Rising British juniors will aim to take the first steps towards Olympic aspirations when the ProAir Engineers British Junior Championships take place in Yorkshire this week.
Sheffield’s Abbeydale, Fulwood and Hallamshire clubs will stage the event with Jonah Bryant and Amelie Haworth headlining the U13 to U19 event, which takes place from 26-29 October.
Local hero Nick Matthew believes squash’s addition to the Olympic programme marks a huge moment for the sport across all levels.
“It’s such a game-changing moment at all levels of squash,” said Matthew.
“It will bring further investment and opportunities for squash and it will be a really exciting next four to five years.
“It’s also fantastic recognition for all the people in squash who have worked so hard to get us to this moment.
“I’m so happy for everyone who will get the chance to play and I’ll be supporting them all the way to LA28.
“Those first medallists will go down in squash history – I hope they feature some players from Team GB.”
The majority of the matches, including all finals, will be taking place at Abbeydale featuring an all-glass court which is open to spectators.
Two-time BJC champion Bryant (Sussex) is top seed in the BU19 draw as he looks to go one better than last year’s runner-up finish. The 2023 British Junior Open runner-up is seeded to meet BJC 2018 champion [2] Yusuf Sheikh (Essex) in the final. Meanwhile, 3/4 seeds Abd-Allah Eissa (Warks) and Caleb Boy (Kent) will also be fighting for national glory.
In the women’s GU19 draw, three-time BJC champion [1] Haworth (Hants), is seeded to meet Welsh no.1 [2] Ellie Breach in a rematch of last year’s GU17 final in which Haworth prevailed. Haworth is drawn on the same side of the draw as Nordic Junior Open 2022 champion [3/4] Robyn McAlpine (Scotland) while Breach could come up against last year’s GU17 runner-up [3/4] Meha Shah (Warks).
For more information, visit https://britishjuniorchampionships.com/