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.
