EIGHT Essex players are in the draw for the prestigious Tecnifibre British Junior Open championships which returns to Sheffield for the 21st consecutive year from 2nd to 6th January.
The prestigious platinum event, which was first held back in 1923, plays host to more than 400 of the world’s top junior squash players from 35 nations.
Egypt’s Youssef Soliman, runner up at the World Junior Championships, returns as favourite to land the Drysdale Cup but is likely to face a tough challenge from Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng who is looking to land his fourth British Junior Open (BJO) title. Nouran Gohar, Egypt’s current World Junior Champion, will also return to defend the U19 title. Last year, Egypt claimed five of the eight BJO titles on offer and will once again be back in full force.
Billericay’s British Junior Champion Alice Green (5-8 seed) goes in the U-15 event alongside Eleanor White from Chelmsford while Alice’s brother Oliver Green (5-9 seed) and Joel Braddock (17-32 seed) from Lexden line up in the boys’ U-13’s. Ellie Hewes from Colchester is seeded 9-16 in the girls’ U-13’s.
Southend’s Harry Kitchens is up against 17-32 seed Manuel Paquemar of France in his first U-15 match while Aaron Allpress faces a testing opening U-17 match against 5-8 seed Samuel Scherl of the USA.
Elise Lazarus from Redbridge carries Essex hopes in the girls’ U-17’s and is ranked 9-16. Full Draw here
Organised by England Squash, the tournament will consist of 1167 matches played on 17 courts across three Sheffield clubs; Abbeydale Squash & Rackets Club, Hallamshire Tennis & Squash Club and Fulwood Sports Club.
Chris Nutley, Head of Competition & Events at England Squash, commented: “The British Junior Open has always been a big part of our events calendar and provides a fantastic opportunity to showcase the world’s top junior players and raise the profile of the sport. All the world’s current leading players have graced the courts at the BJO over the years including world champions Nick Matthew, Nicol David and Laura Massaro.”