Birmingham once again played host to the junior Squash opener of tournaments – but this one was the most unique as the young stars from across the world made their presence known as a candidate for their respective Olympic Squash team in four years.
Compared to other curtain raisers to kick start the Squash year, the 2024 British Junior Open in Birmingham showcased the first group of talent who are potentially going to take in the Olympic Games in Los Angeles; something that is on the forefront of their young minds and motivational tool to perform well in front of their peers.
As always the finest Squash clubs in both Birmingham and neighbouring Solihull hosted matches – all of which always welcoming to the participants and their families, along with Squash enthusiasts from across the world.
Like most junior tournaments, winning the British Junior Open can help launch your career in the sport, as well as joining an illustrious hall of fame of previous winners, such as Nicol David and James Willstrop – who went on to become world champions in the sport and role models for the next generation of talent.
There were some interesting stories in the 2024 BJO, some of which made the tournament a great way to kick off the grassroots Squash competition for the year ahead with a thrilling tournament.
Squash represented globally
The British Junior Open is one of the sought-after junior squash competitions that every young squash pro wants to compete in – 2024 was no exception with 500 young players from across the globe; there were some historical debuts.
From Zimbabwe from the Belgravia Squash Academy – two of their players were making their international debut in the U15 category of the tournament.
Zimbabwe, they are not new to Squash, as the country has produced some talented players over the years, thus news of the Olympic inclusion has certainly drummed up interest in the sport in again.
As for another first in taking part, two young players from the SRC Duisburg 1993 e.V; a Squash club in Germany became the first players in the history of the club to take part in the British Junior Open – with Germany, they are no stranger to the sport and strong success in some major tournaments with the likes of Simon Rösner and Sabine Schoene – both of whom had success in junior tournaments.
In terms of going for a win Team USA was looking to capitalise on their success in 2023 and brought along 54 players and 10 Coaches, it’s no wonder that Team USA were looking to do well.
Normal service resumed
The opening matches of the tournament saw normal service for the top two seeds in the Girl’s and Boys’ Under-19s competitions.
Egypt’s number one seed Mohamed Zakaria and Jonah Bryant (England) notched straight games wins over their opponents to move into the last 32, with two rounds on Day 2 to determine the quarter-finalists.
The top seed in the girls’ U19s, Egyptian Fayrouz Aboelkheir (2023 GU19 runner-up and world no.37) opened her account at this year’s event by beating Olivia Owens (England) 3-0, which was the same scoreline number two seed from the USA Caroline Fouts triumphed by against Francesca Hall (England) – progressing into the last 16.
The top two seeds in the Girls and Boys Under-17s followed suit by kicking off their tournament campaigns with 3-0 victories to book their places in the next round.
Egypt’s Youssef Salem (2023 BJO U17 champion) and Marwan Asal (2023 BJO U15 winner) also proceeded to the next round with wins over their opening game opponents.
With the girls, coming off her win in December at the Scottish Junior Open – Anahat Singh (India) winner of the U15 BJO title in 2023 and winner of the Scottish U19 title, won against Farida Walid Sherif in a fiery match which entertained a packed crowd on Edgbaston Priory’s court one, while Nadien Elhammamy [2] of Egypt overcame Austria’s Karina Seiner and Reka Kemecsei emphatically.
Elsewhere the Girls U17s saw a win for representatives from Hong Kong – in light of this, the top eight seeds in the Under-15s competitions all prevailed.
However, there were two upsets on the girls’ side of the draw. Akaisha Bhatia (India) beat Pui Yin Chloe Lo (Hong Kong) 3-1 and seed Trinity Moshi (USA) notched a straight games victory over Renata Colabella (England).
More upsets and a great comeback
Both Days 2 and 3 saw upsets and comebacks at the tournament.
Day 2 began with the biggest upset so far with Egypt’s Seif Belal El Shal defeating B15 second seed Jayden Oon (Malaysia) to claim a place in the last eight in the evening’s last sixteen matches.
The day also saw the first set of quarter-finals to be settled were the Girls’ U17 which went mainly to seeding, with Egypt’s Sohayla Hazem Farouk and Malaysia’s Doyce Lee Ye San, joining six of the top seeds in the quarters.
The GU15 category saw another upset in the last sixteen with USA’s Isabella Tang taking out seed Mariam Eissa in four games to join the other top seeds in the last eight.
Under-19s top seeds Mohamed Zakaria and Fayrouz Aboelkheir comfortably secured semi-final berths.
Meanwhile, in the Girls’ Under-17s competition, the second seed Nadien Elhammamy of Egypt came back from a 2-1 deficit against USA’s Whitney Wilson to join the rest of the top eight seeds in the quarter-finals.
Egypt make history with a clean sweep of titles
Team Egypt showcased an exceptional performance in the semi-final and final matches of the BJO tournament, winning all the titles, which is a historic achievement in the tournament’s history.
During the championship, England and the USA also competed against Team Egypt, suggesting that these nations are likely to contend for top positions in major junior Squash championships in 2024.
Jonah ends his junior career on a humble note
In the lead-up to the BJO, all eyes were on Jonah Bryant (ENG), who was looking to sign off from his junior career in style in 2024.
Jonah had a great start in the tournament and made it to the U19 final, but unfortunately, he finished as the runner-up again. Despite this, given his success on the PSA Challenger Tour last year, Jonah can take comfort in the fact that he has a bright future ahead of him in the sport and is likely to win major titles.
Final Thoughts
Seeing these junior Squash stars means a lot for the future of the sport, especially now with the Olympic inclusion – as each one will inspire their peers to participate in Squash which will mean more demand for provision in certain towns in which Squash needs a revival.
Overall, the 2024 edition of the British Junior Open will go down in history not only for Egypt’s record success but the participants taking part for the first time – which highlights that the sport is growing more in popularity and Birmingham is the place to showcase your grassroots talent.
