Ireland celebrated success in the squash with Shaun McKee -Gold in Men’s Open, John Dulligan -Gold in Mens over 40’s, Mike Ellis- Gold in Mens over 50’s and Keith Flynn (pictured on the right) winning a silver medal in the over 30’s category. Well done to them all!

European Masters Individual Championship 2013, was held in Prague, Czech Republic from the 29.8.-1.9.2013. There were several Irish players competing.  There was 16 events with men and women O35 through to O70 and a men’s O75 event also.

There were 687 players playing in the 16 events a truly magnificent field. Our Irish players faired very well with 8 finishing in the top 10 and 4 in the top 5. Barbara Sanderson won the Over 70’s (pictured above) with Alex Richardson coming 3rd in the over 75 event.(pictured below) 

There were 15 Irish players playing – Alex Richardson, Barbara Sanderson, Brian Mahon, Ciaran McCoy, Damien O’Reilly, Dave Lalor, Dara O’Flynn, Frank Fahey, Gerry Callanan, Gerry Fahey, Jim Flynn, John Hurley, Michael Cowhie, Myron Evans and Tom Cantwell.

Here is how they faired.

Alex Richardson – O75/Finish 3rd

Had a great match vs John Woodliffe(Eng) in his first match but lost in a 5 seter in 45min. John won the event and Alex was the only player to push him to a tight match.

Barbara Sanderson – O70/1st

Barbara beat an English and a French player in 3  to win the event easily.

Brian Mahon – O50/83rd

Brian had 2 tough opening matches losing to 2 Germans he then had a great win vs a Hungarian and just lost a tight 5 setter and 4 setter vs a German and Spandard.

Ciaran McCoy O40/6th

Ciaran had 3 good victories in the opening matches but lost to Manuel Fistonic from Croatia in the quarters. He had a walkover and had to give a walkover to finish 6th overall a superb result in a field of 128 players.

 Dara O’Flynn O40/10th

dara had 3 good wins vs a German, Spaniard and an English player before losing to Jesus Souto from Spain who went on to finis 2nd. Dara then just lost out to jay francis from Holland to finish a superb 10th out of 128 players.

Damien O’Reilly O50/38th

Damien lost a tough opening match to Italian Drusiani Vittorio but then went on to 3 good wins in the play offs vs 2 Germans and a Finn before losing his final match in a great 5 seter 11-5,16-14,8-11,7-11,11-6.

Dave Lalor O50/72nd

Dave afteran opening loss had 2 good wins vs a Pole and a Czech and unfortunatly had to give a walkover in his final match.

Frank Fahey O70/5th

Frank lost a very tough opening match to Michael Gough of England but then beat a Swede and beat myron Evans in the final play off in a tough 4 seter to finish 5th.

Gerry Callanan O45/31st

He had a good opening win vs a German hadan epic match vs a Finn but just lost 25-23,11-6,17-15. In the end Gerry had to withdraw but finished a credible 31st out of 128 players.

Gerry Fahy O55/16th

Gerry had 2 great wins in his first matches vs a Finn and a German. Unfortunatly he had to withdraw in the last 16 match through injury.

Jim Flynn O45/28th

Jim had a great match vs a Finn in his first match having got a walkover. He just lost it in 4. he lost a another Finn in the play offs.

John Hurley O40/7th

A superb result for John finishing 7th out of 128 players. he had 3 superb wins to start but lost a tight match to Dovi Haruzi from Israel in the quarters. Unfortunatly he had to give a walkover to his Swiss opponent in the play off for 5th place.

Michael Cowhie O45/11th

Michael had 2 great wins in his first 2 matches vs a Finn and German. He then lost a very tight match to no. 1 seed Peter Gunter of England who went to win the event. Michael then won his next 2 matches vs a Hungarian and Finn to finish 11th, a superb result.

Myron Evans O70/6th

Myron lost his first match in a tight 5 seter to Bertil Walli of Finland. he then beat a German in 4 before losing to Frank Fahey in a very close 4 seter to finish 6th.

Tom Cantwell O65/5th

Tom had a great tournament finishing 5th out of 32. Hwe won his first match vs a Finn, lost the next in a tight match to a Spaniard but then won his next 2 matches. In the play off for 5th he won it comprehensively 11-8,11-5,11-4 vs Swiss Claudio Hassler.

Overall a great performance form the irish players!!

For results and the full draw clich HERE

Official Website for the tournament click HERE

Lets focus on the countdown by tweeting on Sunday 25 August please – Just 2 weeks until the #IOC decide if #squash can join the #Olympics; show your support and follow @vote4squash

Irish Squash President, Ed Dunne met Pat Hickey, President of the Olympic Council of Ireland on August 19th. It is the second meeting between Irish Squash and Mr. Hickey in recent months, in the lead up to the selection of the final sport for the summer games of 2020. Accompying Ed were 2 of Ireland’s young stars Ellie McVeigh from Ulster and Scott Gillanders from Leinster. Both 13yrs old, they will be young adults when hopefully squash will make its first appearance in the Olympics in 2020 and here’s hoping both of them are on the Irish team for those Olympics.

The final selection meeting of the IOC executive council meet in Argentina on September 8th to select the sport to fill the final spot for the 2020 summer games. Squash is one of 3 sports to make the short list – along with baseball and wrestling.

See a letter of thanks from Andrew Shelley, Chief Executive of the World Squash Federation to Ed Dunne for the efforts from Irish Squash re the Olympic bid.

Andrew Shelley Letter

Please continue to support the 2020 bid through twitter.

Now 3weeks until the #IOC decide if #squash can join the #Olympics; show your support and follow @vote4squash

Ireland had great success at the 2013 World Transplant Games which took place in Durban, South Africa last week. Ireland had 2 competitors Deirdre Faul, an existing World Champion and Andrew Duncan. This was Andrew’s first games.

Both competitors came away as World Champions in their respective age categories.

Deirdre Faul (40-49 years)

Andrew Duncan (15- 17 years)

Andrew’s result is particularly impressive given that it was his first Games and he is the entry age of his category and as such will be able to defend his title in the same age category in two years time when the Games will be held in Mar Del Plata in Argentina.

Deirdre again defended her World title which she has held since 2007 when she attended her first World Transplant Games.

Very well done to both Deirdre and Andrew and hopefully both will defend their gold medals in the next games in 2 years time.

 Saturday 27th July – Finals Day

It took just 45 minutes for Habiba Mohamed Ahmed Alymohmed and Nour El Sherbini to win the first two matches in the final of the WSF Women’s World Junior Team Championship to take Egypt into the record books after winning the World Squash Federation title for an historic fourth successive time.

The tie against second seeds USA – a repeat of the previous final two years ago in the USA – brought to a climax 12 days of action at the 20-court Hasta La Vista Club in Wroclaw, which featured more than 160 players from a record 37 nations competing in the first ever staging of the Men’s & Women’s World Junior Individual Championships and the Women’s World Junior Team Championship in Poland.

Habiba Mohamed, a 14-year-old from Alexandria, put Egypt ahead after defeating Reeham Sedky 11-4, 11-2, 11-5 in a 26-minute battle between the team’s third strings.

It was perhaps fitting that squad number one Nour El Sherbini should then despatch Sabrina Sobhy in her quickest recorded match in 11 successive wins at the Hasta La Vista Club – beating her US counterpart 11-5, 11-6, 11-3 in just 19 minutes to clinch the historic title for her country.

It was only six days earlier that El Sherbini, the 17-year-old world No11 from Alexandria, made history for herself in Wroclaw by becoming the first ever player to win a world junior individual title for a third time.

“I’ve never ever seen a team like this one,” said Egypt coach Cherine Adel.  “Each and every player here deserves praise and great respect for their wonderful performance.”

The success represented a clean sweep of world junior titles for Egypt in Poland, where Cairo’s 17-year-old Karim Ayman Elhammamy also won the Men’s World Junior Championship trophy.

In the bronze medal play-off, fourth seeds Hong Kong China upset former champions England, the No3 seeds, 2/0 after Ho Tze-Lok and Ho Ka Po prevailed in five-game clashes against Lily Taylor and Victoria Temple Murray, respectively.

There was also an upset in the play-off for fifth place when seventh seeds Canada beat fifth seeds Malaysia 2/0 to record their best finish since 2009.

The day’s most dramatic tie saw India win seventh place after claiming a narrow 2/1 victory over New Zealand, second string Lakshya Ragavendran clinching the win after twice coming from behind to overcome Kiwi Rebecca Barnett 9-11, 16-14, 10-12, 12-10, 11-9 in the decider.

In only their third appearance in the championship, Japan exceeded their seeding by upsetting tenth seeds France 2/1 in the play-off for ninth place to record their best ever finish.

Colombia recorded the highest finish of the three nations competing in the event for the first time – taking tenth place after losing 2/1 to ninth seeds Australia.

Fellow championship debutants Czech Republic and hosts Poland finished in 13th and 16th places, respectively.

RESULTS: WSF World Junior Team Championship, Wroclaw, Poland

Final (all ties played in team order 3, 1, 2): [1] EGYPT bt [2] USA 2/0 Habiba Mohamed Ahmed Alymohmed bt Reeham Sedky 11-4, 11-2, 11-5 (26m) Nour El Sherbini bt Sabrina Sobhy 11-5, 11-6, 11-3 (19m) Mariam Ibrahim Metwally v Olivia Fiechter (match withdrawn)

3rd place play-off: [4] HONG KONG CHINA bt [3] ENGLAND 2/0 Ho Tze-Lok bt Lily Taylor 7-11, 11-4, 11-5, 7-11, 11-9 Ho Ka Po bt Victoria Temple Murray 9-11, 10-12, 11-9, 11-5, 11-5 Pansy Chan v Lucy Beecroft (match withdrawn)

5th place play-off: [7] CANADA bt [5] MALAYSIA 2/0 Chloe Chemtob bt Sivasangari Subramaniam 11-7, 11-7, 11-3 Hollie Naughton bt Vanessa Raj 11-7, 11-8, 5-11, 11-6 Alyssa Mehta v Rachel Arnold (match withdrawn)

7th place play-off: [6] INDIA bt [8] NEW ZEALAND 2/1 Sachika Ingale lost to Abbie Palmer 11-4, 11-1, 5-11, 9-11, 3-11 Harshit Kaur Jawanda bt Eleanor Epke 11-6, 11-5, 4-11, 11-8 Lakshya Ragavendran bt Rebecca Barnett 9-11, 16-14, 10-12, 12-10, 11-9

9th place play-off: [11] JAPAN bt [10] FRANCE 2/1 Momoka Nakahira lost to Laura Gamblin 4-11, 5-11, 8-11 Risa Sugimoto bt Lea van der Zwalmen 4-11, 11-9, 14-12, 11-9 Satomi Watanabe bt Oceane Wadoux 10-12, 11-4, 13-11, 11-9 (34m)

11th place play-off: [9] AUSTRALIA bt [12] COLOMBIA 2/1 Nicole Stoneham bt Natalia Londono 11-9, 11-5, 11-6 Jessica Turnbull lost to Laura Tovar Perez 7-11, 8-11, 2-11 Natalie Newton bt Laura Casallas 11-7, 11-5, 11-7

13th place play-off: [13/16] CZECH REPUBLIC bt [13/16] SOUTH AFRICA 2/1 Barbora Krejcova bt Makgosi Peloakgosi 11-4, 11-7, 3-11, 11-8 Karolina Holinkova lost to Megan Page 6-11, 12-14, 7-11 Kristyna Alexova bt Kacey-Leigh Dodd 12-10, 11-4, 11-9

15th place play-off: [13/16] GERMANY bt [13/16] POLAND 2/0 Mareike Omlor bt Aleksandra Surdziel 11-1, 11-3, 11-3 Saskia Beinhard bt Natalia Ryfa 11-8, 11-8, 11-3 Nele Hatschek v Klaudia Borek (match withdrawn)

 Friday 26th July

Egypt and USA will contest the final of the WSF Women’s World Junior Team Championship for the second time in a row after the top two seeds survived contrasting semi-finals in the biennial World Squash Federation event at the Hasta La Vista Club in the historic city of Wroclaw in Poland.

Favourites Egypt, the defending champions going for a record fourth successive title, brushed aside Hong Kong China 2/0 to claim the first place in the climax – earning their seventh final appearance since 1999.

The newly-crowned world individual champion Nour El Sherbini put Egypt into the lead by beating Pansy Chan 11-5, 11-5, 11-1, before Mariam Ibrahim Metwally clinched their place in the final with an 11-5, 11-4, 9-11, 12-10 win over Hong Kong’s Ho Tze-Lok.

The other semi-final between USA and third seeds England went the full distance:  An upset looked on the cards in the opening match when Victoria Temple Murray took a two game lead over US number one Sabrina Sobhy.  But 16-year-old New Yorker Sobhy regained control of the match in the third and went on to win 6-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-4 to put the second seeds ahead.

But former champions England, appearing in the semi-finals for the first time since 2005, drew level when second string Nada Elkalaawy defeated Olivia Fiechter in four games.

It was left to Reeham Sedky to steady the ship for USA when the 16-year-old beat England’s Lily Taylor, also 16, 11-7, 11-9, 11-6 to put the second seeds into the final for the second time in a row.

In the lower place play-offs, Canada upset sixth seeds India 2/1 to earn a place in the play-off for fifth place – while 11th seeds Japan pulled off a mighty upset over former champions Australia to win a place in the ninth place play-off, the outcome of which will ensure their best ever finish.

Egypt and USA will contest the final of the WSF Women’s World Junior Team Championship for the second time in a row after the top two seeds survived contrasting semi-finals in the biennial World Squash Federation event at the Hasta La Vista Club in the historic city of Wroclaw in Poland.

Favourites Egypt, the defending champions going for a record fourth successive title, brushed aside Hong Kong China 2/0 to claim the first place in the climax – earning their seventh final appearance since 1999.

The newly-crowned world individual champion Nour El Sherbini put Egypt into the lead by beating Pansy Chan 11-5, 11-5, 11-1, before Mariam Ibrahim Metwally clinched their place in the final with an 11-5, 11-4, 9-11, 12-10 win over Hong Kong’s Ho Tze-Lok.

The other semi-final between USA and third seeds England went the full distance:  An upset looked on the cards in the opening match when Victoria Temple Murray took a two game lead over US number one Sabrina Sobhy.  But 16-year-old New Yorker Sobhy regained control of the match in the third and went on to win 6-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-4 to put the second seeds ahead.

But former champions England, appearing in the semi-finals for the first time since 2005, drew level when second string Nada Elkalaawy defeated Olivia Fiechter in four games.

It was left to Reeham Sedky to steady the ship for USA when the 16-year-old beat England’s Lily Taylor, also 16, 11-7, 11-9, 11-6 to put the second seeds into the final for the second time in a row.

In the lower place play-offs, Canada upset sixth seeds India 2/1 to earn a place in the play-off for fifth place – while 11th seeds Japan pulled off a mighty upset over former champions Australia to win a place in the ninth place play-off, the outcome of which will ensure their best ever finish.

RESULTS: WSF World Junior Team Championship, Wroclaw, Poland

Semi-finals (all ties played in team order 1, 2, 3): [1] EGYPT bt [4] HONG KONG CHINA 2/0 Nour El Sherbini bt Pansy Chan 11-5, 11-5, 11-1 Mariam Ibrahim Metwally bt Ho Tze-Lok 11-5, 11-4, 9-11, 12-10 Habiba Mohamed Ahmed Alymohmed v Choi Uen Shan (match withdrawn)

[2] USA bt [3] ENGLAND 2/1 Sabrina Sobhy bt Victoria Temple Murray 6-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-4 (46m) Olivia Fiechter lost to Nada Elkalaawy 8-11, 12-10, 7-11, 6-11 (38m) Reeham Sedky bt Lily Taylor 11-7, 11-9, 11-6 (34m)

5th – 8th place play-offs: [7] CANADA bt [6] INDIA 2/1 Hollie Naughton lost to Harshit Kaur Jawanda 4-11, 11-13, 10-12 Alyssa Mehta bt Lakshya Ragavendran 6-11, 11-8, 11-4, 12-10 Chloe Chemtob bt Sachika Ingale 11-2, 11-6, 7-11, 9-11, 12-10

[5] MALAYSIA bt [8] NEW ZEALAND 2/0 Vanessa Raj bt Eleanor Epke 11-1, 13-15, 11-5, 11-9 Rachel Arnold bt Rebecca Barnett 11-8, 9-11, 11-4, 11-3 Sivasangari Subramaniam v Abbie Palmer (match withdrawn)

9th – 12th place play-offs: [11] JAPAN bt [9] AUSTRALIA 2/1 Risa Sugimoto bt Jessica Turnbull 11-8, 11-1, 11-5 Satomi Watanabe bt Natalie Newton 11-3, 11-7, 11-5 Ayaka Shiraishi lost to Nicole Stoneham 4-11, 1-11

[10] FRANCE bt [12] COLOMBIA 2/0 Lea van der Zwalmen bt Laura Tovar Perez 7-11, 11-6, 11-9, 8-11, 11-7 Oceane Wadoux bt Laura Casallas 11-3, 11-7, 11-7 Laura Gamblin v Natalia Londono (match withdrawn)

13th – 16th place play-offs: [13/16] CZECH REPUBLIC bt [13/16] GERMANY 3/0 Karolina Holinkova bt Saskia Beinhard 13-11, 11-5, 11-5 Kristyna Alexova bt Nele Hatschek 10-12, 11-9, 11-6, 8-11, 11-2 Barbora Krejcova bt Ramona Bauer 12-10, 9-11, 11-6

[13/16] SOUTH AFRICA bt [13/16] POLAND 3/0 Megan Page bt Natalia Ryfa 15-13, 11-2, 11-5 Makgosi Peloakgosi bt Klaudia Borek 11-2, 11-6, 11-5 Bianca Brown bt Julia Chudzicka 11-2, 11-1

Final line-up: [1] EGYPT v [2] USA

3rd place play-off: [3] ENGLAND v [4] HONG KONG CHINA

5th place play-off: [5] MALAYSIA v [7] CANADA

7th place play-off: [6] INDIA v [8] NEW ZEALAND

9th place play-off: [11] JAPAN v [10] FRANCE

11th place play-off: [9] AUSTRALIA v [12] COLOMBIA

13th place play-off: [13/16] CZECH REPUBLIC v [13/16] SOUTH AFRICA

15th place play-off: [13/16] GERMANY v [13/16] POLAND

Thursday 25th  July

After failing to make the top four since 2005, England are back in the semi-finals of the WSF Women’s World Junior Team Championship after securing a 2/0 win over Malaysia in the quarter-finals of the biennial World Squash Federation event at the Hasta La Vista Club in the historic city of Wroclaw in Poland.

Squad number one Victoria Temple Murray put the third seeds into the lead with an 11-6, 11-3, 11-2 win over 17-year-old Malaysian Vanessa Raj before Lily Taylor sealed victory after beating Celine Yeap 12-10, 6-11, 11-5, 11-5.

England will now face USA for a place in the final for the first time since winning the title for a fifth time in 2001.

Second seeds USA, bidding to reach the final for the second time in a row, defeated New Zealand, the No8 seeds, 3/0.

The other semi will see favourites Egypt line up against fourth seeds Hong Kong China. Egypt, bidding to become the first nation to win the trophy four times in a row, despatched Canada 3/0 while Hong Kong overcame India by the same margin.

Semi-final line-up: [1] EGYPT v [4] HONG KONG CHINA  [2] USA v [3] ENGLAND

5th – 8th place play-offs: [6] INDIA v [7] CANADA  [5] MALAYSIA v [8] NEW ZEALAND

9th – 12th place play-offs: [9] AUSTRALIA v [11] JAPAN  [10] FRANCE v [12] COLOMBIA

13th – 16th place play-offs: [13/16] CZECH REPUBLIC v [13/16] GERMANY  [13/16] POLAND v [13/16] SOUTH AFRICA

RESULTS: WSF World Junior Team Championship, Wroclaw, Poland

Quarter-finals: [1] EGYPT bt [7] CANADA 3/0 Nour El Sherbini bt Alyssa Mehta 11-6, 11-2, 11-8 Nouran Ahmed Gohar bt Sophie Mehta 11-9, 11-3, 11-5 Mariam Ibrahim Metwally bt Chloe Chemtob 11-9, 11-6

[4] HONG KONG CHINA bt [6] INDIA 3/0 Ho Ka Po bt Harshit Kaur Jawanda 11-6, 11-3, 11-6 Choi Uen Shan bt Urwashi Joshi 11-7, 11-5, 11-8 Ho Tze-Lok bt Lakshya Ragavendran w/o

[3] ENGLAND bt [5] MALAYSIA 2/0 Victoria Temple Murray bt Vanessa Raj 11-6, 11-3, 11-2 Lily Taylor bt Celine Yeap 12-10, 6-11, 11-5, 11-5

[2] USA bt [8] NEW ZEALAND 3/0 Sabrina Sobhy bt Eleanor Epke 11-1, 11-4, 11-3 Reeham Sedky bt Abbie Palmer 11-8, 11-1, 11-6 Olivia Fiechter bt Rebecca Barnett 9-11, 11-8, 11-6

9th – 16th place play-offs: [9] AUSTRALIA bt [13/16] CZECH REPUBLIC 3/0 Jessica Turnbull bt Karolina Holinkova 9-11, 11-4, 3-11, 11-8, 11-8 Nicole Stoneham bt Barbora Krejcova 11-7, 13-11, 11-4 Grace McErvale bt Kristyna Alexova 0-11, 11-8, 11-9

[11] JAPAN bt [13/16] GERMANY 2/1 Risa Sugimoto bt Saskia Beinhard 10-12, 11-9, 13-11, 11-3 Momoka Nakahira lost to Mareike Omlor 8-11, 5-11, 11-7, 3-11 Satomi Watanabe bt Nele Hatschek 11-9, 11-6, 11-5

[12] COLOMBIA bt [13/16] SOUTH AFRICA 2/1 Laura Tovar Perez bt Megan Page 14-12, 11-7, 11-3 Natalia Londono lost to Makgosi Peloakgosi 10-12, 13-11, 6-11, 11-8, 5-11 Laura Casallas bt Kacey-Leigh Dodd 11-6, 11-13, 14-12, 11-5

[10] FRANCE bt [13/16] POLAND 3/0 Lea van der Zwalmen bt Natalia Ryfa 11-6, 11-7, 12-10 Laura Gamblin bt Aleksandra Surdziel 11-0, 11-0, 11-0 Oceane Wadoux bt Klaudia Borek 11-1, 11-3

Wednesday 24th  July

The top eight seeds will contest the quarter-finals of the WSF Women’s World Junior Team Championship in Poland after predicted results in the final qualifying round of the biennial World Squash Federation event at the Hasta La Vista Club in the historic city of Wroclaw.

Canada made sure of an improvement on their ninth place finish in the previous championship in the USA in 2011 when they beat No10 seeds France in the final tie in Pool B.

But after Hollie Naughton put the seventh seeds ahead with an 11-7, 11-5, 6-11, 11-7 win over Lea van der Zwalmen, it was a courageous performance by 17-year-old Alyssa Mehta that saw the second string recover from 2/0 down to defeat French opponent Oceane Wadoux 7-11, 4-11, 14-12, 11-5, 11-4 to put the result beyond France’s reach.

Canada finished in second place in the pool, behind second seeds USA, 3/0 winners over Czech Republic.

Egypt, the favourites going for a record fourth title in a row, disappointed the local crowd with a 3/0 win over hosts Poland to top Pool A.

A close trans-Tasman showdown saw eighth seeds New Zealand edge out ninth seeds Australia 2/1 to take second place in the Pool – Kiwis Rebecca Barnett and Abbie Palmer clinching straight games wins after Jessica Turnbull put Australia ahead when she survived a close five-game marathon over 15-year-old Eleanor Epke.

Quarter-final line-up: [1] EGYPT v [7] CANADA [4] HONG KONG CHINA v [6] INDIA [3] ENGLAND v [5] MALAYSIA [2] USA v [8] NEW ZEALAND

9th – 16th place play-offs: [9] AUSTRALIA v [13/16] CZECH REPUBLIC [13/16] GERMANY v [11] JAPAN [13/16] SOUTH AFRICA v [12] COLOMBIA [10] FRANCE v [13/16] POLAND

RESULTS: WSF World Junior Team Championship, Wroclaw, Poland

Final qualifying round – Pool A (all ties played in team order 1, 2, 3): [1] EGYPT bt [13/16] POLAND 3/0 Nour El Sherbini bt Natalia Ryfa 11-5, 11-6, 11-5 Mariam Ibrahim Metwally bt Klaudia Borek 11-4, 11-2, 11-4 Habiba Mohamed Ahmed Alymohmed bt Julia Chudzicka 11-1, 11-5, 11-5

[8] NEW ZEALAND bt [9] AUSTRALIA 2/1 Eleanor Epke lost to Jessica Turnbull 11-5, 10-12, 10-12, 12-10, 4-11 Rebecca Barnett bt Grace McErvale 11-3, 11-1, 11-3 Abbie Palmer bt Natalie Newton 11-3, 11-8, 11-7

Final positions: 1 Egypt, 2 New Zealand, 3 Australia, 4 Poland

Pool B: [2] USA bt [13/16] CZECH REPUBLIC 3/0 Olivia Fiechter bt Karolina Holinkova 11-2, 11-7, 11-2 Reeham Sedky bt Kristyna Alexova 11-3, 11-7, 11-5 Maria Elena Ubina bt Barbora Krejcova 11-4, 11-3, 11-5

[7] CANADA bt [10] FRANCE 3/0 Hollie Naughton bt Lea van der Zwalmen 11-7, 11-5, 6-11, 11-7 Alyssa Mehta bt Oceane Wadoux 7-11, 4-11, 14-12, 11-5, 11-4 Chloe Chemtob bt Laura Gamblin 13-11, 11-6, 15-13

Final positions: 1 USA, 2 Canada, 3 France, 4 Czech Republic

Pool C: [3] ENGLAND bt [13/16] SOUTH AFRICA 3/0 Victoria Temple Murray bt Megan Page 11-5, 11-4, 11-3 Lucy Beecroft bt Kacey-Leigh Dodd 11-2, 11-3, 11-2 Lily Taylor bt Bianca Brown 11-7, 11-5, 11-2

[6] INDIA bt [11] JAPAN 3/0 Harshit Kaur Jawanda bt Risa Sugimoto 11-6, 11-3, 5-11, 11-4 Lakshya Ragavendran bt Satomi Watanabe 11-5, 11-7, 10-12, 14-12 Sachika Ingale bt Momoka Nakahira 11-9, 11-8, 11-4

Final positions: 1 England, 2 India, 3 South Africa, 4 Japan

Pool D: [4] HONG KONG CHINA bt [13/16] GERMANY 3/0 Ho Ka Po bt Saskia Beinhard 11-1, 11-2, 11-1 Pansy Chan bt Ramona Bauer 11-5, 11-1, 11-1 Choi Uen Shan bt Mareike Omlor 11-4, 11-4, 11-8

[5] MALAYSIA bt [12] COLOMBIA 3/0 Vanessa Raj bt Laura Tovar Perez 13-15, 12-10, 11-7, 11-5 Celine Yeap bt Maria Paula Tovar 11-3, 11-2, 11-4 Sivasangari Subramaniam bt Natalia Londono 11-7, 11-4, 11-7

Final positions: 1 Hong Kong China, 2 Malaysia, 3 Germany, 4 Colombia

Tuesday 23rd July

Germany and South Africa upset the seedings on the second day of qualifying action in the WSF Women’s World Junior Team Championship, the biennial World Squash Federation event at the Hasta La Vista Club in the historic city of Wroclaw in Poland.

Kacey-Leigh Dodd led the way for South Africa in their Pool C tie against 11th seeds Japan.  The 17-year-old battled back from 2/1 down to overcome Momoka Nakahira 11-4, 4-11, 11-13, 11-9, 11-4.   After Satomi Watanabe levelled matters for Japan, Makgosi Peloakgosi – also 17 – clinched a 2/1 victory for the underdogs by beating Ayaka Shiraishi 11-1, 11-5, 11-9.

South Africa now take on Pool favourites England in a bid to secure an unexpected place in the quarter-finals.  Former champions England recorded their second successive 3/0 win with a comfortable victory over sixth seeds India.

It was in Pool D that Germany upset Colombia, the 12th seeds.  Second string Nele Hatschek put Germany into the lead with an 11-8, 11-9, 11-9 win over Laura Casallas – but Colombia immediately countered with a straight games win by squad number one Laura Tovar Perez.

A five-game decider saw Mareike Omlor edge out Natalia Londono 11-8, 11-4, 8-11, 4-11, 11-6 to boost Germany’s chances of a place in the last eight.

RESULTS: WSF World Junior Team Championship, Wroclaw, Poland

2nd qualifying round – Pool A (all ties played in team order 2, 1, 3): [1] EGYPT bt [8] NEW ZEALAND 3/0 Nouran Ahmed Gohar bt Abbie Palmer 11-7, 11-5, 11-4 Mariam Ibrahim Metwally bt Rebecca Barnett 11-2, 11-7, 11-4 Habiba Mohamed Ahmed Alymohmed bt Hayley Hughes 11-8, 11-2, 11-4

[9] AUSTRALIA bt [13/16] POLAND 3/0 Natalie Newton bt Klaudia Borek 11-4, 11-3, 11-2 Grace McErvale bt Natalia Ryfa 11-3, 11-4, 11-2 Nicole Stoneham bt Aleksandra Surdziel 11-1, 11-5, 11-1

Pool B: [2] USA bt [7] CANADA 3/0 Reeham Sedky bt Alyssa Mehta 8-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-7 Sabrina Sobhy bt Hollie Naughton 11-9, 6-11, 11-7, 7-11, 11-7 Maria Elena Ubina bt Chloe Chemtob 11-7, 11-4, 11-3

[10] FRANCE bt [13/16] CZECH REPUBLIC 3/0 Oceane Wadoux bt Kristyna Alexova 11-9, 14-12, 11-9 Lea van der Zwalmen bt Karolina Holinkova 11-7, 10-12, 11-2, 11-6 Laura Gamblin bt Barbora Krejcova 11-5, 8-11, 11-8, 11-5

Pool C: [3] ENGLAND bt [6] INDIA 3/0 Nada Elkalaawy bt Lakshya Ragavendran 11-4, 11-2, 11-2 Victoria Temple Murray bt Harshit Kaur Jawanda 13-11, 11-9, 11-9 Lucy Beecroft bt Sachika Ingale 11-9, 14-12, 13-11

[13/16] SOUTH AFRICA bt [11] JAPAN 2/1 Kacey-Leigh Dodd bt Momoka Nakahira 11-4, 4-11, 11-13, 11-9, 11-4 Megan Page lost to Satomi Watanabe 2-11, 11-9, 6-11, 10-12 Makgosi Peloakgosi bt Ayaka Shiraishi 11-1, 11-5, 11-9

Pool D: [4] HONG KONG CHINA bt [5] MALAYSIA 3/0 Ho Tze-Lok bt Rachel Arnold 7-11, 11-4, 4-11, 13-11, 11-3 Ho Ka Po bt Vanessa Raj 11-6, 11-8, 11-7 Choi Uen Shan bt Celine Yeap 11-7, 12-10, 11-3

[13/16] GERMANY bt [12] COLOMBIA 2/1 Nele Hatschek bt Laura Casallas 11-8, 11-9, 11-9 Saskia Beinhard lost to Laura Tovar Perez 1-11, 4-11, 10-12 Mareike Omlor bt Natalia Londono 11-8, 11-4, 8-11, 4-11, 11-6

Monday 22nd July

Less than 24 hours after making history by becoming the first player to win the world junior individual squash title for a third time, 17-year-old Nour El Sherbini was back on the courts at the Hasta La Vista Club in Poland’s historic city of Wroclaw to lead defending champions Egypt to victory on the opening day of Pool action in the WSF Women’s World Junior Team Championship.

The event favourites beat former champions Australia 3/0 in the opening tie in Pool A, before No8 seeds New Zealand recorded the same scoreline over hosts Poland in the pool in preparation for the Egypt/New Zealand clash in round two.

Second seeds USA, due to meet Egypt in Saturday’s final, also cruised to a 3/0 win, beating France without dropping a game.

For all the latest news, visit the official event website: hastalavista.pl/wjc-2013/strona-glowna-2

RESULTS: WSF World Junior Team Championship, Wroclaw, Poland

1st qualifying round – Pool A (all ties played in team order 3, 1, 2): [1] EGYPT bt [9] AUSTRALIA 3/0 Habiba Mohamed Ahmed Alymohmed bt Nicole Stoneham 11-2, 11-3, 11-2 Nour El Sherbini bt Grace McErvale 11-2, 11-3, 11-3 Nouran Ahmed Gohar bt Natalie Newton 11-4, 11-1, 11-7

[8] NEW ZEALAND bt [13/16] POLAND 3/0 Hayley Hughes bt Julia Chudzicka 11-1, 11-2, 11-0 Eleanor Epke bt Natalia Ryfa 11-5, 11-2, 11-6 Rebecca Barnett bt Klaudia Borek 11-0, 11-3, 11-1

Pool B: [2] USA bt [10] FRANCE 3/0 Maria Elena Ubina bt Laura Gamblin 11-5, 11-9, 11-5 Sabrina Sobhy bt Lea van der Zwalmen 12-10, 11-2, 11-7 Olivia Fiechter bt Oceane Wadoux 11-2, 11-5, 11-4

[7] CANADA bt [13/16] CZECH REPUBLIC 3/0 Sophie Mehta bt Barbora Krejcova 11-9, 11-7, 11-8 Hollie Naughton bt Karolina Holinkova 8-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-5 Alyssa Mehta bt Kristyna Alexova 11-9, 11-7, 11-8

Pool C: [3] ENGLAND bt [11] JAPAN 3/0 Lily Taylor bt Ayaka Shiraishi 11-4, 11-2, 11-2 Victoria Temple Murray bt Satomi Watanabe 11-9, 11-7, 11-8 Nada Elkalaawy bt Momoka Nakahira 11-0, 11-2, 11-6

[6] INDIA bt [13/16] SOUTH AFRICA 3/0 Sachika Ingale bt Makgosi Peloakgosi 11-2, 11-5, 5-11, 11-9 Harshit Kaur Jawanda bt Megan Page 11-8, 12-10, 5-11, 11-6 Lakshya Ragavendran bt Kacey-Leigh Dodd 12-14, 11-6, 11-4, 11-4

Pool D: [4] HONG KONG CHINA bt [12] COLOMBIA 3/0 Choi Uen Shan bt Maria Paula Tovar 11-2, 11-6, 11-4 Ho Ka Po bt Laura Tovar Perez 11-8, 11-3, 11-7 Pansy Chan bt Laura Casallas 11-4, 11-4, 11-5

[5] MALAYSIA bt [13/16] GERMANY 3/0 Celine Yeap bt Ramona Bauer 11-6, 11-6, 11-6 Vanessa Raj bt Saskia Beinhard 11-4, 11-2, 11-6 Rachel Arnold bt Nele Hatschek 11-6, 11-4, 11-7

Sunday 21st July

Egypt have been named as top seeds for the 2013 WSF Women’s World Junior Team Squash Championship and are firm favourites to become the first nation in the event’s 28-year history to win the title four times in a row.

The biennial World Squash Federation championship gets underway tomorrow (22 July) at the Hasta La Vista Club in the historic city of Wroclaw in Poland following Sunday’s world individual finals.

Egypt, boasting all four players in Saturday’s Women’s World Junior Championship semi-finals, will be led by Nour El Sherbini, the 17-year-old world No11 from Alexandria who is bi

Ulster Squash are holding a pre-season tournament in late August. See details below. Entries are being taken on-line – www.tournamentsoftware.com

at

Belfast Boat Club

            on           

Friday 23^rd August – Saturday 24^th August 2013

Tournament Director – Neal Pollock

SINGLES AND DOUBLES EVENT

ALL STANDARDS AND GRADES

ALL EVENTS WILL ADOPT PAR SCORING

For full details click here 

Please see link for Welsh and Serbian Junior Opens

Please note that the Welsh JO is now 27-29 September. Entry form available here:

http://www.europeansquash.com/calendar/all-upcoming-events/details/289-welsh-junior-open-2013.html

Please click on the link below for the invitation / entry form for the Serbian JO 2013.

http://www.europeansquash.com/calendar/all-upcoming-events/details/292-serbian-junior-open-2013.html

CORK

Where: Highfield Squash Club, Cork.

It is being run by Munster Squash and is aimed at Munster under 15’s- 19’s – 12 players

It is a 3 day camp from 29th – 31st July and the cost will be in the region of €60 per Junior.

23 July 2013

Squash, which provides an intense and competitive workout over a relatively short time, has been voted the preferred sport of choice when it comes to lunchtime exercise.

The study polled 1,867 UK office workers aged between 18 and 65 as part of research into attitudes towards fitness and wellbeing during the working day.

When asked ‘What sport/activity would you choose to do during lunchtime should the necessary equipment/facilities/playing partners be ready to hand?’, the top five responses were:

1.       Squash – 21%

2.       Gym – 18%

3.       Tennis – 17%

4.       Golf (driving range) – 9%

5.       Running – 8%

Those who selected squash as an option were asked why this was the case:  31% cited its ‘professional image’; 28% ‘relatively short playing time’; and 22% its level of ‘social interaction’, were the main reasons given in the research conducted by online sports equipment retailer Sweatband.com

“Squash is so well-fitted for the modern lifestyle,” said World Squash Federation CEO Andrew Shelley.  “Not only does it provide great exercise in a short time span but there is no routine, no going through the motions. It is competition, physical and mental, and all the more stimulating for that.

“This research follows the recent survey by the widely respected and influential US business magazine Forbes which rated squash as ‘the healthiest sport’, and a nomination by Men’s Health magazine as ‘the ultimate fitness sport’.”