was to be held in Karachi from August 4-8. However, the main sponsor of the event, PARCO, backed out and it has been postponed for a few months. This was confirmed to ‘The News’ by PSA’s tour assistant Ju Dutton.

“The Roshan Khan Championship has been postponed due to sponsorship issues. Negotiations are underway with a new set of sponsors and we are optimistic of being able to put on a top-class tournament in the near future,” said Ju in communication with this scribe.

One of the organisers here said that they were trying to persuade the sponsor to hold this event in the coming months. “PARCO is to take the approval of this sponsorship from its board,” he said. “We would hold this event soon, preferably in December,” said Rashid Ahmed.

The event has been organised since 2008, with active support of Pakistan Navy. In July last year, Parco Roshan Khan Championship had been confined to national level due to PSA restrictions.

Meanwhile, some high-prized events are to be held in Karachi in the near future. The $20,000 DHA Cup is scheduled from October 15-20 and the $18,000 CNS International from December 6-10.

PSA has conditionally allowed events with foreign participation for Karachi. It had been allowing tournaments only for Islamabad for security reasons. PSA in its Players Update in June stated that tournaments in Pakistan “have been extensively discussed among the PSA Board, as the Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) wants to host many events every year.

“However, for security reasons, PSA is allowing tournaments to be held only if approved by the Sports Risk (the security firm that the PSA is working with). This requires Sports Risk to travel and assess each venue before a tournament,” stated PSA.

26 Jul 2018

ELARABY & ASAL CELEBRATE EGYPTIAN WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP DOUBLE-SEE VIDEO CLIP

see video clip via our YOUTUBE CHANNEL NAIJA SQUASH MEDIA

Whilst an Egyptian double in today’s WSF World Junior Individual Squash Championships finals was a foregone conclusion, the winners were not after top seed Rowan Elaraby retained the women’s title as anticipated, but Mostafa Asal upset the seedings after defeating favourite and defending champion Marwan Tarek in straight games in the men’s final at the Express Avenue Mall in the Indian city of Chennai.

The women’s climax was a repeat of the 2017 final – for the first time in the event’s 37-year history. But despite boasting two successive world junior championship wins over second seed Hania El Hammamy, Elaraby had lost to her compatriot on the previous four occasions – and trails world No.20 El Hammamy 11 positions in the PSA World Rankings.


Elaraby took the opening two games before a packed crowd at the Chennai shopping mall – then failed to convert three match-balls in the third before Hammamy took the game 12-10 to force a further game.

But the 17-year-old from Alexandria regained her composure in the fourth to close out the match 11-4, 11-9, 10-12, 11-9 in 65 minutes to win the title for a second successive year.

Elaraby becomes the fourth Egyptian to win back-to-back women’s titles after Raneem El Welily in 2007, Nour El Sherbini in 2013 and Nouran Gohar in 2016.

“It feels amazing,” said Elaraby later. “I’m so happy! That was my last World Juniors and if I hadn’t won I know I would have been so sad.

“When I got four match balls in the third I started thinking about my birthday, about celebrating with my friends, I just freaked out and went completely out of the court.

“I knew I had to get back to my game plan and concentrate all the way in the fourth. I almost lost that too, at 9-7 down, I fought really hard to try to make it not go to five.

“Looking at the players who have won it twice, Nicol (David), Ramy (Ashour), Raneem (El Welily), Marwan (ElShorbagy), and especially Mohamed (ElShorbagy) – he’s my role model, I can’t thank him enough, he’s helped me so much and is always there for me.

“That may be my last junior match, it depends on the British next year, but if it is my last I’m happy to finish with that one!”


The men’s final also featured the top two seeds and whilst Asal was the second seed, the 17-year-old from 6th of October City is by far the highest-ranked player in the men’s field – at 71, compared with Tarek’s 281.

Furthermore, the match was the pair’s first clash in international competition, though Egyptian sources report two wins by ‘underdog’ Asal over Tarek in recent national junior events.

Asal reached the final without dropping a game – and continued his ‘clean sheet’ in Chennai as he romped to an 11-7, 13-11, 11-4 victory in 45 minutes over Tarek to claim the world junior title for the first time.

“I’m overjoyed to become World Champion,” said Asal. “It’s great that we had two all-Egyptian finals.

“I went into the match with confidence knowing I’d won in Egypt, but I really had to fight hard in the second to keep the momentum going.

“Thanks to Marwan for all the battles we had in Egypt, and I hope he has a great time in Harvard, we’ll miss him and he’ll miss us in Egypt! Thanks also to my coaches and family, and everyone who’s supported me, and especially Shaza Tamer.”

The WSF Men’s World Junior Team Championship gets underway on Tuesday (July 24) with Egypt seeded to reclaim the title lost to Pakistan in 2016. Of historic interest is the first appearance in any World Team Squash Championship of Saudi Arabia.

Asal added: “On to the teams now, let’s hope we can get that title back for Egypt.”

After two days of Pool action, the top two teams in each Pool progress to the last 16 knockout stage. The Pool line-ups (including team seedings) are as follows:

Pool A: [1] Egypt, [16] Australia, [20] Singapore
Pool B: [2] Canada, [15] Argentina, [17] Scotland
Pool C: [3] England, [14] Ireland, [19] South Africa
Pool D: [4] Malaysia, [13] France, [18] Germany
Pool E: [5] India, [12] Switzerland, [23] Saudi Arabia
Pool F: [6] Czech Republic, [11] Pakistan, [24] Zimbabwe
Pool G: [7] Colombia, [10] New Zealand, [22] Qatar
Pool H: [8] USA, [9] Hong Kong China, [21] Finland

Results
Men’s Final
[2] Mostafa Asal (EGY) bt [1] Marwan Tarek (EGY) 11-7, 13-11, 11-4 (45m)

Women’s Final
[1] Rowan Elaraby (EGY) bt [2] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) 11-4, 11-9, 10-12, 11-9 (65m)

25 Jul 2018

Legendary Jansher Khan upsets over poor show of squash players in World Junior


Jansher Khan also condemned Pakistan Squash Federation.
PESHAWAR (APP) - The former World Squash Champion, Jansher Khan was shocked at the poor performance of Pakistan Squash Team and expressed great regret that the squash players made the entire national really disappointed in World Junior Squash Tournament held recently in India.

Talking to APP, squash wizard Jansher Khan, the four times Super Series Champion, said that the selection committee has shown serious negligence while making selection for contesting such an important event of World Junior Tournament.

He also expressed his regret over the selection of incompetent players for the such serious event, who earned no good name for
Pakistan, the country known for legends of squash rather they disparaged us in India. The former Champion said the selected were not given proper training as well.

He held responsible the coaches and trainers of Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) for not providing proper training to the players and
also that Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) coaches and trainers have been failed to make players ready for this big event.

All this mismanagement and selection of incompetent players were the main reasons of failure in World Junior Tournament, Jansher
Khan added.

The legendary Jansher Khan, who ranked No. 01 for Ten years, further said that the Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) must take some serious steps to investigate into the matter, and those who are stayed responsible for all this failure, should be treated accordingly.

Our coaches, trainers and squash players are provided with the huge funds by federation and still their show was very poor at World
Junior Tournament. Jansher Khan said that winning and losing are part of the game one time you win and the other time you lose but losing against Columbia and Mexico, the country’s which are almost unknown in the squash circuit, is very embarrassing.

Jansher Khan also condemned Pakistan Squash Federation.

(PSF) that they have wasted the national resources by sending incompetent players to India for contesting World Junior Tournament. In my personnel view Pakistan could have performed well and was be in our benefit and the advantages could be a lot more if the amount spent on staff and incompetent players on sending for World Junior Tournament, in remarked.

If Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) was spent this amount on arrangement of Junior International Tournament in Pakistan that would have much better, he said, adding, the Junior International players would visit Pakistan would be more beneficial rather to send an unprepared team for the important event which did not but earn disgrace for the country.

With such step it would also benefit the players who were not selected for World Junior Tournament held in India. Their interest in the game could be developed, which was very helpful for our budding players to earn good name for Pakistan in the field of squash at the International level, he said.

He said with holding Junior International Tournament in the country the image of Pakistan around the globe will also be remembers in good words. Jansher Khan regretted that no Pakistani could win World Junior Tournament since he had won in 1986 for Pakistan.

Defending champions enjoy mixed fortunes in World Junior Individual Squash Championships finals

Mostafa Asal earned the men's junior title in Chennai ©Twitter/WSF WorldJuniors
Mostafa Asal and Rowan Reda Araby were crowned winners of the men’s and women’s events at the World Junior Individual Squash Championships in Chennai.

Egyptian success was assured at the Indian city's Express Avenue Mall, with the African nation boasting all four finalists.

Top seed Marwan Tarek was hoping to retain his men’s junior title, but struggled in the opening stages as Asal won the opener 11-7.

A key second game saw both players prove equally matched, but Asal eventually triumphed 13-11 to move one game away from victory.

With the momentum gained from winning the tight second game, Asal was able to progress to seal a dominant 11-7, 13-11, 11-4 triumph.

While Tarek was unable to defend his title, top seed Reda Araby retained her women’s junior title.

View image on Twitter
View image on Twitter

WSF WorldJuniors
@WSFworldjuniors
 WSF World Junior Champions 2018 ....

PSA Announce Record Prize Money During 2017/18 Season as Gender Pay Gap Drops Significantly


The Professional Squash Association (PSA) today announced that a record level of prize money was available on the PSA World Tour during the 2017/18 season, with total financial compensation reaching $6.4 million - an 11% increase on the previous season.

The pay gap between female and male players dropped by almost a third last season, with total prize money on the women’s tour totalling $2,599,000 million - a 31% increase compared to 2016/17 - while the men’s has increased to $3,820,000.

This trend is reflected in both the men’s and women’s top earners. The top earning female player on the PSA World Tour earned $218,814 last season - a 93% increase since the PSA and Women’s Squash Association (WSA) merged in 2015 to create a unified governing body.

The top earning male player earned $278,231 last season, which has increased 72% over the past three seasons. There have also been vast prize money increases for the world’s top 25 ranked players across both the men’s and women’s tours during this period, with average earnings rising by 37% in the men’s and 63% in the women’s.

The prize money was split across 227 events (146 men and 81 women) in a total of 47 countries, while tournaments were staged in eight new countries during the 2017/18 season: Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Kuwait, Nigeria, Romania and Saudi Arabia.

"Squash has been through a period of unprecedented growth over the past decade and we are delighted that we can back that up with these record figures," said PSA Chief Commercial Officer Tommy Berden.

"One of the key goals of the merger between PSA and WSA was to strive for equality in both prize money and playing opportunities and, since we took control of the administration of both men's and women's squash three years ago, we have made significant strides in both of these areas.

"We believe that professional squash has never been in better shape and, with the 2018/19 PSA World Championships in Chicago set to become the sport’s first one million dollar tournament in February 2019, we are confident that the sport will continue to grow during the upcoming season."

Araby & Asal celebrate Egyptian World Junior Championship double In Chennai




Whilst an Egyptian double in today’s WSF World Junior Individual Squash Championships finals was a foregone conclusion, the winners were not after top seed Rowan Reda Araby retained the women’s title as anticipated, but Mostafa Asal upset the seedings after defeating favourite and defending champion Marwan Tarek in straight games in the men’s final at the Express Avenue Mall in the Indian city of Chennai.

The women’s climax was a repeat of the 2017 final – for the first time in the event’s 37-year history. But despite boasting two successive world junior championship wins over second seed Hania El Hammamy, Araby had lost to her compatriot on the previous four occasions – and trails world No.20 El Hammamy 11 positions in the PSA World Rankings.


Araby (pictured above in final action) took the opening two games before a packed crowd at the Chennai shopping mall – then failed to convert three match-balls in the third before Hammamy took the game 12-10 to force a further game.

But the 17-year-old from Alexandria regained her composure in the fourth to close out the match 11-4, 11-9, 10-12, 11-9 in 65 minutes to win the title for a second successive year.

Araby becomes the fourth Egyptian to win back-to-back women’s titles after Raneem El Welily in 2007, Nour El Sherbini in 2013 and Nouran Gohar in 2016.

“It feels amazing,” said Araby later. “I’m so happy! That was my last World Juniors and if I hadn’t won I know I would have been so sad.

“When I got four match balls in the third I started thinking about my birthday, about celebrating with my friends, I just freaked out and went completely out of the court.

“I knew I had to get back to my game plan and concentrate all the way in the fourth. I almost lost that too, at 9-7 down, I fought really hard to try to make it not go to five.

“Looking at the players who have won it twice, Nicol (David), Ramy (Ashour), Raneem (El Welily), Nour (El Sherbini), Marwan (Elshorbagy), and especially Mohamed (Elshorbagy) – he’s my role model, I can’t thank him enough, he’s helped me so much and is always there for me.

“That may be my last junior match, it depends on the British next year, but if it is my last I’m happy to finish with that one!”


The men’s final (both pictured above) also featured the top two seeds and whilst Asal was the second seed, the 17-year-old from 6th of October City is by far the highest-ranked player in the men’s field – at 71, compared with Tarek’s 281.

Furthermore, the match was the pair’s first clash in international competition, though Egyptian sources report two wins by ‘underdog’ Asal over Tarek in recent national junior events.

Asal reached the final without dropping a game – and continued his ‘clean sheet’ in Chennai as he romped to an 11-7, 13-11, 11-4 victory in 45 minutes over Tarek to claim the world junior title for the first time.


“I’m overjoyed to become World Champion,” said Asal. “It’s great that we had two all-Egyptian finals.

“I went into the match with confidence knowing I’d won in Egypt, but I really had to fight hard in the second to keep the momentum going.

“Thanks to Marwan for all the battles we had in Egypt, and I hope he has a great time in Harvard, we’ll miss him and he’ll miss us in Egypt! Thanks also to my coaches and family, and everyone who’s supported me, and especially Shaza Tamer.”

Asal added: “On to the teams now, let’s hope we can get that title back for Egypt.”

Men’s final:
[2] Mostafa Asal (EGY) bt [1] Marwan Tarek (EGY) 11-7, 13-11, 11-4 (45m)

Women’s final:
[1] Rowan Reda Araby (EGY) bt [2] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) 11-4, 11-9, 10-12, 11-9 (65m)

The WSF Men’s World Junior Team Championship gets underway on Tuesday with Egypt seeded to reclaim the title lost to Pakistan in 2016. Of historic interest is the first appearance in any World Team Squash Championship of Saudi Arabia.

After two days of Pool action, the top two teams in each Pool progress to the last 16 knockout stage.

FULL WORLD JUNIORS COVERAGE

Top seeds through to all-Egyptian finals in Chennai

Posted: 22 Jul 2018 06:56 PM PDT

After dramatic semi-finals at the Express Avenue Mall in the Indian city of Chennai, the WSF World Junior Individual Squash Championships will come to a climax in two all-Egyptian finals – for the fourth time since 2011.


The first place in the finals was claimed by men’s defending champion Marwan Tarek. But the top seed from Cairo was taken the full distance and kept on court for over an hour and a half before finally subduing Cairo compatriot Omar El Torkey (both pictured above) 11-9, 6-11, 11-8, 2-11, 11-8.

After “the longest match of my life”, 18-year-old Tarek – who is bidding to become the fourth Egyptian to win back-to-back titles since the illustrious Ramy Ashour in 2006 – admitted: “I was three points from going out of the tournament. It was long and tough but I don’t regret that, it’s the semi-finals of the World Juniors.

“I felt he got a bit tired early in the fifth but he still went ahead. I started thinking about anything but the match and took it point by point. It feels good to have survived that and reach the final again. I hope I’ll play a good match tomorrow – let’s see how it goes!”

As predicted by the seedings, Tarek will face No.2 seed Mostafa Asal in what will be the Cairo-born pair’s first international meeting.


Asal, aged 17 and the highest-ranked player in the draw, recorded his fifth straight straight games win in the championship when he despatched fellow countryman Mostafa El Serty (both pictured above) 11-3, 11-7, 11-7.

“I felt comfortable today,” said Asal, the world No.71 from 6th of October City. “It wasn’t easy but I never felt in real danger. I won the Egyptian U17 and U19 titles with 3/0 wins all through so it’s nice to keep that going!

“Tomorrow it’s mental …… whoever’s mentally strongest will win it!”

Lining up in the women’s final will be top seed Rowan Reda Araby and second seed Hania El Hammamy – who will make history by becoming the first ever pair in the 37-year history of the women’s championship to contest successive finals.


Title-holder Araby, the 17-year-old world No.31 from Alexandria, brushed aside fellow Alexandrian Jana Shiha (both pictured above) 11-5, 13-11, 11-6 in 31 minutes – while El Hammamy, also 17 and ranked 20 in the world, ended non-Egyptian interest in the event after battling to an 11-6, 8-11, 11-4, 11-4 win in 44 minutes over England’s Lucy Turmel.

On her close middle game, Araby said: “It’s always the second game. I had no pressure in the first, but I started to feel it in the second. I wanted to win that one, I didn’t want a long match if I was to get to the final.

“I was so happy to win that second, it took the pressure off. I’m pleased to make my third World Junior final, and obviously hoping to keep the title.”


El Hammamy (pictured in semi-final action above), who despite losing to Araby in last year’s final, boasts a 4/2 head-to-head record over her rival: “I’m so happy to be in the final again,” said the event’s No.2 seed. “I’m really enjoying the atmosphere in the Mall, and I’m really looking forward to a good match against Rowan tomorrow.”

Men’s semi-finals:
[1] Marwan Tarek (EGY) 3-2 [3/4] Omar El Torkey (EGY) 11-9, 6-11, 11-8, 2-11, 11-8 (92m)
[2] Mostafa Asal (EGY) 3-0 [3/4] Mostafa El Serty (EGY) 11-3, 11-7, 11-7 (33m)

Women’s semi-finals:
[1] Rowan Reda Araby (EGY) 3-0 [5/8] Jana Shiha (EGY) 11-5, 13-11, 11-6 (31m)
[2] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) 3-1 [3/4] Lucy Turmel (ENG) 11-6, 8-11, 11-4, 11-4 (44m)

23 Jul 2018

England’s Turmel denies Egyptian clean sweep in Chennai Quarters



The powerhouse that is Egyptian squash claimed seven of the eight quarter-final victories in the WSF World Junior Individual Squash Championships in India – but England’s Lucy Turmel denied the nation a clean sweep at the Express Avenue Mall in Chennai after ending the run of Singapore’s Sneha Sivakumar in straight games in the women’s event.


The 18-year-old from Ipswich scored her third successive straight games win in the championship when she beat her unseeded opponent (both pictured above) 11-5, 11-8, 11-8 in 27 minutes. Turmel, a 3/4 seed, is making her fourth appearance in the event, after making her debut in 2015 – and is now celebrating her semi-final debut.

England’s sole player left in the tournament will now face Egypt’s No.2 seed Hania El Hammamy for a place in the final.

“I am really happy to be through to the semis and am looking forward to a big test tomorrow,” said the reigning European Junior Champion, England’s first women’s semi-finalist since 2012. “The world championships is a great event and I am looking forward to playing on the glass court in the Mall tomorrow as it is a brilliant venue.”

National coach Lee Drew, who is supporting the England players alongside former world No.1 Laura Massaro, added: “Lucy has performed really well here and deserves the rewards. She is very professional and consistent with her approach to the game and to her development. Myself, Laura and all of the England players are massively looking forward to watching the semi-finals tomorrow to support her in what will be a great experience.”



El Hammamy, who ended North American interest in the event with an 11-2, 11-4, 11-7 defeat of 5/8 seed Marina Stefanoni – thus making her third successive semi – said: “I’m happy with my performance, especially against such a talented player as Marina. She was pushing me to the front so I was happy to get to every one. Another semi, hopefully I can go one better this time.”

Egypt’s top seed and defending champion Rowan Elaraby also earned her third semi-final appearance in a row by seeing off compatriot Hana Moataz 12-10, 11-6, 11-3.



“I really enjoyed playing here,” said the 17-year-old from Alexandria (see venue picture above). “I loved the crowd watching from all around. There was a bit of pressure when I was down in the first but I managed to get through it and I’m really pleased to make a third semi in a row.”

Araby now takes on fellow countrywoman Jana Shiha, a 5/8 seed who needed 51 minutes to overcome surprise opponent Farida Mohamed 7-11, 11-6, 11-5, 7-11, 15-13.

“It’s great playing in this venue,” said Shiha. “But it didn’t feel so good when it got tight in the fifth! Farida and I have played probably 50 times since we were nine, in the semis and finals of events even when we’re playing up an age, so we both knew it was going to be tough.”

The men’s quarter-finals went according to seedings with the top four seeds lining up in the semis as predicted. Top seed Marwan Tarek eased into the last four after defeating fellow Egyptian Mostafa Montaser 11-8, 11-1, 11-5 in just 31 minutes.

The defending champion from Cairo now faces compatriot Omar El Torkey, the 3/4 seed who ended English interest in the men’s event when he beat 5/8 seed Nick Wall 11-6, 11-3, 11-7 (both pictured in action below).


“I didn’t want another long match like my last ones,” said a relieved Omar. “It’s always a good match against Nick, but I felt comfortable. I don’t know what happened at the end when I gave away so many points but thank God I made it through!”

The other semi will see No.2 seed Mostafa Asal, the highest-ranked player in the event, take on Mostafa El Serty. Asal needed just three games to overcome Mexican Leonel Cardenas 12-10, 11-7, 11-9, while El Serty was taken the full distance by Darren Rahul Pragasam and had to save a match-ball in the fourth against the Malaysian before prevailing 4-11, 13-11, 6-11, 12-10, 11-6.

“That was so, so hard,” said El Serty. “I thought I’d lost it and I’m so grateful to come through.”

Men’s quarter-finals:
[1] Marwan Tarek (EGY) 3-0 [5/8] Mostafa Montaser (EGY) 11-8, 11-1, 11-5 (31m)
[3/4] Omar El Torkey (EGY) 3-0 [5/8] Nick Wall (ENG) 11-6, 11-3, 11-7 (36m)
[3/4] Mostafa El Serty (EGY) 3-2 [5/8] Darren Rahul Pragasam (MAS) 4-11, 13-11, 6-11, 12-10, 11-6 (57m)
[2] Mostafa Asal (EGY) 3-0 [5/8] Leonel Cardenas (MEX) 12-10, 11-7, 11-9 (50m)

Women’s quarter-finals:
[1] Rowan Elaraby (EGY) 3-0 [5/8] Hana Moataz (EGY) 12-10, 11-6, 11-3 (28m)
[5/8] Jana Shiha (EGY) 3-2 [13/16] Farida Mohamed (EGY) 7-11, 11-6, 11-5, 7-11, 15-13 (51m)
[3/4] Lucy Turmel (ENG) 3-0 Sneha Sivakumar (SGP) 11-5, 11-8, 11-8 (27m)
[2] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) 3-0 [5/8] Marina Stefanoni (USA) 11-2, 11-4, 11-7 (26m)





22 Jul 2018

2018 FISU World University Squash Championship



Birmingham (GBR)


FISU is proud to announce the host countries of the 2018 FISU World University Championships. As you are aware, the bidding procedure that started a year ago gathered more than forty candidatures.

 FISU will not only be visiting well known territories but will also welcoming new members in its hosting family (Namibia, Indonesia and Argentina). This is a positive sign, demonstrating the health of our organisation and the attractiveness of FISU and its events.
06/09-12/09/2018
Organising Committee:
   University of Birmingham
   Director of Sport
Contact: Helen Roberts (helen.roberts@bucs.org.uk)
Phones:
   +44 (0)207 633 5089
   +44 (0)7917 548577
   +44 (0)121 414 3598
   +44 (0)7768 156218
email:   wucsquash2018@contacts.bham.ac.uk
email: Zena Wooldridge  z.j.wooldridge@bham.ac.uk
email: Cyrus Poncha  cponcha@gmail.com
Website:  www.wucsquash2018.com
Entries Deadlines:
General:    06/03/2018
Quantitative:    06/06/2018
Individual:    06/08/2018


In that context, FISU would like to thank all those who have made the efforts to build and present those candidatures. They will ensure the continuity of the University Sport Movement and offer opportunities to our best student athletes to compete in 2018.



In addition to the list of 35 events enclosed, three sports are in final attribution stage (Boxing, Shooting sport and Waterski). For those sports, more information will be provided once the procedure is completed.



May you need any additional information on the 2018 FISU World University Championships, do not hesitate to contact the WUC department  championships@fisu.net.


The History of Squash in FISU
In the summer of 1995 the Netherlands' University Sports Association, NSSS, and the National Squash Federation, NSRB, decided to organise the first World University Squash Championship. The idea to launch a premiere in this sport was based on its popularity among students worldwide and on the Netherland's competency in organising international events. The World Squash Federation offered its absolute and active support, and came up with a suitable date in the international calendar in August 1996. The overall level of the event was high, which was not surprising, since several countries had sent their national teams to this championship. One example, among others, was the record of the winner in the men's contest, the Brazilian Paul Conolly, from Rio de Janeiro. As a national champion in 1995, he was also the pan-American vice-champion in 1994. Such countries as Brazil, Belgium, Ireland, France, Czech Republic and Switzerland had also sent their best national teams.

The second edition of this championship was held in 1998 in Cardiff (GBR), a city which is more known for its commitment to rugby, but where the British Open Squash Championships were held in 1995, 1996 and 1997. It was Britain's Jenny Tranfield who prevailed in the women's singles against the title holder, the superb Belgian champion Kim Hannes, already Belgium's senior champion at the age of 15. Among men, it was the French champion Thierry Lincou, who took the title from his compatriot Jean-Michel Arcucci. These two players are regular members of the professional PSA circuit. Squash has rapidly reached a high technical level among the sports represented in our championship programme. Furthermore, thanks to its high participation level, its future in FISU seems to be assured.

In the 2000 edition held in Pilsen, Czech Republic, 14 teams from all over the world participated. The sports complex which housed the squash players (ESQUO) had already hosted the first professional championship in Eastern Europe in 1996, and therefore it had the experience of this kind of activity. From the sports standpoint, this tournament was a return bout for two male finalists. The winner Thierry Lincou (FRA) was the current champion participating for the third time. The other finalist had already been a challenger in the first edition in Maastricht (1996) when he had lost in the finals to the brilliant Brazilian Paul Conolly. It seemed that Thierry Lincou was very familiar with university championships; he particularly enjoyed the atmosphere which is so different from that of professional tournaments. The ladies’ finals was magnificent. It set Canadian Baizley against Wing-Yin from Hong Kong. At the end of 5 sets, none of the players could take a clear lead — the game point was on both sides on several occasions. Finally Canadian Marnie Baizley proved the sturdier player and took the title.

The 4th edition of the World University Squash Championship was played in Linz, Austria. These events did not damp the spirit of the 43 men and 17 women who had come to Austria to do their utmost. The Egyptian team really stood out during the tournament. In the men's tournament, three Egyptians took the first three places! Karim Darwish (18th in the WSF ranking) surpassed his compatriot Mohammed Abbas (27th in the WSF ranking) in the finals. In the team competition Egypt took the gold medal over France and became the defending champion for the first time. Karim Darwish, Mohammed Abbas and Engy Kheirallah decisively won the match over the very solid French opponents. The bronze medal went to Great Britain, which won the play-off against Canada.

The city of Szeged, Hungary, was the place where high-level student squash players met for the 5th World University Squash Championship in 2006. The team competitions finished in the evening at the World University Squash Championship in Szeged, Hungary, after a well-balanced finals between the French and the British team ,which took the gold medals. Chris Ryder (GBR) and Lim Yoke Wah (MAL) took the gold medals for men and women in the individual finals of the Championship. Egypt and Australia, both strong nations in squash, hosted the World University Squash Championships in 2008 and 2010 respectively, having the participation record broken in Cairo with a total number of 68 players.

Canadians Charge Through In Chennai


Despite Egyptians securing their anticipated six places in the WSF World Junior Individual Squash Championships men’s last 16 round in India, it was a trio of Canadians who stole the limelight on the second day of action in the premier World Squash Federation junior event at the Indian Squash Academy in Chennai.

Julien Gosset, a 13/16 seed from Toronto, claimed his predicted place in the fourth round after despatching Hong Kong’s Chung Yat Long 11-5, 11-4, 11-4 in just 19 minutes. But the 18-year-old was soon unexpectedly joined in the ‘pre-quarter-finals’ by unseeded compatriots James Flynn and George Crowne, both 17.


Flynn, from Toronto, defeated US rival Daelum Mawji, a 9/12 seed, 11-9, 11-7, 11-9 (both pictured in action above) and will now face Mexico’s 5/8 seed Leonel Cardenas for a place in the quarter-finals.

Meanwhile Crowne, also from Ontario, recovered from a game down to upset Englishman Curtis Malik, a 13/16 seed, 4-11, 13-11, 11-4, 11-6 (pictured at the top of the page) – and progresses to line up against Egypt’s defending champion Marwan Tarek, the top seed.

There were two significant upsets in the women’s event which got underway today with two rounds. Unseeded Sneha Sivakumar made history for Singapore by beating England’s 5/8 seed Elise Lazarus 10-12, 11-4, 11-6, 11-6 (both pictured in action below), thereby becoming the first woman from her country to make the event’s last 16 round for 35 years!



Jessica Keng took the Malaysian count in the women’s third round to five when the unseeded 15-year-old ousted Hong Kong’s 13/16 seed Chan Sin Yuk 11-9, 12-10, 4-11, 10-12, 11-9 in 50 minutes.

The plucky youngster from Kota Kinabalu will now face England’s Lucy Turmel, a 3/4 seed, for a place in the quarter-finals.


10-Strong Egyptian contingent to contest Chennai Quarters




Egyptians stormed en-masse into the last eight of the WSF World Junior Individual Squash Championships in India – where five men (for the first time since 2010) and five women (for the eighth time in the past 15 years) will compete in the quarter-finals of the premier World Squash Federation junior event which moves onto an all-glass showcourt at the Express Avenue Mall in Chennai.

Farida Mohamed, a 13/16 seed, produced the day’s biggest third round upset at the Indian Squash Academy when she defeated Malaysia’s 3/4 seed Aifa Azman to ensure an Egyptian finalist in the women’s event.


The 16-year-old from Alexandria, the younger sister of 2014 champion Habiba Mohamed, took 59 minutes to see off the renowned Malaysian (both pictured above) 15-17, 11-7, 11-7, 4-11, 11-6. Mohamed junior will now face fellow countrywoman Jana Shiha, a 5/8 seed, for a place in the semi-finals.

Singapore’s Sneha Sivakumar continued her giant-killing run in the event to become her country’s first quarter-finalist since 1983. The unseeded 17-year-old, ranked 176 in the world, came through a five game thriller to beat Egypt’s 9/12 seed Ingy Hammouda 7-11, 11-6, 13-11, 7-11, 11-9.


“I didn’t think I had a good draw,” said a delighted Sivakumar (pictured above celebrating her triumph). “But it worked in my favour after two tough matches yesterday and now I’ve got this far without meeting a top four player.

“I never thought for a moment that I’d make the quarters of the World Juniors, I just had to push as hard as I could – at nine-all in the fifth it was crazy, my heart was beating like mad!”

Egypt’s top two women’s seeds Rowan Reda Araby and Hania El Hammamy scored straightforward straight games wins as they progressed towards their anticipated second successive meeting in the final.

Both defeated Malaysians, favourite Araby defeating Chan Yiwen 11-4, 11-5, 11-2, while Hammamy saw off Ooi Kah Yan 11-8, 11-8, 11-7.

“I’m not going into it with any pressure, I’m just trying to enjoy the matches,” said defending champion Araby. “India is fascinating and the Mall looks fabulous, I’m really looking forward to playing on there tomorrow.”

In the men’s event, top seed Marwan Tarek dropped a game against Canada’s George Crowne, but was happy with his progress: “I think I’ve played better each day as I’m getting more used to the conditions,” said the defending champion from Egypt. “Now for a practice at the Mall!”

The 18-year-old from Cairo will play fellow countryman Mostafa Montaser, who survived a torrid five-game battle against compatriot Yehia Elnaswany, saving a match ball before taking the decider 12-10.

“It was so hard, we haven’t played for two years, but he played so well and I was lucky to win in the end,” said Montaser. “Hopefully I can be lucky in my next matches and this will be just the beginning!”


At the other end of the draw, second seed Mostafa Asal also eased into the last eight. The 17-year-old from 6th of October City, the highest-ranked player in the championship, defeated Swiss opponent Yannick Wilhelmi(both pictured above) 11-9, 11-5, 11-8.

The world No.71 will now line up against the event’s sole remaining Mexican Leonel Cardenas after the 18-year-old 5/8 seed, ranked 39 places lower, overcame Canada’s unseeded James Flynn 11-7, 8-11, 11-5, 11-3.

Nigeria Squash Federation Presents- Juniors Ranking Squash Tournament

Nigeria Squash Federation Presents; Under 13, 16, 19 Juniors Ranking Squash Tournament
Date:6th-10th of August 2018
Venue: Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.
Time: 9am-6pm Daily.

20 Jul 2018

Tayyab, Asim crash out of Malaysian Open Squash

Image result for malaysian squash open
Both Pakistani players Tayyab Aslam and Asim Khan crashed out in the qualifying round finals of the $35,000 Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.

Tayyab, who recently won the Circuit-III title after defeating Farhan Zaman, lost to French Victor Crouin 2-3. In the first match, Tayyab won the first game 11-4, but lost the next two games 7-11 and 9-11, before winning the fourth game 14-12. But in the fifth and decisive game, Tayyab lost 7-11 to bow out of the event.

In the second match, Asim was defeated by local lad M Syafiq Kamal 1-3. Asim was beaten all hands up by young Malaysian Syafiq 3-1. Asim won the first game 11-8, but it was all that he could get from the match as Syafiq won the second game 11-7, third 11-7 and fourth 6-11.

It is a matter of grave concern for Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF), as both Asim and Tayyab are the members of Pakistan squash team, which will represent the country in the Asian Games and like Commonwealth Games, where Pakistani players failed to show any significant results, it seems Pakistan will struggle to make any impact in the Asian Games against the best in the business.

Top seeds through as women's action begins at World Junior Individual Squash Championships


The women's tournament began in Chennai ©WSF

Top seed Rowan Reda Araby made it through to round three as the women's competition began at the World Junior Individual Squash Championships in Indian city Chennai.

The Egyptian was handed a bye in round one and then beat Ashita Bhengra of hosts India in round two.

She came through 11-4, 11-8, 11-2 at the Indian Squash Academy.

Second seed Hania El Hammamy, another Egyptian, also won her second round clash after earning a bye.

Her opponent was another Indian in Aishwarya Khubchandani and she came through 11-6, 11-5, 11-9.

Both 3/4 seeds - meaning the players are expected to reach the semi-finals at least - also remain in contention.

England's Lucy Termel won in the second round against Laila Sedky of the United States, 12-10, 11-3, 11-6.
Third round matches were played in the men's tournament ©WSF
Third round matches were played in the men's tournament ©WSF
Third round matches were played in the men's tournament ©WSF
Malaysia's Aifa Azman was comfortable in beating Iran's Fereshteh Eghtedari 11-4, 11-6, 11-2.

Third round matches were played in the men's event and the top four seeds, who are all Egyptians, all marched through.

Top seed Marwan Tarek defeated Muhammad Amir Amirul Azhar of Malaysia 11-8, 11-8, 11-8 to reach round four.

Mostafa Asal, the second seed, beat India's home hope Veer Chotrani 11-9, 11-8, 11-6 in his encounter, with 3/4 seeds Omar El Torkey and Mostafa El Serty both also advancing.

El Torkey saw off Nils Schwab of Germany, 11-5, 11-5, 11-2.

El Serty proved too good for Ryan Picken of Canada, 11-9, 11-8, 11-9.

Both tournaments continue tomorrow.

WSF & PSA’s SquashFORWARD Initiative begins in Amsterdam



SquashFORWARD – the joint initiative between the World Squash Federation (WSF) and Professional Squash Association (PSA) – officially kicked off its first activity over the weekend with juniors from all four corners of the globe taking part in a series of brainstorming sessions during the Dutch Junior Open in Amsterdam.

SquashFORWARD has been formed with the goal of engaging with the next generation of squash players in order to give them the chance to help shape the future of the sport, and the initiative will help make squash even more innovative, inclusive and sustainable.

Co-chaired by women’s World No.1 Nour El Sherbini and men’s World No.11 Diego Elias, SquashFORWARD members also include France’s Victor Crouin, Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng, United States’ Marina Stefanoni, Switzerland’s Dimitri Steinmann, Japan’s Satomi Watanabe and Ukraine’s Nadiia Usenko.

Usenko was on the ground in Amsterdam as she spearheaded a series of brainstorming sessions to gather ideas from her fellow juniors.

The sessions centred around the topics of innovation, sustainability, inclusiveness and accessibility and over 50 juniors took part. Comments from the juniors were hugely positive, many of the participants said they liked being included and felt that the process was an important one given that some of them will also be appearing at the Buenos Aires Youth Olympic Games in October, where squash will be present as a showcase sport.

Ideas from these sessions will be taken on board by SquashFORWARD and forward-looking recommendations will be shared in Buenos Aires.

“These focus groups have a huge meaning because such an event has been organised for the first time. Thanks to that, juniors all over the world got an opportunity to exchange their points of view about perspectives of developing squash,” said Usenko, who won the women’s U-19 Dutch Junior Open title in the tournament’s first ever all-Ukrainian final.

“I was happy to be part of these activities at the Dutch Junior Open because I love squash and cannot imagine my life without it. I am ready to do everything in my power to increase the popularity of squash in all corners of the globe and hopefully to see it on the Olympic programme.”


WSF President Jacques Fontaine added: “As the IOC Executive Board members gather in Lausanne this week to discuss key topics that will determine the future of the Olympic Movement, including the Paris 2024 programme, we are excited to witness the future of our own sport being shaped by young players from across the world. The SquashFORWARD initiative will no doubt contribute to enhancing squash’s profile as we bid for inclusion on the Olympic programme.”


PSA Chief Executive Alex Gough said: “We’re delighted to see that the inaugural SquashFORWARD activity was a success. SquashFORWARD has been created in order to help us establish a dialogue with the sport’s next generation and we look forward to sharing the findings in Buenos Aires in October.”

IOC announces the principles for Paris 2024 Olympic Games event programme:





The World Squash Federation (WSF) and the Professional Squash Association (PSA) jointly welcomed today’s announcement made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) regarding the new sports selection procedure for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the IOC Executive Board Meeting in Lausanne.

Following the announcement of the principles [that can be found at www.olympic.org/news/future-games-sports-programmes-full-of-passion-and-excitement ], WSF and PSA reiterated squash’s readiness to bid and to demonstrate why the sport will be a great strategic choice for inclusion in the Olympic programme.

Jacques Fontaine, WSF President, and Alex Gough, PSA CEO, commented:

“The whole sport is truly united in our desire to participate in the selection process and to show the strong attributes that squash can bring to the IOC and to Paris 2024 in the context of the on-going New Norm and Agenda 2020 reforms.

“Squash has a vibrant and real forward-looking vision rooted in constant innovation, striving for more inclusiveness and sustainability across all our activities on and outside of the court. We truly believe that we can seamlessly integrate the Olympic programme with a minimal investment and an optimised gender-equal pool of participants, while bringing a lot of additional excitement and spectacular action to the very heart of the host cities.

“We are preparing for the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games, where squash will be participating as a showcase sport and will be represented by a selection of juniors from around the world on glass courts with impressive interactive features. We are looking forward to giving the Olympic family first-hand experience of what our sport offers.”



Top World Junior seeds safely through on day one in Chennai






While Egypt’s defending champion and event favourite Marwan Tarek led all the top 16 seeds safely through to the men’s last 32 round of the WSF World Junior Individual Squash Championships in Chennai, three unseeded Indians survived the first two rounds at the Indian Squash Academy and will provide significant local interest for the hosts on day two.

171 U19 athletes from 27 countries are competing in the premier annual World Squash Federation junior championships for men and women which got underway on Wednesday (with the women’s event starting on Thursday) and will reach their finals on Monday 23 July – and this will be followed by the biennial Men’s World Junior Team Championship from 24-29 July.



Tarek began his title defence with a straightforward 11-5, 11-7, 11-7 second round victory over local player Advait Adik (both pictured in action above). The 18-year-old from Cairo now faces Malaysian Muhammad Amir Amirul Azhar for a place in the last 16.

Event debutant Rahul Baitha, a 17-year-old from India’s largest city Mumbai, earned his place in the third round after overcoming Swiss opponent Nils Roesch 11-5, 12-10, 11-8.

Meanwhile compatriots Veer Chotrani and Yash Fadte, both 16, are making their second appearances in the championships. Chotrani dismissed South African Mikael Ismail 11-8, 11-8, 13-11, while Fadte, from Goa, recovered from a game down to beat Germany’s Abdel-Rahman Ghait 10-12, 11-7, 11-7, 11-6.

18 Jul 2018

WSF & PSA'S SQUASHFORWARD INITIATIVE BEGINS IN AMSTERDAM



The joint initiative between the World Squash Federation (WSF) and Professional Squash Association (PSA) – officially kicked off its first activity over the weekend with juniors from all four corners of the globe taking part in a series of brainstorming sessions during the Dutch Junior Open in Amsterdam.

SquashFORWARD has been formed with the goal of engaging with the next generation of squash players in order to give them the chance to help shape the future of the sport, and the initiative will help make squash even more innovative, inclusive and sustainable.

Co-chaired by women's World No.1 Nour El Sherbini and men's World No.11 Diego Elias, SquashFORWARD members also include France's Victor Crouin, Malaysia's Eain Yow Ng, United States' Marina Stefanoni, Switzerland's Dimitri Steinmann, Japan's Satomi Watanabe and Ukraine's Nadiia Usenko.



PSA World Tour

@PSAWorldTour
 #SquashFORWARD

The first SquashFORWARD activity kicked off at the @DutchJuniorOpen over the weekend 🙌

🗣 @nadiia_usenko was on the ground as she spearheaded a number of focus groups to take ideas from junior players across the world to help shape the future of #squash

10:11 AM - Jul 16, 2018
14
See PSA World Tour's other Tweets
Twitter Ads info and privacy

Usenko was on the ground in Amsterdam as she spearheaded a series of brainstorming sessions to gather ideas from her fellow juniors.

The sessions centred around the topics of innovation, sustainability, inclusiveness and accessibility and over 50 juniors took part. Comments from the juniors were hugely positive, many of the participants said they liked being included and felt that the process was an important one given that some of them will also be appearing at the Buenos Aires Youth Olympic Games in October, where squash will be present as a showcase sport.

Ideas from these sessions will be taken on board by SquashFORWARD and forward-looking recommendations will be shared in Buenos Aires.

“These focus groups have a huge meaning because such an event has been organised for the first time. Thanks to that, juniors all over the world got an opportunity to exchange their points of view about perspectives of developing squash,” said Usenko, who won the women's U-19 Dutch Junior Open title in the tournament's first ever all-Ukrainian final.

“I was happy to be part of these activities at the Dutch Junior Open because I love squash and cannot imagine my life without it. I am ready to do everything in my power to increase the popularity of squash in all corners of the globe and hopefully to see it on the Olympic programme.”

WSF President Jacques Fontaine added: “As the IOC Executive Board members gather in Lausanne this week to discuss key topics that will determine the future of the Olympic Movement, including the Paris 2024 programme, we are excited to witness the future of our own sport being shaped by young players from across the world. The SquashFORWARD initiative will no doubt contribute to enhancing squash’s profile as we bid for inclusion on the Olympic programme.”

PSA Chief Executive Alex Gough said: “We’re delighted to see that the inaugural SquashFORWARD activity was a success. SquashFORWARD has been created in order to help us establish a dialogue with the sport’s next generation and we look forward to sharing the findings in Buenos Aires in October.”

NAIJA SQUASH MEDIA ADVERT PLACEMENTS

SQUASH: The Nigeria Squash Federation starts Grassroot Development program with 16 states

The Nigeria Squash Federation NSF jump started the Grassroot development program yesterday in Kwara state with 16 states across the cou...