By DONNA HELMER
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 total of 35 players from the North African country 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 [3/4] 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 [3/4], Elise Lazarus [5/8] and Jasmine Hutton [5/8] all still in the running. Lazarus will face Ingy Hammouda [3/4]. 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) [3/4] joins England’s Alice Green [5/8] as the last two Brits standing in the G17. 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 [3/4] and England’s Lewis Anderson [5/8] respectively in Round 4.
Meanwhile, last year’s 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 [3/4].
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 pair Sehveetrraa Kumar [3/4] 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 [3/4] 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 [3/4].
Tomorrow’s action starts at 9am. Visit the official website for draws, results, photos, streaming and more at www.britishjunioropen.com Â
Picture courtesy of England Squash