Diego Elias and Habiba Mohamed top seeds in Eindhoven
By HOWARD HARDING – Squash Mad Correspondent (www.squashinfo.com)
This year’s World Junior Individual Squash Championships titles will be shared by Peru and Egypt according to the men’s and women’s draws published today by the World Squash Federation – with Lima-based Diego Elias and Alexandria-born Habiba Mohamed expected to retain the titles they won for the first time last year in Namibia.
Elias made history in 2014 by becoming the sport’s first world champion from Peru. The 18-year-old has gone on to pick up three titles on the PSA World Tour and now boasts a career-high world ranking of 46.
The Peruvian is expected to meet Egypt’s All-Africa Junior champion Amr Arafa in the semi-finals before a final clash with Tayyab Aslam, the No.2 seed from Lahore who is bidding to become the event’s first winner from Pakistan since the legendary Jansher Khan in 1986.
The draw for the women’s championship predicts an all-Egyptian semi-final line-up for the third year in a row – with 16-year-old world No.18 Habiba Mohamed expected to face Cairo-based compatriot Nouran Gohar, the 17-year-old second seed, in a repeat of the 2014 final.
Both Mariam Metwally, a 3/4 seed from Egypt, and Sabrina Sobhy, a 5/8 seed from the USA, are celebrating fifth successive appearances in the championship.
Metwally, an 18-year-old from Alexandria, has made at least the quarter-finals in all her previous outings and was runner-up in Poland in 2013 – while New Yorker Sobhy, sister of 2010 champion Amanda Sobhy, will hoping to make the quarter-finals for the third time in a row.
The 2015 World Individual Championships will bring together more than 170 players from 34 nations.
Men’s World Individual Championship 1st round draw:
Men’s World Individual Championship 1st round draw:
[1] Diego Elias (PER) bye
Sajad Zareian (IRI) v Jean-Pierre van der Merwe (RSA)
Adrien Grondin (FRA) bye
Umair Zaman (QAT) bye
Timothy Brownell (USA) bye
Bart Horstman (NED) v Yvi Roggen (BEL)
Matias Knudsen (COL) v Tor Christoffersen (SWE)
[13/16] Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) bye
[9/12] Youssef Ibrahim Abdallah (EGY) bye
Yanick Buric (SUI) v Thijs Roukens (NED)
Aishwary Singh (IND) v Nilo Vidal (ESP)
Luke Jones (NZL) bye
Kyle Finch (ENG) bye
Theis Houlberg (DEN) bye
Abdullahi Alhaji Musa (NGR) v Mohammad Ali (KUW)
[5/8] Israr Ahmed (PAK) bye
[5/8] Eain Yow Ng (MAS) bye
Christoph Zust (SUI) v Filip Kocárek (CZE)
Tobias Weggen (GER) bye
Tess Jutte (NED) bye
Velavan Senthilkumar (IND) bye
Mohammad Alterki (KUW) v Justin Wesson (RSA)
Juan Laguna (COL) v Bradley Masters (ENG)
[9/12] Mohammad Alsarraj (JOR) bye
[13/16] Solayman Nowrozi (AUS) bye
Nicholas Goth-Errington (SWE) v Gabriel Morgan (USA)
Mathias Grondin (FRA) v Jorge Gomez (MEX)
Asim Khan (PAK) bye
Ali Ahmad Aber (KUW) bye
Mohammad Reza Jafarzadeh (IRI) bye
Abdulwahab Al-Ishaq (QAT) v Charlie Lee (ENG)
[3/4] Amr Arafa (EGY) bye
[3/4] Youssef Soliman (EGY) bye
Dmytro Pogrebnyak (UKR) v Abbas Shoukat (PAK)
Yannik Omlor (GER) bye
Cedric de Vos (BEL) bye
Balázs Farkas (HUN) bye
Roman Allinckx (SUI) v Amirhossein Feizpour (IRI)
Vikas Mehra (IND) v Eissa Mohammad (KUW)
[13/16] Benjamin Aubert (FRA) bye
[9/12] Adham Madi (EGY) bye
John Henryz (SWE) v Dewald van Niekerk (RSA)
Jan Kurzmeyer (SUI) v Santiago Orozco (COL)
Sam Ejtemai (AUS) bye
Enzo Corigliano (FRA) bye
Max Reed (USA) bye
Thijs van der Pluijm (NED) v Adithya Raghavan (IND)
[5/8] Patrick Rooney (ENG) bye
[5/8] Saadeldin Abouaish (EGY) bye
Sean Hughes (USA) v Sanjay Jeeva (BEL)
Donny van Hal (NED) bye
Dominik Dubsky (CZE) bye
Miko Aijanen (FIN) bye
Filip Hultman (SWE) v Alireza Shameli (IRI)
Amadeo Costa (SUI) v Casper Kloster Skaarenborg (DEN)
[9/12] James Peach (ENG) bye
[13/16] Sandeep Ramachandran (IND) bye
Ryunosuke Tsukue (JPN) v Khaled Al-Jenaidel (KUW)
Olamilekan Sunday Oyewole (NGR) v Victor Crouin (FRA)
Ahsan Ayaz (PAK) bye
Syed Azlan Amjad (QAT) bye
Ronald Palomino (COL) bye
Spencer Lovejoy (USA) v Anton Larsson (SWE)
[2] Tayyab Aslam (PAK) bye
Women’s World Individual Championship 1st round draw:
[1] Habiba Mohamed (EGY) bye
Sogol Samoodi (IRI) v Suzanne Peters (NED)
Sarah Mekhalfi (FRA) bye
Kaitlyn Watts (NZL) bye
Laura Tovar (COL) bye
Sunayna Kuruvilla (IND) v Victoria Leow (AUS)
Eleonore Evans (USA) v Hiu Lam Lui (HKG)
[13/16] Chloe Chemtob (CAN) bye
[9/12] Lucy Beecroft (ENG) bye
Saskia Beinhard (GER) v Gabi Fritsche (NED)
Carley Barton (ZIM) v Casey Wong (USA)
Celine Walser (SUI) bye
Riina Koskinen (FIN) bye
Eliška Jirásková (CZE) v Inge Coetzee (RSA)
Kato Verwilt (BEL) v Jui Kalgutkar (IND)
[5/8] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) bye
[5/8] Sabrina Sobhy (USA) bye
Tara Shannon (CAN) v Faith Sithole (RSA)
Lauren Clarke (ENG) bye
Zoe Foo Yuk Han (MAS) bye
Andrea Lee (MAS) bye
Henrietta Huuhka (FIN) v Samantha Calvert (AUS)
Elin Harlow (WAL) v Sunday Veronica (NGR)
[9/12] Amelia Henley (ENG) bye
[13/16] Mayar Hany Mohamed (EGY) bye
Juee Bhide (NZL) v Maddie O’Connor (CAN)
Elena Wagenmans (NED) v Maria Fernanda Rivera (MEX)
Cindy Merlo (SUI) bye
Ho Ka Wing (HKG) bye
Adya Advani (IND) bye
Lucy Turmel (ENG) v Elise Romba (FRA)
[3/4] Salma Hany Ibrahim (EGY) bye
[3/4] Mariam Metwally (EGY) bye
Shannon O’Donovan (ZIM) v Sarah Ludin (SUI)
Mariska Wiese (RSA) bye
Ailee Nayeri (IRI) bye
Harshit Jawanda (IND) bye
Nadia Hubbard (NZL) v Fleur Maas (NED)
Grace Thomas (CAN) v Julie Rossignol (FRA)
[13/16] Reeham Sedky (USA) bye
[9/12] Lakeesha Rarere (AUS) bye
Sara Vallejo (COL) v Nea Falck (FIN)
Laura Paquemar (FRA) v Juliette Permentier (NED)
Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) bye
Nazihah Hanis (MAS) bye
Nikita Joshi (IND) v Annika Engstrom (ENG)
Nele Hatschek (GER) v Cheng Nga Ching (HKG)
[5/8] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) bye
[5/8] Tinne Gilis (BEL) bye
Kayley Leonard (USA) v Kace Bartley (ENG)
Sophie Mehta (CAN) v Marija Shpakova (SUI)
Lowri Roberts (WAL) bye
Abbie Palmer (NZL) bye
Titiloayo Akinyele (NGR) v Lauren Aspinall (AUS)
Akanksha Salunkhe (IND) v Kuzivakwashe Madungwe (ZIM)
[9/12] Choi Uen Shan (HKG) bye
[13/16] Eleanor Epke (NZL) bye
Maarit Ekholm (FIN) v Christine Christoffersen (DEN)
Cassey Preece (RSA) v Mari Taylor (ENG)
Satomi Watanabe (JPN) bye
Sanne Veldkamp (NED) bye
Laura Gamblin (FRA) bye
Rachael Gibson (AUS) v Haley Scott (USA)
[2] Nouran Gohar (EGY) bye
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