High hopes for British Junior Open home heroes
Courtesy of Donna Helmer

England’s national coaching team has high hopes for the English contingent competing at the Dunlop British Junior Open (BJO) from 2-6 January in Birmingham.

Last year saw England produce eight quarter-finalists, three semi-finalists and two winners, making it the nation’s most successful championships in recent history.

And with 11 of those players competing at the 2019 event, National Junior Coach Lee Drew is optimistic about England’s performance:

“Our performance at last year’s British Junior Open put England firmly back on the map at world-level. We’re looking to build and capitalise on this success and have high hopes for our home heroes.

“Across the age categories, we’ve a good spread of strong contenders who have a track record of performing well on home soil against the world’s best.”

Leading the English charge in the Boys’ Under 19s category is 3/4 seed Nick Wall (Yorks) (right) - the current Under 19 British and English National champion, as well as 2018 Dutch Junior Open champion Lewis Anderson (Warks) seeded 9/16.

“Nick’s of world calibre and has made great strides in the last 12 months reaching the last eight of the World Junior Championships in July,” says Drew.

“Similarly, Lewis Anderson has had a promising year claiming the Dutch Junior Open Under 19 title in July despite being unseeded and knocking out several top seeds.”

Two strong contenders in the Girls Under 19s are Essex duo Elise Lazarus (left) and Alice Green whose fine form of late has seen them earn a 3/4 and 5/8 seeding respectively.

“Elise and Alice have got that pedigree behind them, having represented England at the World Juniors but also having performed very well at last year’s British Open which stands them in good stead,” says Drew.

 

Sam Todd (right) moves up to the Boys Under 17s as second seed and is a strong contender given his track record at the BJO. The Pontefract sensation will be eying up his third championship crown after claiming the Boys Under 13s and Under 15 titles.

“Sam is world-class and performed very well at the World Juniors in the summer reaching the third round at the age of just 15, so there are high hopes for him to perform well at the BJO despite competing another year at that age group.”

In the Girls Under 17s, England has two 5/8 seeds in Katie Malliff and Margot Prow who have a string of titles to their names.

The Boys Under 15s sees two English contenders inside the top four; last year’s BJO Under 13 champion Jonah Bryant (Sussex) and Sam Osborne-Wylde (Worcs) - who reached the final two years ago.

“Jonah and Sam are two strong contenders who are developing a great ability to cope in the high-pressure situations a major tournament can bring. Both have the skill and ability to go all the way,” believes National Performance Coach Josh Taylor.

England is well represented in the Girls Under 15s with two 5/8 seeds, and Taylor is confident that Asia Harris (Yorks) and Torrie Malik (Sussex), joined by 9/16 seed Emma Barley (Suffolk) can cause some upsets.

“I’ve got a lot of confidence in Asia, Torrie and Emma in exceeding their seeding. They’re used to the environment and hopefully they’ll build on some of their recent results.”

European No.1 Abd-Allah Eissa (Warks) headlines the English charge in the Boys Under 13s and has earnt his second seeding through several fine performances over the past year including claiming the Dutch Junior Open title.

Eissa’s younger sister Mariam is seeded 5/8 in the Girls Under 11s alongside Emily Coulcher-Porter (Oxon) and has the potential to go all the way having won the British National and English National Under 11 titles this year.

Home hopes in the Boys Under 11s lies with Dylan Kalar (Berks) and Ronnie Hickling (Surrey) who’ll be itching to progress past the second round this time, and it looks promising with a 5/8 seeding.

Round One of the Dunlop British Junior Open starts on Wednesday 2nd January at the University of Birmingham, Edgbaston Priory, West Warwickshire Sports Club and Solihull Arden Club. Tickets to the University of Birmingham can be booked online at https://www.sportandfitness.bham.ac.uk/events/ 
Watch live coverage via SquashTV at https://psaworldtour.com/tv .
 

The finest juniors from around the world will descend on Birmingham, England for the 93rd edition of the Dunlop British Junior Open, with Egypt and Malaysia dominating the 2019 draws after the seedings were finalised yesterday.

More than 750 girls and boys representing 50 nations will compete across ten age categories from the Under 11s to Under 19s from 2-6 January in what has become the most iconic and prestigious tournament on the junior circuit.

In the Boys’ Under 19s, a trio of formidable Egyptians dominate the top three seedings with current World Junior Champion, Mostafa Asal ranked top seed, and compatriots Mostafa El Serty and Omar El Torkey seeded second and 3/4 respectively. Looking to upset the proceedings is home hero Nick Wall [3/4] from Sheffield who claimed the British National Under 19 title in October.

Girls’ Under 19 top seed Hania El Hammamy who is ranked 20 in the world, is tipped to claim her fifth championship title. Fellow compatriots Jana Shiha [2] and 16-year-old Farida Mohamed [3/4] will be looking to mount a challenge alongside 2018 semi-finalist Elise Lazarus of England seeded 3/4.

Two former Boys’ Under 15 champions could face off in the Boys’ Under 17 final if all goes to seeding in the form of Egypt’s Yehia Elnawasany [1] and England’s Sam Todd [2].

Hot favourite to claim the Girls’ Under 17 title is last year’s runner-up Marina Stefanoni [1] of America who is likely to face a titanic challenge from Egyptian no. 1 Sana Ibrahim who finished second in the Girls Under 15s last year. Asian no. 1 Sin Yuk Chan of Hong Kong [3] and the 2018 Under 15 champion Nour Khaled Aboulmakarer [3/4] of Egypt are in prime position to stake their claim.

Former champion Denis Gilevskiy [1] of Ireland and Egyptian [2] Ismail Mansour are seeded to meet in the Boys’ Under 15 final but will have to fend off Englishmen Jonah Bryant [3/4] - the 2018 Boys’ Under 15 champion and Sam Osborne-Wylde [3/4], a British National title holder.

Defending champion Aira Azman of Malaysia is favourite to claim the Girls’ Under 15 title but will have to see off a trio of Egyptians in Salma El Tayeb [2] - the 2017 Under 13 champion, Menna Hedia [3/4] and Malak Khafagy [3/4].

If all goes to seeding, there could be an almighty battle for the Boys’ Under 13 crown featuring Egyptian no. 1 Taha Ibrahim [1] and European and England no. 1 Abd-Allah Eissa [2]. Yuvraj Wadhwani [3/4] of India and Egypt’s Mohamed Zakaria [3/4] complete the top four.

The Girls’ Under 13 tournament looks set to be an Egyptian affair featuring the 2018 Under 11 champion Amina Orfi [1], the 2018 Under 13 runner-up Fayrouz Abouelkheir [2], Salma El Sheikh [3/4] and Nour Khafagy [3/4].

Malaysia’s Nickhileswar Moganasundharam who reached the last four in 2018 is in prime position to claim the Boys’ Under 11 title as top seed but will have to first navigate past Egyptians Chris Baddour [2] and Seif El Deen Dahshan [3/4]. Malaysia’s Jayden Oon made a splash with an 11th place finish in last year’s tournament at the age of just eight and completes the top four with a 3/4 seeding.

In the Girls’ Under 11s, top seed Whitney Wilson of Malaysia will be striving to claim her maiden title after reaching the last four in 2018. Hot on her heels will be Egyptians Sohayla Hazem Farouk [2], Shahad Hani [3/4] and India’s Anahat Singh [3/4].

Round 1 of the Dunlop British Junior Open starts on Wednesday 2nd January at the University of Birmingham, Edgbaston Priory, West Warwickshire Sports Club and Solihull Arden Club. Tickets to the University of Birmingham can be booked online at https://www.sportandfitness.bham.ac.uk/events/

For further information, please contact Donna Helmer: