Egypt to host 2021 World Juniors and 2022 Women’s World Team Champs
By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor
As the squash calendar makes tentative steps to fill in dates, three major tournaments have been confirmed for Egypt in 2021 and 2022.
The World Squash Federation Board today announced that Egypt will host the 2021 World Junior Championships, followed by the Women’s Junior World Team Championship, and will also stage the 2022 World Women’s Team Championship.
The 2020 World Junior Championships were due to have taken place this summer at the Carrara National Centre in Gold Coast, Australia, but were postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Now the 2021 event has been confirmed to take place in Egypt next summer, which will see the event staged in the sport’s most successful nation for the first time in over a decade. Egypt are likely to be hot favourites to win the individual titles as well as the team event.
In 2003 it was Omneya Abdel Kawy who claimed the girls crown to start an era of unprecedented dominance for the African country, who have won 11 of 14 boys’ titles and 13 of 14 girls’ titles ever since.
Assem Khalifa, President of the Egyptian Squash Federation, said: “We are delighted to be able to host the prestigious WSF 2021 World Junior Championship and the Women’s World Team Championship in 2022.
“Egypt has a strong tradition of hosting some of the biggest and most recognisable tournaments in squash and we are looking forward to, once again, showcase our passion and commitment for the sport at these events. We look forward to welcoming the world’s best players to our country.”
With Egypt’s top female players dominating the PSA World Rankings, the host nation will be firm favourites to win their third consecutive World Women’s Team Championships in December 2022.
“Following a difficult year for squash and all of sport in 2020, we are delighted to announce that Egypt will host our Junior World Championships in 2021 and the World Women’s Team Championship in 2022,” said WSF President Jacques Fontaine.
“We hope that the Championships will allow our best squash players to demonstrate their talents in a country which is currently leading the way for our sport. The WSF is extremely confident that these World Championships will showcase the best of what our sport has to offer.”
Pictures courtesy of PSA