England Squash has announced the squad to defend their European U15 and U17 titles in Eindhoven this week, and it includes two players who play their squash in Essex.
England, who go into the championships as top seeds, have won both titles for the past 12 consecutive years and will field a squad of born champions including Sam Todd, Torrie Malik and Jonah Bryant.Headlining the U17 team are Sam Todd and Ben Smith who led England to victory at the recent European U19 Team Championships in Prague. They are joined by England No.1 Adam Goad, two-time British National Junior champion Torrie Malik and Saran Nghiem who earns her first England call up following her outstanding performance at the English Junior Championships in March which saw her claim the U17 title.
Off The Wall Squash Academy player Emma Bartley
Jonah Bryant British Junior Open champions Jonah Bryant and Abd-Allah Eissa will spearhead the U15 team which also features Essex’s current British National U13 champion Yusuf Sheik (pictured above), Amelia Haworth, and former English U11 winner Emma Bartley who is coached by the team at Colchester’s Off The Wall Squash Academy although represents Suffolk. Yusef is coached by Dave Webster at Connaught.
Chris Ryder, High Performance Coach said:“We’re excited to take two strong squads to the European U15 and U17 Team Championships. The teams are full of world-class juniors, including three British Junior Open winners, Abd-Allah, Jonah and Sam. There’s also a first England call-up for Saran Nghiem, recently crowned English U15 champion
.“We will be seeded one for both events, which shows the strength of the teams but also brings with it significant mental pressure, and the players will need to perform well. We certainly can’t afford to take it lightly but it will provide a great learning experience for these talented young players.”
England U17 squad: Sam Todd, Ben Smith, Adam Goad,Torrie Malik, Saran Nghiem.
England U15 squad Jonah Bryant, Yusuf Sheikh, Abd-Allah Eissa, Emma Bartley, Amelie Haworth.
England’s U15 and U17s will face Belgium and Hungary respectively at 1pm BST on Thursday 9th May. For draws, live scores and results visit European Squash.