Four juniors from Warwickshire were crowned national champions at the
English Junior Championship Finals as the tournament drew to a close at
St George's Hill.
It was an impressive haul for Warwickshire-based players, while there
were also two winners each from Surrey and Sussex on a finals day which
saw a couple of upsets and history made.
Top seeds in the U19s tournaments, Torrie Malik (Sussex) scooped her
sixth English Junior Championships crown and Jonah Bryant (Sussex)
earned his seventh. They got the better of [2] Asia Harris (Yorks) and
[2] Yusuf Sheikh (Essex), respectively.
Torrie Malik (Sussex) and Jonah Bryant (Sussex)
Malik raced into a two-game lead when she won 11-5 and 11-7 before
Harris pulled one back. However, Malik got back on track in the fourth
to close the match out and seal the sixth junior title of her fledgling
career.
It was a comfortable victory for Bryant to clock up his seventh junior
title, cruising past Sheikh 3-0: 11-5, 11-7, 11-2.
One of the upsets came in the Girls U17 final, as [2] Charlie McCrone (Lancs)
came from two games down to topple top seed [1] Emily Coulcher-Porter
(Bucks) 3-2 to bag her fourth EJC title.
Coulcher-Porter, who hadn’t dropped a single game prior to the final,
looked to continue her perfect streak when she took a commanding
two-game lead, winning 11-7 and 11-8.
McCrone, who had a hat-trick of a EJC crowns under her belt going into
this year’s event, responded magnificently as she overturned the deficit
to take the match with 11-9, 11-4, 11-7 victories to add a fourth
national title.
Elsewhere in the Boys U17 final, No.1 seed Alex Broadbridge (Hants)
secured his third EJC title as he downed [2] Dylan Roberts of Kent in
straight games.
The second surprise result saw [2] Ali Khalil (Warwicks) upset the odds
to defeat the top seed in the Boys U13 final Zack Greengrass of Sussex
to become national champion.
Khalil produced an excellent performance to see off the No.1 seed 3-0:
11-6, 11-8, 11-9 as he joined McCrone in beating a top seed to lift the
trophy.
Meanwhile, in the Girls U13 decider, top seed Ameerah Ismail (Warwicks)
dispatched [2] Phoebe Griffiths (Ham) in straight games to add an EJC
title to her BJC 2022 success, where she also defeated Griffiths to that
crown.
[1] Thomas Earwicker (Surrey) became the first-ever U9 English Junior
champion after he comfortably beat [2] James Swinden (Yorks) 3-0: 11-2,
11-9, 11-7 to take the title.
[1] Maya Goel of Surrey held off a strong fightback from [3/4] Rida Ali
(Sussex) to lift the Girls U11 crown, with the decider going the
distance.
Goel took the first two games 11-3 and 11-7 but Ali, who had taken out
the No.2 seed yesterday to reach the final, stormed back to level the
match with 11-9 and 11-3 wins. However, Goel rose to the occasion in the
decider, taking the game 11-6.
In the battle of the brothers in the Boys U11 final, it was Finley Brown
who got the better of Oscar, coming from one game down to win 3-1.
Finley, who defeated his twin brother Oscar in the British Junior
Championships 2022 final, lost the first 11-5 before he won the next
three games 11-8, 14-12, 11-6.
The top seed in the Girls U15 competition, Mariam Eissa (Warwicks)
landed her fourth EJC title as she swept aside [2] Reka Kemescei
(Sussex) 14-12, 11-8, 11-6.
In the Boys U15 final, [1] Ismail Khalil (Warwicks) produced a dominant
display to claim the title, defeating [2] George Griffiths (Ham) 3-0:
11-6, 11-3, 11-3.
Top seeds storm through to the English Junior
Championships finals
In all but one of tomorrow’s deciders, it will be the top two players
from each age group facing off, with the surprise result coming in the
Girls U11 semi-finals.
It was [3/4] Rida Ali (Sussex) who upset the applecart to deny [2]
Sienna Hampshaw (Yorks) reaching the Girls U11 final after she won 3-1:
11-8, 5-11, 11-6, 12-10.
Ali’s reward is a meeting in the final with top seed Maya Goel of
Surrey, who dispatched [3/4] Anika Raghavan (Middlesex) in straight
games.
The Boys Under 11 final pits brothers Finley (Leics) and Oscar Brown (Leics)
against each other as they maintained their perfect streaks to reach the
decider.
Finley, who beat brother Oscar in the British Junior Championship 2022
final, defeated [5/8] William Brocklehurst (Northumbria) in the
quarter-finals and [3/4] Ben Lamond (Dorset) in the semi-finals. Oscar
got the better of [5/8] Kayan Patel (Middlesex) and [5/8] Logan
Willstrop (Yorkshire) in the last eight and last four, respectively.
Under 19s top seeds Torrie Malik and Jonah Bryant are in prime position
to both claim a sixth national title each after they reached the finals
at the expense of [3/4] Isabel McCullough and [3/4] Caleb Boy,
respectively.
Malik faces [2] Asia Harris of Yorkshire in the Girls U19 final, who
defeated [3/4] Amelie Haworth 3-1, while Bryant will lock horns with
second seed Yusuf Sheikh (Essex) , who downed [3/4] Abd-Allah Eissa in
the semi-final.
Yusuf Sheikh
[1] Emily Coulcher-Porter (Bucks) and [2] Charlie McCrone (Lancs)
breezed into the final of the Girls U17 event with straight games
triumphs, while [2] Dylan Roberts of Kent had to overturn a 2-1 deficit
against [5/8] Ronnie Hickling (Surrey) in the semi-final to tee up a
final showdown against top seed Alex Broadbridge (Hants) in the Boys U17
competition.
Meanwhile, [1] Mariam Eissa (Warwicks) and [2] Reka Kemecsei of Sussex
eased into the final of the Girls U15 tournament, while top seed Ismail
Khalil (Warwicks) and second seed George Griffiths (Hants) closed out
their semi-finals in four games, overcoming [3/4] Jake Johnston (Surrey)
and [3/4] Dylan Kalar (Oxfordshire), respectively.
The top two seeds in the Girls U13 event will face off for the title as
[1] Ameerah Ismail (Warwicks) got the better of [9/12] Aditi Rao
(Oxfordshire) and [3/4] Esther Chak (Surrey) in straight games.
[2] Phoebe Griffiths (Hants) also chalked up back-to-back 3-0 victories
to reach the final, beating [5/8] Evie Pulford (Kent) and [3/4] Bella
Gokani (Leics).
[1] Zack Greengrass (Sussex) and [2] Ali Khalil (Warwicks) will meet in
a rematch of the 2022 British Junior Championships final. Both had
comfortable routes to the Boys U13 title match, with both claiming
straight set victories over [5/8] Jaanshere Khan (Surrey) and [3/4]
William Burton (Suffolk), and [5/8] Joe Colton (Surrey) and [3/4]
Gilbert Harrington (Hants) in the quarter-finals and semi-finals,
respectively.
Thomas Earwicker
In the mixed U9s, [1] Thomas Earwicker (Surrey) impressively didn’t drop
a single game on his way to sealing his final spot, while [2] James
Swinden of Yorkshire overcame [3/4] Henry Frost (Sussex) in a five-game
thriller in the semi-final to progress to the decider.
It was a successful opening day of the 2023 English Junior Championships
(EJC) in Surrey as all the top seeds prevailed across all nine age
groups, with some surprise results also produced.
Boys Under 19 top seed Jonah Bryant of Sussex, who’s aiming for his
sixth successive national title, emphatically progressed to the
quarter-finals by defeating Sacha Cooper 3-0: 11-4, 11-6, 11-0.
Meanwhile, after beating Tom Greengrass (Sussex) in the last 32, [9/12]
Kriss Kasunda defeated [5/8] James Carman (Middlesex) 3-0: 11-5, 11-2,
11-7 to reach the last eight.
Torrie Malik
The Girls Under 19 defending champion and No.1 seed Torrie Malik
(Sussex), who’s also gunning for a sixth straight EJC crown, cruised
into the semi-finals with a comprehensive 11-5, 11-5, 11-1 victory.
Elsewhere, in the Boys Under 17 draw, [9/16] Ethan Duncan (Herts) edged
[5/8] Jake Sim-Baskar (Sussex) in a five-game thriller, clinching the
match: 11-5, 10-12, 11-3, 3-11, 11-8 to progress to the next round.
Duncan joins the remaining top eight seeds, including [1] Alex
Broadbridge of Hampshire in the quarter-finals.
The No.1 seed in the Girls Under 17 event, Emily Coulcher-Porter (Bucks)
produced a dominant display, seeing off [9/16] Grace Winton (Sussex) in
straight games, and impressively conceding just three points. The rest
of the top eight seeds also safely made it into the last eight.
In the Girls Under 15s, [1] Mariam Eissa (Warks) dispatched Amelie
Vipond (Warks) 3-0: 11-2, 11-2, 11-5. Meanwhile, top seed in the boys
event, Ismail Khalil (Warks) registered comfortable, straight games
triumphs over Joshua Deubert (Kent) and [13/15] James Graham (Greater
London) to book a quarter-final spot.
[9/12] Henry Surridge (Warks) backed up his last 32 win in the Boys
Under 13 draw by claiming the scalp of [5/8] seed Jackson Lee Varanese
(Middlesex), taking a hard-fought 14-12, 11-6, 11-4 win.
The No.1 seed Zack Greengrass of Sussex comfortably booked a last eight
spot after beating Aditya Chandramouli (Middlesex) and Joe Thompson (Yorks)
in the last 32 and last 16 rounds, respectively.
There was also a surprise result in the Girls Under 13 tournament as
[9/12] Aditi Rao (Oxfordshire) got the better of [5/8] Sophie Harding
(Essex) in straight games. Elsewhere, [1] Ameerah Ismail (Warks) reached
the last eight after seeing off [13/16] Grace Woodhead (Essex) 3-0:
11-0, 11-2, 11-3.
Meanwhile in the Boys Under 11 competition, [9/12] Jacob Askey came out
on top against [5/8] James Barker (Yorks), taking him down 3-0: 11-5,
11-9, 11-7 to secure a place in the quarter-finals. No.1 seed Finley
Brown (Leics) overcame Jamie Evers 3-0: 11-2, 11-3, 11-4.
It was a fruitful day for the top four seeds in the Girls U11 draw as
they all advanced to the semi-finals, with [1] Maya Goel (Surrey)
notching resounding victories over [5/8] Khia Gokani (Leics) and Yuk Yee
Lee.
The mixed under 9s tournament kicks off tomorrow (Saturday), with last
16, quarter-final and semi-final ties to be played.
