Essex duo Elise Lazarus and Alice Green helped England’s women claim World Team Junior bronze for the third time in a row following a solid performance at the CIMB Foundation WSF Women’s World Junior Team Squash Championships 2019 in Malaysia.
The five-time champions raced to the top of Group D following straight victories over Korea, South Africa and Sweden.
The Group D decider between fourth and fifth seeds England and USA was far from plain-sailing however. Marina Stefanoni came from two games down to beat Elise and put USA ahead. The USA’s Olivia Robinson had two match balls in the fifth to give USA top spot but Super Alice dug in, taking the decider 17-15 to level the match before Evie Coxon won the decider for England.
England’s quarter-final clash against sixth seeds India proved equally thrilling. Elise came from two games down to edge Sanya Vats while Alice also came from behind to overcome Aishwarya Khubchandani, and book a last four berth with top seeds Egypt.
The Egyptian side, which included 2019 World Junior champion Hania El Hammamy and runner-up Jana Shiha, showed their class, powering to a straight games 3-0 victory over England.
Commenting on the team’s performance, High Performance Coach Tania Bailey said: “I am delighted that the team made it through to the semi finals and finished with a bronze. Today was a very tough match against a strong Egyptian side, but the week has been amazing. The pool match against the USA was a roller coaster and then the quarter final against India only a few hours later was another huge performance. All the girls have pulled together as a team and have played their part. It’s been a fantastic week and a brilliant experience for them all, Chloe and I are immensely proud of them.”