Ireland’s junior men’s team secured their first win at the 2025 World Junior Squash Championships with a strong 2-0 victory over Germany in their opening 13/22 play-off match.
The Irish, seeded 17th, had earlier finished at the bottom of Group D after a 1-2 defeat to Scotland (No.18) and other losses to England (No.4) and Hong Kong China (No.8), but they responded well against the 21st-seeded Germans.
Danny Lynch and Conal Jackson secured victories, with the tie decided before the third match.
Ireland now face a tougher challenge as they prepare to meet New Zealand (No.11 seed) on Wednesday at 4pm local time (2pm Irish time).
Earlier in the day, Ireland’s 15th-seeded junior women’s team faced a high-stakes match against No.2 ranked Hong Kong China in their final Group B fixture.
Ireland had previously impressed with a 2-1 victory over No.10 Brazil, keeping their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals alive. However, the strength of Hong Kong proved too much, and the Irish fell 0-3.
They now move into the 9/16 play-off, where they will face Macau China (No.16) on Wednesday at 12:30pm local (10:30am Irish time).
MEN’S RESULT – 13/22 PLAY-OFF
Ireland (No.17) 2-0 Germany (No.21)
Danny Lynch beat Oleksii Bielikov 3-0 (11-6, 11-8, 11-4)
Conal Jackson beat Levi Visser 3-1 (11-5, 6-11, 12-10, 11-1)
Aaron Knox DNP vs Rufus Gebhardt
Next match: vs New Zealand (No.11) – Wednesday, 4pm (2pm Irish time)
WOMEN’S RESULT – GROUP B
Ireland (No.15) 0-3 Hong Kong China (No.2)
Ella Walsh lost 0-3 (3-11, 2-11, 1-11) to Tsz Ching Chang
Zoe Yeomans lost 0-3 (2-11, 1-11, 0-11) to Helen Tang
Riley Slade lost 0-3 (4-11, 6-11, 3-11) to Yee Ling Elaine Chung
Next match: vs Macau China (No.16) – Wednesday, 12:30pm (10:30am Irish time)
