Ireland have two champions from the four-day Spanish Junior Open in Santa Cristina d’Aro, Harry Knox winning the BU13 and Marcelino Cronin the BU15.
Seeded 3/4, Knox secured a hat-trick of 3-0 wins over Spanish, Polish and English opponents to reach Sunday’s Girona final.
So impressive was the youngster that he only conceded 47 points in those nine games – an average of just over five.
Knox’s final against Tiago Vilas Macias [5/8] was a far tighter affair on court three at Tipi Park. Games one and two were won 14-12 and 12-10 before the Spaniard claimed game three 11-5.
The championship title was secured in the fourth, with the Irish teenager winning 11-9.
Court three was also the scene for Cronin’s excellent 3-1 success against Szymon Cienciala, the No.2 seed from Poland. Ranked 5/8, Cronin didn’t flinch when losing the opening game 9-11, and he went on to win the next three 12-10, 11-4, 11-4.
His run to the final began with 3-1 and 3-0 victories over 9/16 ranked Spanish opponents, but he showcased his talent in his semi-final versus Hungary’s Miska Weiner, the event’s No.1 player.
Cronin jumped into a 2-0 lead with 11-1 and 11-5 games. The third went 7-11 against, but his deserved ticket to the final was secured with a 12-10 fourth game.
There were 133 entries across the eight events in Spain, including a total of eight players from Ireland. Aside from the title-winning Knox and Cronin, Alfie Knox was eighth in the BU13, Eoin Mullery ninth in the BU15 and Samuel Hann 19th in the BU17.
Three of Ireland’s representatives at the recent World Squash Junior Championships also took part in the BU19, with Aaron Knox fifth, Frank O’Flynn 21st and Nathan Hann 27th.
The Junior focus now switches to Cardiff with the Welsh Open set to start next Friday, September 5th. There are 15 Irish entries among the 134-strong start list spread across 10 events.
