Solihull star reaches final of squash championships

Deep into Sunday evening, USA’s [9/16] Alexander Dartnell won a lengthy BU19 battle with Egyptian second seed Youssef Salem 11-1, 2-11, 11-8, 11-8 to ensure that two Americans have a shot at titles tomorrow, alongside one Englishman and one player each representing India and Pakistan. Otherwise, it was another day of domination by players from squash’s superpower nation. 

There was no doubt about the best match of the day. [5/8] Eiad Daoud’s BU19 semi-final with USA’s [5/8] Christian Capella was an exhilarating, exhausting, drama-filled 72-minute contest that went right to the wire. 

The Egyptian was 2/1 up and deep into the fourth game when he pulled up with a hamstring injury and took a timeout. After receiving treatment and returning to the court, he lost three points in a row to go 10-6 down. Somehow, he fought back to force a tiebreak, but lost it 14-12. In the fifth, there was no let-up in tempo or rally duration, but Daoud somehow found the resilience and energy to win it and seal a 7-11, 11-5, 11-9, 12-14, 11-5 win. Both players were simply brilliant. 

Daoud said: “It’s unbelievable. I was crying during the injury break. I thought I was going to lose and everything was going to be a nightmare. But when I got back on court, I regained my strength and fought to the end because I want to win this tournament. The semis isn’t good enough, I want to win. I’m very proud of myself for how I fought until the end.” 

GU19 second seed Nadien ElHammamy took out fellow Egyptian [3/4] Sohayla Hazem Farouk in three tight games. In the final, she will face top seed Janna Galal who won a sensational match with France’s [3/4] Lauren Baltayan. The contest was peppered with wonderful rallies and gutsy retrieval from both players and it was the 17-year-old from Alexandria who won it 2-11, 14-12, 11-5, 9-11, 11-4. 

Galal said of her opponent: “She is such a fighter. You think that the point is finished, but no! She gets it back over and over. She will never give up on a single ball. I knew I had to be on my toes as much as possible. I’m glad I was able to fight right until the end and I can’t wait until tomorrow’s final.” 

In the BU17 semis, USA’s 3/4 seed Jack Elriani was locked in an engaging battle with Egypt’s top seed Adam Hawal at one game apiece when he sustained a back injury at 4-2 in the third game which necessitated a half-hour injury break. When he eventually returned, Elriani’s movement was clearly impeded and the last two games slipped away quickly. The other BU17 semi was a clean and classy duel which saw 3/4-seeded Egyptian Seifeldin Refaay beat France’s Amir Khaled-Jousselin 11-9, 12-10, 11-5. 

The only Indian semi-finalist, Anahat Singh, teed up a chance of a third BJO title by beating Egypt’s 3/4 seed Ruqayya Salem in four games in the GU17. She will meet Egyptian second seed Malika El Karaksy, who overcame the gutsy challenge of Hong Kong, China’s Helen Tan in four games. 

Monday’s BU15 final will be the only one not to feature an Egyptian as England’s sole finalist, [1] Ali Khalil, will face USA’s [5/8] Vivaan Mehta. Local boy Khalil was a cool 11-7, 11-6, 11-3 winner over Egyptian namesake [3/4] Mohammed Ashraf Khalil, while Californian Mehta was an impressive 11-5, 13-11, 11-9 victor over [2] Yassin Bayoumi of Egypt. 

England’s Khalil, who trains with coach Rob Owen at nearby West Warwicks, said: “I’m really proud of that performance. That was a strong win, and I can go in even stronger tomorrow hopefully. I’ve known Mohamed for a long time, he’s a very good friend of mine, so it was a very clean match. His forehand drops and forehand kills are very good but luckily I didn’t give him any chances to put them in.” 

The powerful hitting of [3/4] Rinad Hytham Elmergawy helped her oust GU15 top seed Rama El Naggar in a five-game, all-Egyptian battle. There was then an amazing turnaround at the end of the second semi-final. [5/8] Layan Moustafa was 2/1 and 7-4 up, but won only one point thereafter as she made a flurry of errors, allowing [2] Habiba Rizk to roar back and win 6-11, 12-10, 6-11, 11-7, 11-1. 

Pakistan’s sole semi-finalist, [3/4] Muhammad Sohail Adnan, made it into the BU13 final with a straight-games victory over second seed Amr Moustafa. In the final, Asian junior champion Adnan will face top seed Moez Tamer Elmoghazy of Egypt, who took care of USA’s [9/16] Brendon Chan in three. 

The GU13 semi-finals featured four Egyptians after both semis went the distance. [9/16] Salma Elbaz overcame [9/16] Nazli Orfi in a tempestuous clash 4-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-7, 13-11, then qualifier Lilly Elsayed hit back from two games down to oust [2] Talia Sherif 7-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-4. 

There was another Egyptian lockout in the BU11 semi-finals with the top two seeds, [1] Anas Tawfik and [2] Rayan Ghoslan, both progressing to Monday’s showpiece via straight-games victories. The GU11 final will also be an all-Egyptian affair after straight-games wins for the top two seeds, Laila Mohamed Mohsen and Farida Hakim, in their respective semis against [3/4] Lilya Medhat of Egypt and [3/4] Alice Wang of USA.

Watch the championships live and for free at: britishjunioropen.com/watch/