There was plenty of World Squash Junior Championships action for the Irish at the Black Ball club on Thursday, writes junior performance coach David Noone – a nice early start with match times scheduled for 0:9:40am.
The club was the busiest it has been, a packed house for quarter-finals day. There wasn’t a seat to be had in the grandstand – testament to the popularity of squash in Egypt.
Frank O’Flynn was one of the early starters. He set his stall out early and worked hard to hit his targets and choose the right shots.
When his plan was executed, he was in control and dominant. A few slips of concentration and the momentum swayed. This happened through the match and all the way to 9-9 in the fifth. Frank worked hard to close it out and hung on for a great win over Keng In Leong of Macau.
Danny Lynch was on court at the same time, two courts over. In a dominant display, he closed out his opponent, Abdulrahman Alkandari of Kuwait, in three games.
Nathan Hann took on a talented Kiwi, Fergus Hill. It was tough for Nathan, but he dug in and got better as the match progressed before losing in three.
He has definitely matured with each match, and this event will stand him well, learning from all different styles and good exposure to the highest level of junior squash. He lost in 3 today.
Aaron Knox played a super strong Hong Kong China player, Wing Kuen Wong. We had watched him almost take out one of the top USA guys and knew it would be a tough match.
This didn’t faze Aaron. In his typical style, he chipped away, creating good openings and putting himself in strong attacking positions.
The first was 11-5, but in the next two games Aaron had his chances to win them both. He was muscled out of it a couple of times across the T-line and couldn’t convert in games lost 12-10 and 12-10. It was that close despite the 0-3 scoreline.
Christian Dromgoole played another Hong Kong opponent, Long Hin Larry Wong, and it was another tough match.
Down two-nil down, he rallied his way back with a gutsy 12-10 win in the third. He pushed his hardest in the fourth, too, but left too many opportunities for his opponent to hurt him with, and ultimately he went down after four hard games.
Conal Jackson was our first Irish player on the glass show court, a great opportunity for him, and it had a sense of occasion. We all got lovely luxurious seats at the back and made the most of them.
Conal was playing an original 17/32 seed from Pakistan, Anas Ali Shah. On paper, Conal may not have had much hope, but that wasn’t to be on the court.
He pushed all the way, displayed some top-quality squash, and came close to scalping a game or two before losing 0-3. The difference in a good display from Conal was the level of aggression and purpose with loose balls!
Riley Slade played Nina Thomas from Wales, and target hitting again was the big separator. More consistency would have made all the difference in a solid effort, as always, from Riley, but it was 0-3 for the Welsh player.
Ella Walsh put in a good shift, dominating her Macau opponent Lok Long Huang. Winning in three keeps Ella in the event.
Danny and Frank were back competing on Thursday afternoon, again at the same time. Breanne Flynn took one court, and I took the other.
Frank got out of the blocks very quickly, really pushing his Australian opponent Joshua Rahul Raj around and using his skills. Frank’s engine was slowly running out of gas, though, and his efforts in the five-setter earlier in the day took their toll, and he lost in four.
Danny, however, cleaned up in three again with a solid performance against Ian Miguel De Sousa of Macau, although the Consolation Plate is not where he would like to be in the draw.
On the main stage, the quarter-finals were on. Huge crowds. Great energy, Great entertainment. All eight matches, four men’s and four women’s, had a capacity crowd. It was so good to see.
Ireland will feature in two Consolation Plate round of 8 matches in Cairo on Friday after Danny Lynch and Ella Walsh progressed in the World Squash Junior Championships.
Lynch reached the quarter-finals in Cairo with two accomplished 3-0 wins on Thursday to book his clash against Raphael Ferraro of Switzerland.
Walsh, meanwhile, shrugged aside her recent stomach bug to also win her Thursday match 3-0 and set up a meeting with Yeeun Seo of Korea.
Irish interest in the Special Plate ended with the round of 16 exits for Aaron Knox and Christian Dromgoole against Hong Kong China opponents, while Conal Jackson’s appearance on the all-glass show court resulted in a 0-3 Plate round of 16 loss to Anas Ali Shah of Pakistan.
Nathan Hann exited the Consolation Plate round of 32 with a 0-3 loss, but Frank O’Flynn won his match in the same round, defeating Macau’s Keng In Leong in a five-game thriller. His Consolation Plate round of 16 match was lost 1-3, though.
Riley Slade, the eighth Irish player in action on Thursday, fell to a 0-3 Consolation Plate round of 16 loss.
RESULTS AND FIXTURES (all Irish start times – add two hours for local Cairo time)
BU19
Christian Dromgoole
Special Plate round of 16: Lost 1-3 (6-11, 7-11, 12-10, 6-11) versus Long Hin Larry Wong of Hong Kong China
Nathan Hann
Consolation Plate round of 32: Lost 0-3 (3-11, 3-11, 6-11) versus Fergus Hill of New Zealand
Conal Jackson
Plate round of 16: Lost 0-3 (5-11, 7-11, 4-11) versus Anas Ali Shah of Pakistan
Aaron Knox
Special Plate round of 16: Lost 0-3 (4-11, 10-12, 10-12) versus Wing Kuen Wong of Hong Kong China
Aaron Knox
Special Plate round of 16: Lost 0-3 (4-11, 10-12, 10-12) versus Wing Kuen Wong of Hong Kong China
Danny Lynch
Consolation Plate round of 32: Won 3-0 (13-11, 11-2, 11-7) versus Abdulrahman Alkandari of Kuwait
Consolation Plate round of 16: Won 3-0 (11-4, 11-8, 11-2) versus Ian Miguel De Sousa of Macau
Consolation Plate round of 8: Plays Raphael Ferraro of Switzerland at 8:45am on Friday
Frank O’Flynn
Consolation Plate round of 32: Won 3-2 (11-5, 10-12, 14-12, 7-11, 11-9) versus Keng In Leong of Macau
Consolation Plate round of 16: Lost 1-3 (11-6, 8-11, 3-11, 2-11) versus Joshua Rahul Raj of Australia
GU19
Riley Slade
Consolation Plate round of 16: Lost 0-3 (6-11, 3-11, 4-11) versus Nia Seren Thomas of Wales
Ella Walsh
Consolation Plate round of 16: Won 3-0 (11-3, 11-9, 11-4) versus Lok Long Huang of Macau
Consolation Plate round of 8: Plays Yeeun Seo of Korea on Friday at 8am
With all players well settled in Cairo and a routine established, morale was high, writes junior performance coach David Noone.
Paying particular attention to avoiding certain food types and being extra careful with water consumption, navigating breakfast correctly was important. The hotel provided good food, but the breakfast left a lot to be desired. Not a coffee machine in sight… but it did the job.
At the Black Ball club, there were designated staff dispensing bottles of chilled water – a nice touch. There were lots of complaints from the huge entourage of American coaches about the warm climate, and giant air conditioning units were installed. Another nod to the hospitality of the Egyptian people, trying to deliver the best event possible.
The Irish team cared solely about their squash, and they gave due attention to each match, preparing as best they could. A very professional bunch.
Christian Dromgoole had two matches, his first in the title round of 64 against an Indian seed. With good structure to his game and tough to break down, Yusha Nafees proved too strong for Christian, but he wasn’t too far away in a lot of areas.
His second match, in the Super Plate round of 32, was a humdinger against the South Korean, Chanyoung Kim. This went the distance, and Christian put enough work into the legs of his opponent that he was cramping in his quads from 8-6 onwards in the fifth game. Christian pushed super hard to make sure he closed out the match and got an impressive win under his belt.
Nathan Hann played Darcy Hayes of Australia. Needing a little physio work from Breanne Flynn just to get him on court, Nathan started the match with a strained neck. It wasn’t ideal, but he fought valiantly and did much better as the match progressed. It was a tough loss.
Conal Jackson got a Plate round of 64 walkover on Tuesday from South Africa’s Juan-Corne Brand, who rolled an ankle.
This was the worst feeling, as you don’t want to travel all this way to Egypt and not play, but he made up for it on Wednesday with a massive performance to come from 0-2 down against Mika Von Aesch of Switzerland to claim a 3-2, five-game victory. This very gutsy effort keeps him playing and keeps the challenges coming.
Aaron Knox lost his second-round title match to an impressive Indian player. Arihant KS had an attacking style of squash, with exceptional racket head speed, and he pushed the ball to the front left relentlessly.
Aaron struggled early on, but his tempo got higher as the match grew, creating a good battle, and the 0-3 loss was a good show. He backed up his performance on Wednesday with a solid 3-0, Special Plate round of 32 win against Samuel Winkler.
Danny Lynch played a fit and solid South African in his Plate opener, and a nail-biter of a first game went Danny’s way 12-10. Momentum looked like it was swaying towards him, but Judah Phillips somehow turned the tables and neutralised Danny. It was a bit of a shock 3-1 loss, but Danny fought hard and will have a chance of redemption on Thursday.
Frank O’Flynn played Maximus Mathews, a Kiwi as tall as himself, and it left little space around the centre of the court. There were some top-quality exchanges from the two, and it could have gone either way. Frank has shown so many signs of improvement, and he put in a fine display of quality squash. It wasn’t to be this time in a 0-3 loss, but he will be back at it on Thursday.
Riley Slade played the Canadian, Salma Hassan, who was close to 6ft and could hit the ball as hard as anyone in the event. It was a somewhat daunting task for Riley in this Plate match, but she was remarkably resilient, fighting hard in every point and growing into the game. But it wasn’t to be as she lost in three.
Ella Walsh, what a warrior. Even though she was our first player to show signs of some Cairo sickness, she decided to play. Her Russian neutral athlete opponent, Maria Spirina, was a quality ball striker who fiercely contested every point.
This match had the makings of a five-setter, and it went all the way. Ella held off her stomach illness as best she could to fight all the way. Pushing hard on every rally, she won the appreciation of her watching teammates before losing valiantly in the fifth.
Zoe Yeomans had the quickest turnaround on day one, with two matches played. One day, two she faced an impressively accurate and casual Canadian, Tsz Ling Alyssa Ho, who had a wicked serve and seemed to be able to place the ball in the right area almost every time.
She was a very tough opponent, but this didn’t stop Zoe from troubling her in each game before losing 0-3, arguably an unjust scoreline for the quality of the performance.
Ireland enjoyed a wonderful Wednesday at the World Squash Junior Championships, with all three matches won in the BU19 section. There was also a courageous five-game defeat for the battling Ella Walsh in the GU19.
Aaron Knox and Christian Dromgoole, who were both eliminated on Tuesday from the main title competition at the round of 64, hit back strongly in the Special Plate section.
Knox was a deserving 3-0 winner over Samuel Winkler of Austria, and he will return to the court for a round of 16 match with Wing Kuen Wong of Hong Kong China on Thursday.
Dromgoole will also face a Hong Kong China opponent, Long Hin Larry Wong, following his exciting 3-2 win over the Korean, Chanyoung Kim.
Conal Jackson completed the perfect BU19 afternoon for Ireland with his 3-2 Plate win over Mika Von Aesch of Switzerland.
Down 0-2, he roared back to take the victory that booked him a Thursday clash with Anas Ali Shah of Pakistan that will be played on the Black Ball’s main glass court.
In the GU19 Plate round of 32, Walsh arguably produced the Irish performance of the day as she battled a stomach issue to take Maria Sprinina to five games before losing 2-3.
Riley Slade was beaten 0-3 by Salma Hassan of Canada, also in the Plate round of 32.
RESULTS AND FIXTURES (all Irish start times – add two hours for local Cairo time)
BU19
Christian Dromgoole
Special Plate round of 33: Won 3-2 (11-8, 7-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-8) v Chanyoung Kim of Korea.
Special Plate round of 16: Plays Long Hin Larry Wong of Hong Kong China on Thursday at 9am
Nathan Hann
Consolation Plate round of 32: Plays Fergus Hill of New Zealand on Thursday at 8:20am
Conal Jackson
Plate round of 32: Won 3-2 (6-11, 8-11, 11-3, 11-7, 11-5) v Mika Von Aesch of Switzerland
Plate round of 16: Plays Anas Ali Shah of Pakistan on Thursday at 10:30am
Aaron Knox
Special Plate round of 32: Won 3-0 (13-11, 11-8, 13-11) v Samuel Winkler of Austria
Special Plate round of 16: Plays Wing Kuen Wong of Hong Kong China on Thursday at 9am
Danny Lynch
Consolation Plate round of 32: Plays Abdulrahman Alkandari of Kuwait on Thursday at 7:40am
Frank O’Flynn
Consolation Plate round of 32: Plays Keng In Leong of Macau on Thursday at 7:40am
GU19
Riley Slade
Plate round of 32: Lost 0-3 (3-11, 5-11, 8-11) to Salma Hassan of Canada
Consolation Plate round of 16: Plays Nia Seren Thomas of Wales on Thursday at 12noon
Ella Walsh
Plate round of 32: Lost 2-3 (11-6, 8-11, 5-11, 11-6, 3-11) to Maria Spirina [AIN]
Consolation Plate round of 16: Plays Lok Long Huang of Macau on Thursday at 12noon
Zoe Yeomans
Finished with her Special Plate round of 32 versus Tsz Ling Alyssa Ho [17/32] of Canada on Tuesday
Ireland’s interest in the BU19 World Squash Junior Championships title ended on Tuesday with Aaron Knox and Christian Dromgoole both eliminated in the round of 64.
Knox and Dromgoole had enjoyed confident starts at the tournament on Monday, respectively winning their round of 128 matches 3-1 and 3-0 to set up round two matches with Indian duo Arihant KS and Yusha Nafees, who were both 17/32 seeds.
Knox was first in action on Tuesday, and he suffered a 0-3 loss to Arihant in a match where the prize for the winner was a round of 32 clash with No.1 seed Mohamed Zakaria. The Egyptian is the defending junior champion from Houston 2024 and is ranked 14th on the PSA men’s tour.
Zakaria defeated Samuel Winkler of Austria 3-0 in his first match at the tournament and then beat Arihant 3-0 later in the day. Knox will now play the Austrian on Wednesday in the Special Plate section.
Dromgoole, meanwhile, was beaten 0-3 in his round of 64 clash with Yusha Nafees, denying him a round of 32 showdown with the Colombian, Juan Irisarri [5/8]. Next is a Special Plate fixture on Wednesday against Chanyoung Kim, the Korean beaten 1-3 by Irisarri.
In the Plate competition, Ireland endured a difficult Tuesday as Danny Lynch was beaten 1-3 and Nathan Hann and Frank O’Flynn lost 0-3 in their matches. Conal Jackson had his fixture cancelled as his opponent rolled an ankle. The upside was that Jackson progressed to the next round with a walkover.
There was just one GU19 player in action on Tuesday, Zoe Yeomans losing her Special Plate match 0-3.
RESULTS AND FIXTURES (all Irish start times – add two hours for local Cairo time)
BU19
Christian Dromgoole
Round of 64: Lost 0-3 (6-11, 7-11, 3-11) to Yusha Nafees [17/32] of India
Round 2 Special Plate: Plays Chanyoung Kim of Korea at 1pm on Wednesday
Nathan Hann
Plate round of 64: Lost 0-3 (0-11, 3-11, 1-11) to Darcy Hayes of Australia
Consolation Plate round 1: Plays Fergus Hill of New Zealand (TBC)
Conal Jackson
Plate round of 64: Match cancelled versus Juan-Corne Brand of South Africa
Plate round of 32: Plays Mika Von Aesch of Switzerland at 11:40am on Wednesday
Aaron Knox
Round of 64: Lost 0-3 (1-11, 9-11, 6-11) to Arihant KS [17/32] of India
Special Plate round 2: Plays Samuel Winkler of Austria at 12:20pm on Wednesday
Danny Lynch
Plate round of 64: Lost 1-3 (12-10, 5-11, 9-11, 4-11) to Judah Phillips of South Africa
Consolation Plate round 1: Plays Abdulrahman Alkandari of Kuwait (Time TBC)
Frank O’Flynn
Special Plate round 2: Lost 0-3 (6-11, 4-11, 6-11) to Maximus Mathews of New Zealand
Consolation Plate round 1: Plays Keng In Leong of Macau (Time TBC)
GU19
Riley Slade
Plate round of 32: Salma Hassan of Canada at 9am on Wednesday
Ella Walsh
Plate round of 32: Plays Maria Spirina [AIN] at 9:40am on Wednesday
Zoe Yeomans
Special Plate round of 32: Lost 0-3 (4-11, 2-11, 3-11) to Tsz Ling Alyssa Ho [17/32] of Canada
An Ireland-India rivalry has ignited at the World Squash Junior Championships as the two Irish BU19 round of 128 winners in Cairo face Indian opposition on Tuesday morning.
Aaron Knox and Christian Dromgoole both advanced to the second round of the men’s individual event in Egypt with comfortable victories on Monday.
Knox defeated Brazilian Bernado Dias 3-1 and Dromgoole saw off Saudi Arabian Salem Almwled 3-0. Their reward is matches versus Indian players seeded 17/32.
Arihant KS is Knox’s opponent at the Black Ball at 7:40am Irish time with Dromgoole due on court 80 minutes later to battle Yusha Nafees.
Ireland’s other round of 128 winner was Zoe Yeomans in the GU19. She secured a 3-0 victory over Anna Musikhina of Russia.
However, unlike Knox and Dromgoole in the BU19 section, she didn’t get to sleep on her win as she was back in action later on Monday in her GU19 round of 64 match. Up against Sofiia Zrazhevska, the 17/32 seed from Poland, Yeomans lost out 0-3.
Riley Slade and Ella Walsh were both eliminated from the GU19 at the round of 128 stage following 0-3 losses, while Danny Lynch, Frank O’Flynn, Conal Jackson and Nathan Hann were also beaten 0-3 in their BU19 round of 128 matches.
RESULTS AND FIXTURES (all Irish start times)
BU19
Christian Dromgoole
Round of 128: Beat Salem Almwled of Saudi Arabia 3-0 (11-6, 12-10, 11-4)
Round of 64: Plays Yusha Nafees [17/32] of India at 9am on Tuesday
Nathan Hann
Round of 128: Lost to Tsun Hei Mak of Hong Kong China 0-3 (2-11, 2-11, 3-11)
Plate round of 64: Plays Darcy Hayes of Australia at 12:20pm on Tuesday
Conal Jackson
Round of 128: Lost to Maddox Moxham [17/32] of Belgium 0-3 (6-11, 4-11, 3-11)
Plate round of 64: Plays Juan-Corne Brand of South Africa at 12:20pm on Tuesday
Aaron Knox
Round of 128: Beat Bernado Dias of Brazil 3-1 (11-2, 11-6, 2-11, 11-6)
Round of 64: Plays Arihant KS [17/32] of India at 7:40am on Tuesday
Danny Lynch
Round of 128: Lost to Oliver Dunbar [9/16] of New Zealand 0-3 (8-11, 3-11, 4-11)
Plate round of 64: Plays Judah Phillips of South Africa at 11am on Tuesday
Frank O’Flynn
Round of 128: Lost to Shiven Agarwal of India 0-3 (3-11, 3-11, 8-11)
Plate round of 64: Plays Maximus Mathews of New Zealand at 11am on Tuesday
GU19
Riley Slade
Round of 128: Lost to Hana Al Nayal of the Netherlands 0-3 (8-11, 5-11, 7-11)
Plate round of 64: Bye received
Plate round of 32: Plays Salma Hassan of Canada at 9am on Wednesday
Ella Walsh
Round of 128: Lost to Leelou Laporte of France 0-3 (4-11, 10-12, 2-11)
Plate round of 64: Bye received
Plate round of 32: Plays Maria Spirina [AIN] at 9am on Wednesday
Zoe Yeomans
Round of 128: Beat Anna Musikhina [AIN] 3-0 (12-10, 11-5, 11-3)
Round of 64: Lost to Sofiia Zrazhevska [17/32] of Poland 0-3 (6-11, 1-11, 4-11)
Runner-up in the 2025 Nationals, Conal Jackson of Sutton Lawn Tennis Club initially received a bye for the BU19 first round at the World Squash Junior Championships in Egypt from July 21.
His tournament was to begin against 9/16-seed Jack Elriani of the USA, with a third-round tie versus Canadian Arham Izhar or Macau’s Ka Hei Lei up for grabs.
However, the complete redraw for the tournament now sees him start in the round of 128 against Belgium’s Maddox Moxham (seed 17/32), with the winner set to clash with Germany’s Oleksii Bielikov or South Africa’s Juan-Corne Brand.
Following the individual event, Jackson will join up with Christian Dromgoole, Aaron Knox and Danny Lynch for the team event from July 27.
First Squash Memory: Just coming in when it was raining when I used to play tennis. So yeah.
Racket Type: The Tecnifibre 125 X-Top.
Best Career Moment: Last year playing the Worlds in Houston.
Pre-Match Meal: Chicken, pesto, pasta.
Early Or Late Game: Late.
Favourite Shot: Backhand straight drop.
Biggest Influence: I’d say is Mohamed El Shorbagy.
What Does Representing Ireland Mean: Oh, it’s obviously a huge honour to play for Ireland. There’s also been a lot of great players before to put on the shirt, so it’s great to be able to follow them and hopefully we’ll do our best in Cairo.
Riley Slade will be the first Irish player in action at the World Squash Junior Championships in Cairo on Monday. Her GU19 round of 128 match versus Hana Al Nayal of the Netherlands – in a start list of 96 players, down from the original 100 – is included in the first group of matches, starting at 10:40am local time (8:40am Irish).
A round of 64 match against Hong Kong China’s Helen Tang (9/16 seed), scheduled for Monday 5:20pm local (3:20pm Irish), will be Slade’s reward if she wins.
Ella Walsh will begin her campaign soon after Slade. Her round of 128 match versus Leelou Laporte of France is timed for 11:20am (9:20am Irish) and awaiting the winner is a 6pm Monday match (4pm Irish) against Charlotte Sze of the USA (17/32 seed).
Zeo Yeomans, the third and final Ireland GU19 player in the individual event, will be on court at 12pm (10am Irish) against the Russian, Anna Musikhina. A 6:40pm (4:40pm Irish) round of 64 match versus Poland’s Sofiia Zrazhevska (17/32 seed) later in the day is the potential reward.
Ella Erickson, who will join Slade, Walsh and Yeomans in Cairo for the women’s team event later this month, isn’t playing in the individual tournament.
A revised draw was required in the BU19 section, giving all six Irish players different opponents in Egypt from the original pairings released on July 7.
134 players were initially registered to compete, meaning Nathan Hann was set to be the only Irish player having to play in the round of 256, with the five others receiving byes to the round of 128.
However, with the number of entrants reduced to 126, Ireland’s half-dozen will now all start on Monday in the round of 128 following a fully revised draw.
Aaron Knox will be first on court versus Brazilian Bernado Dias in a clash timed for 12:40pm (10:20am Irish). At stake is a round of 64 fixture on Tuesday against Rufus Gebhardt of Germany or India’s Arihant Kalamangalam Sunil (seeded 17/32).
Danny Lynch, who is competing in his third World U19 Junior Championships, is now paired with New Zealand’s Oliver Dunbar (9/16 seed) at 1:20pm (11:20am Irish), with Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Alnasfan or South Africa’s Judah Phillips next for the winner.
Frank O’Flynn has a 2pm (12 noon Irish) start against Shiven Agarwal of India, with Maximus Mathews of New Zealand or Oscar Okonkwo of the USA (17/32 seed) awaiting in the round of 64.
Christian Dromgoole will face Salem Almwled of Saudi Arabia at 4pm (2pm Irish), looking to progress to a round of 64 tie against India’s Yusha Nafees (17/32 seed) or Canada’s Calder Murray.
Conal Jackson, who competed in Houston in 2024, also has a 4pm local time round of 128 match with Belgium’s Maddox Moxham (seed 17/32), with the winner set to meet Germany’s Oleksii Bielikov or South Africa’s Juan-Corne Brand.
Nathan Hann will be the last Irish player in round of 128 action, with his match against Tsun Hei Mak of Hong Kong China starting at 4:40pm (2:40pm Irish). The winner will net a fixture against Australia’s Darcy Hayes or Poland’s Jan Samborski (17/32 seed).
Fifth in the Nationals, Frank O’Flynn of Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club is another of the 10-strong Ireland team heading to Egypt for the World Squash Junior Championships.
Having originally secured a first-round bye, his schedule in Cairo was set to begin in the second round versus Malaysia’s Low Wa-Sern, a 5/8 seed, with a third-round fixture up for grabs versus Switzerland’s Fabian Seitz or Australia’s Kasper Cheung.
However, following the complete BU19 redraw, O’Flynn will start in the round of 128 against Shiven Agarwal of India, with the round of 64 prize being a clash with either Maximus Mathews of New Zealand or Oscar Okonkwo of the USA (17/32 seed).
First Squash Memory: The first one would be when my dad took me and my brother down to play for the very first time.
Racket Type: I’d say the classical shape. It’s the best shape there is.
Best Career Moment: Representing Ireland for the first time in the U15 Five Nations.
Pre-Match Meal: I always make sure I like to have a nice steak before, I‘d say five hours before a match. It puts me in the right frame of mind.
Early Or Late Game: I prefer a late game; it’s better.
Any Superstitions: Nah, I don’t believe in any of that.
Favourite Shot: I love cross-court nick.
What Does Playing For Ireland Mean: It means everything.
Fourth in this year’s Nationals, Christian Dromgoole of Sutton Lawn Tennis Club initially secured a first-round bye at the World Squash Junior Championships.
His campaign in Cairo was to start in round two against Hart Robinson of the USA (17/32 seed), with the winner set to take on England’s Ronnie Hickling or Macau’s Wu Cheok Io.
A complete redraw, though, will see him take on Salem Almwled of Saudi Arabia, looking to progress to a round of 64 tie against India’s Yusha Nafees (17/32 seed) or Canada’s Calder Murray.
Dromgoole is also part of the four-strong Ireland selection for the men’s team competition, along with Conal Jackson, Aaron Knox and Danny Lynch.
First Squash Memory: Probably playing with my brother in my home club in Sutton.
Racket Type: Tecnifibre 125.
Best Career Moment: Probably getting to the final of the German Junior Open last year.
Pre-Match Meal: No, not really. Just anything.
Early Or Late Game: Probably late.
Any Superstitions: Yeah, like I’ll always do the same warm-up and stuff like that before every game.
Favourite Shot: Probably a solid drop on the backhand.
Biggest Influence: Probably my brother Dean.
What Does Representing Ireland Mean: Oh yeah, it means a lot… there is so much involved with hard work and training.
