Samuel Osborne-Wylde earned a place in the Quilter Cheviot British Open for the first time after eliminating the No.1 seed Adrian Waller in a thrilling five-game battle.
At the start of the week, 64 players arrived at Solihull Arden with the hope of earning a spot in the main draw of the Diamond-level event, which will take place at ‘the Rep’ Theatre in Birmingham.
And after three days of qualifying rounds, eight players have booked their places in the main draw which will begin on Saturday.
Osborne-Wylde said: “I grew up watching this tournament, as English player it is probably the biggest tournament of the year. The fact that it is in Birmingham and I live two minutes down the road, makes it a lot more special for me. I feel very privileged to have made it through to the main draw.”
In the women’s draw French squash star Lauren Baltayan continued her winning form with an impressive straight-games victory over Joelle King. She came from 8-0 down in the third to advance.
The 19-year-old, who has been in strong form all week, beating England’s Emily Coulcher-Porter and Millie Tomlinson, continued to show her dominance against an opponent 18 years her senior.
Baltayan will now turn her attention to her first round match on Saturday, as she prepares to make her debut against her compatriot Melissa Alves.
Amongst the qualifiers was 17-year-old Farida Walid, who continued her streak of winning all of her qualifying matches in straight games after defeating Noa Romero, 11-8, 11-7, 11-5 in 35 minutes.
Walid will also be joined in the main draw by her compatriots, 17-year-old Ruqayya Salem, who progressed after beating Hong Kong, China’s Toby Tse in four games, and Adam Hawal, who advanced into the first round after beating the No.16 seed, Emyr Evans, winning 3-0.
Elsewhere, Mohamed Gohar advanced into the British Open for the first time in his career after a brutal 71-minute five-game match against Perry Malik, after coming from behind to progress into the main draw.
Joining Gohar in making a tournament debut is David Bernet, who advanced into the British Open for the first time by beating Dewald Van Niekerk in straight games.
Additionally, Ukraine’s Alina Bushma reached the British Open for the first time after fighting back against Jana Swaify to win a thrilling five-game contest, which sets up a round-of-64 clash against Lucy Turmel.