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[1] Amina Orfi 3-0 [2] Fayrouz Aboelkheir 11-7, 15-13, 11-5
[1] Mohamad Zakaria v [9/16] Joo Young Na(KOR) 11-6, 11-4, 11-6 (37m)

Zakaria crowned youngest ever male World Junior Champion

Mohamad Zakaria has been crowned the youngest-ever men’s WSF World Junior Squash Champion after overcoming tournament surprise package Joo Young Na of the Republic of Korea.

Top seed Zakaria, a beaten finalist last year in Melbourne, went into his clash with Na as the firm favourite, with the 16-year-old Egyptian yet to drop a game during an efficient run.

[9/16] seed Na, meanwhile, had defied all expectations to become the first ever Korean to reach the final of a World Championship, with his 3-2 win over defending champion Hamza Khan in the quarter-final sending shockwaves through the tournament.

Zakaria spoke ahead of the match of the danger presented by Na, and his tactics bore that out as Zakaria played a patient game, attacking only whenever the opportunity presented itself. This plan proved effective, with Na, who played five games in his semi-final and quarter-final, hitting some spectacular shots but failing to consistently hurt Zakaria.

After taking the first game 11-6, the top seed moved into a commanding lead with an 11-4 win in game two. Na dug in desperately but could not dislodge Zakaria, with the 16-year-old holding him at arm’s length throughout and, after a tense wait on a video referee decision on match ball, clinched the title with another 11-6 win.

Afterwards, Zakaria said:

“I’ve worked all my life for this moment. It’s extra special because I have my father and coach here and I’m incredibly proud of the week. But before I say anything I’d like to say how amazing it is for Na to come into this final. I’ve watched him closely from the beginning and he’s improved significantly. He should be very proud to make it to the final.”

“Winning it without dropping a game is a statement of how hard I’ve been working. To win it in front of my coach and father is extra special for me.”

That win for Zakaria means he becomes the youngest ever male winner of the championship, eight days younger than previous record holder Jansher Khan in 1986 and 28 days younger than Ramy Ashour, the last 16-year-old to win, in 2004.

Orfi becomes first player to win hat-trick of World Junior titles

Amina Orfi has become the first ever player to win a hat-trick of WSF World Junior Squash Championship titles after a comprehensive win over Egyptian compatriot Fayrouz Aboelkheir in Houston Squash Club, USA.

Orfi, 17, who won the 2022 edition in France and the 2023 edition in Australia, came into today’s final against Aboelkheir knowing that a win would see her draw level with Egyptian legend Nour El Sherbini’s record haul of three titles, but put her in a class of her own as the only player to win three consecutively.

The top seed, who like Aboelkheir went into today’s final in Texas having not dropped a single game, looked edgy early on as Aboelkheir made the brighter start, but eventually settled to take the opener 11-7. The 17-year-old then doubled her lead after a mammoth 23-minute second game, with Orfi seeing four game balls saved before converting.

That win put the wind in her sails and, in a fractious third game, she closed out 11-5 to cap a famous victory. Afterwards, she said:

“I still can’t believe it! I came into this match expecting a battle; all our past matches were close with tie-breaks. I knew I had to be focused from the beginning and take advantage.

“I’m so happy to win and I’m already looking forward to the team event!

Both Aboelkheir and Orfi now face a quick reconciliation, with the pair set to lead defending champions Egypt in the team championship, which begins tomorrow (18 July).

SEMIS

[1] Amina Orfi3-0 [3/4] Nadien Elhammamy 11-7, 11-1, 11-6 (35m)
[2] Fayrouz Aboelkheir 3-0 [3/4] Caroline Fouts (USA) 11-5, 11-3, 11-4 (26m)

[1] Mohamad Zakaria 3-0 Shaurya Bawa (IND) 11-5, 11-5, 11-9
[9/16] Joo Young Na (KOR) 3-2 [9/16] Harith Danial (MAS) 8-11, 6-11, 11-7, 11-4, 11-2 (59m)

Orfi into third consecutive final!

Amina Orfi’s mission is to become the first-ever player to win three consecutive titles still alive after a typically efficient win today against compatriot Nadien Elhammamy.

Orfi, crowned champion in France in 2022 and Australia in 2023, was in control throughout against the [3/4] seed, winning 11-7, 11-1, and 11- 6.

Afterwards, Orfi said: “I don’t think playing an Egypt teammate really affects my play because everyone is different; not all Egyptians play the same and there’s no one characteristic. Sometimes it’s good to have your Egyptian coaches cheering for you, but I don’t think it makes that much of a difference and I’m just looking forward to tomorrow.”

Facing Orfi tomorrow is another teammate, No.2 seed Fayrouz Aboelkheir, who ensured there would be an all-Egyptian final as she ended home hopes with an 11-5, 11-3, 11-4 win over American [3/4] seed Caroline Fouts.

After her match, Aboelkheir explained that she felt relieved to have delivered an all-Egyptian final after her loss in the semi-finals last year to Malaysia’s Aira Azman ended an incredible 10-year run of all-Egyptian finals.

“I’m really happy this year that it will be an all-Egyptian final because last year I broke that 10-year record. I’m glad that I’m starting it again! I’m just trying to start a new record for Egypt,” Aboelkheir said.

Zakaria also a returning finalist

Mohamad Zakaria will take on surprising Korean Joo Young Na in the final, with the top seed playing a measured game as he beat India’s Shaurya Bawa in straight games to reach the final for a second year in a row.

“This year, I was extremely focused because I messed up last year. I know all my mistakes now and have made significant improvements, but the job is so far from done,” Zakaria said.

QUARTERS

[1] Mohamed Zakaria3-0 Abdullah Nawaz [17/32] (Pak) 11-4, 11-2, 11-3 (31m)

[2] Fayrouz Abouelkheir 3-0 Riya Navani [5/8] (Usa) 11-7, 11-6, 11-6 (26m)
[3/4] Nadien Elhammamy3-2 Anahat Singh [5/8] (Ind) 11-8, 11-9, 5-11, 10-12, 13-11
[1] Amina Orfi3-0 [5/8] Nour Megahed 11-6, 11-5, 11-5
[3/4] Caroline Fouts (Usa) 3-0 [5/8] Jana Galal 11-9, 11-2, 11-9

[3/4] seed Nadien Elhammamy mounted a thrilling comeback from three match balls down against Indian [5/8] seed Anahat Singh in the women’s draw.

Elhammamy who five days ago celebrated her 17th birthday, started well against the 16-year-old, opening up a 2-0 lead as she defended Singh’s attacking game well.

The Indian came back hard in game three, though, reducing the deficit with an 11-5 win in game three and a hard-fought 12-10 victory in game four. Singh appeared to have completed the comeback when she went 10-8 up in the fifth game, only for Elhammamy to dig in spectacularly to force a tie break.

Singh earned another match ball at 11-10 but once again was denied by the Egyptian, with Elhammamy storming on to clinch the game 13-11 and the match 3-2.

Afterwards, Elhammamy said: “I’m very proud of myself; that comeback in the last game was honestly incredible.”

Elhammamy will play fellow Egyptian and defending champion Amina Orfi after the top seed made short work of compatriot Nour Megahed.

DAY THREE

Last 8

[1] Mohamed Zakaria 3-0 Zane Patel [9/16] (USA) 11-7, 11-3, 11-2
Hamza Khan [2] (Pak) 3-1 [9/16] Marwan Assal 11-6, 11-8, 10-12, 11-7
Abdullah Nawaz [17/32] (Pak) 3-1 [5/8] Omar Azzam 8-11, 11-9, 11-8, 12-10
Low Wa-Sern [17/32] (Mas) 3-1 [17/32] Adham Roshdy 11-9, 11-6, 8-11, 12-10

Last 8

Nour Megahed [5/8] 3-1 Ena Kwong [9/16] (Hkg) 11-2, 9-11, 12-10, 11-6
Fayrouz Abouelkheir [2] 3-0 Lauren Baltayan [9/16] 11-2, 11-3, 11-2
Nadien Elhammamy [3/4] 3-0 Dixon Hill [17/32] (Usa) 11-1, 11-5, 11-5
[1] Amina Orfi 3-0 [17/32] Malika Elkaraksy 11-2, 11-1, 11-5
[5/8] Jana Galal v Amelie Haworth [9/16] (Eng) 11-5, 11-7, 11-9

In a fiery encounter, [5/8] seed Nour Megahed overcame a spirited challenge from Hong Kong, China’s [9/16] seed Ena Kwong to record an 11-2, 9-11, 12-10, 11-6 victory.

USA’s Riya Navani, too, was pushed hard, with the [5/8] seed digging in after falling behind to [9/16 seed] Thanusaa Uthrian, eventually recording a 3-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-9 win to earn a match with No.2 seed Fayrouz Aboelkheir, who decimated French [9/16] seed Lauren Baltayan 11-2, 11-3, 11-2.

DAY TWO

BOYS LAST 16

[1] Mohamed Zakaria 3-0 Bailey Malik [17/32] (Eng)
[9/16] Marwan Assal 3-2 Antonin Romieu [17/32] (Fra) 9-11, 11-13, 11-6, 11-7, 11-7
[5/8] Omar Azzam 3-0 Amir Khaled-Jousselin [17/32] (Fra) 11-7, 11-5, 11-3
Segundo Portabales [17/32] 3-1 [5/8] Marwan Abdelsalam 11-9, 9-11, 11-4, 11-5
[17/32] Adham Roshdy 3-0 Rishi Srivastava [3/4] 12-10,12-10, 11-3
[2] Hamza Khan 3-0 [17/32] Youssef Mabrouk 11-6, 11-8, 11-4

BOYS LAST 32

[9/16] Marwan Assal 3-0 Tsz Shing Tam (Hkg) 11-6, 11-4, 11-9
[5/8] Omar Azzam 3-0 Daniel Marsh (Aus) 11-5, 11-3, 11-4
[5/8] Marwan Abdelsalam 3-0 Matthew Earl (Rsa) 11-1, 11-6, 11-7
[17/32] Youssef Mabrouk 3-1 Guido Lindner (Ned) 6-11, 11-8, 11-4, 12-10
[1] Mohamed Zakaria3-0Nicholas Verwey (Guy) 11-4, 11-1, 11-5
[17/32] Adham Roshdy 3-1 Ewan Harris (Can) 12-10, 11-7, 5-11, 11-4

GIRLS LAST 16

[17/32] Malika Elkaraksy 3-1 Spring Ma [9/16] (Can) 11-6, 9-11, 11-2, 11-6
[5/8] Nour Megahed 3-0 Hermione Cao [17/32] (Can) 11-1, 11-3, 11-6
[3/4] Nadien Elhammamy3-0 Maya Weishar [17/32] (Ger) 11-3, 11-8, 11-6
Janna Galal[5/8]3-0 Helen Tang [17/32] (Hkg) 11-9, 11-7, 11-4
[2] Fayrouz Abouelkheir 3-0 Ona Blasco [17/32] (Esp) 11-2, 11-3, 11-2
[1] Amina Orfi3-0 Ka Huen Leung (Hkg) 11-0, 11-2, 11-2

Roshdy stuns Srivastava

Egyptian [17/32] seed Adham Roshdy produced a top performance to stun the home crowd as he took down USA’s [3/4] seed Rishi Srivastava to reach the last 16 of the WSF World Junior Squash Championships at Houston Squash Club.

With both rounds three and four of the men’s event taking place today, victories were built as much on physicality and determination as racket skills.

Nowhere was that more evident than in Roshdy’s clash with Srivastava. The 17-year-old, who beat Canada’s Ewan Harris 3-1 in the RO64 in the morning, clung on brilliantly in two tight opening games against the US U19 No.1, eking out a 2-0 lead with a pair of 12-10 wins.

Srivastava, who got the better of Japan’s Shunsaku Kariyazono in the morning session, then struggled in the third game, with Roshdy closing out the contest in three games with an 11-3 victory in the decisive game.

Afterwards, Roshdy said: “I’m feeling so happy and am looking forward to tomorrow! It feels brilliant and I’m so proud. I’m really happy with my mentality and my shots, and the whole team behind me cheering for me really helped.”

In another upset, Argentina’s Segundo Portabales beat [5/8] seed Marwan Abdelsalam of Egypt, with the 18-year-old covering the court brilliantly to earn an 11-9, 9-11, 11-4, 11-5 victory

DAY ONE

GIRLS

Round 64

[5/8] Nour Megahed 3-1 Haneesha Veerakumar (Mal) 11-9, 11-9, 14-16, 11-3
[1] Amina Orfi 3-0 Alexandra Jaffe (Usa) 11-2, 11-2, 11-2
[17/32] Malika Elkaraksy 3-0 Shameena Riaz (Ind) 11-3, 11-6, 11-2
[2] Fayrouz Abouelkheir 3-0 Tsz Ling Alyssa Ho (Can) 11-6, 11-4, 11-5
[5/8] Janna Galal 3-0 Louisa Kaven (Sco) 11-4, 11-4, 11-4
[3/4] Nadien Elhammamy 3-0 Maja Maziuk (Sui) 11-6, 11-4, 11-2

BOYS

Round 64

Youssef Mabrouk [17/32] 3-0 Jassim Adel Al Ghareeb (Kuw) 11-7, 11-3, 11-8
Mohamed Zakaria [1] 3-0 Abdullah Ali (Kuw) 11-4, 11-2, 11-4
Omar Azzam [5/8] 3-0 Robert Lindner (Ned) 11-2, 11-5, 11-3
Marwan Abdelsalam [5/8] 3-0 You-Jun Chen (Tap) 11-2, 11-4, 11-4
Marwan Assal [9/16] 3-0 Tristan Snodgrass (Ire) 11-4, 11-2, 11-3
Adham Roshdy [17/32] 3-1 Jeong Uk Ryu (Kor) 11-7, 11-8, 8-11, 11-7