Day one of the 2025 Squash Travel by Nirvana British Junior Championships got underway in Sheffield today, with over 350 players descending upon the Steel City in search of the illustrious titles.
Now in its 51st year, this year’s Championships, co-hosted by Hallamshire, Abbeydale and Fullwood, will conclude on Sunday when 12 names will be added to the prestigious list of former winners.
Boys’ U19 top seed Ronnie Hickling (Surrey) started his quest for a third BJC title in successful style as he got the better of Kin Fung Ma (Warwicks) by an 11-1, 11-4, 11-6 scoreline to book his spot in the quarter-finals. Hickling will face [5/8] George Griffiths (Hants) in the last eight, before a potential semi-final with one of [5/8] Oliver Tate (Warwicks) or [3/4] Jude Gibbins (Kent).
On the bottom half of the draw, England No.1-ranked [2] Dylan Roberts (Kent), who in September had a stellar run into the main draw of the British National Championships, defeated [9/15] Charlie Lord (Sussex) by a 14-12, 11-9, 11-7 scoreline. Roberts will now face [5/8] Michael Chak (Surrey) in the quarter-finals, while [3/4] Ismail Khalil (Warwicks) and [5/8] Archie Turnbull were the other two players to secure last-16 victories.
The top eight seeds in the Boys’ U17 event all progressed to the last-16 stage without fail, with top seed Luke McBride (Surrey), who was a member of England’s European U17 title winning team in Bordeaux in May, getting his campaign underway with an 11-4, 11-4, 11-7 win over Kacper Kwiecinski (Oxon).
McBride’s Surrey teammate [2] Gabriel Chak, as well as [3/4] Ali Khalil (Warwicks) and [3/4] Mohamed Abaza (Middx), also safely progressed on day one of play. Action from the Girls U19 and U17 events, meanwhile, kicks off on Friday.
In the Boys’ U15 draw, standout first-round performances came from [33/51] Mustafa Ismail (Sussex) and [33/51] Abdul Kabir (Lancs) after the pair caused respective seeding shocks. Ismail upset [17/32] Kwan Long Ronnie Siu (Notts) in straight games to set up a last-32 match with top seed and England No.3 Alexander Koa-Wing (Middx). Meanwhile, Kabir came from 2-1 down to defeat [17/32] Robbie Carroll (Warwicks). Kabir will now take on [3/4] Kylen Calder (Essex) in the next round. The Girls’ U15 main draw begins on Friday.
Elsewhere, top two seeds Siona Mishra (Warwicks) and Eleanor Everington-Hunt (Yorks) claimed opening day wins in the Girls’ U13 event, with former U11 champion Mishra defeating [17/32] Claire Marzouk (Sussex) to the loss of just six points. Everington-Hunt, meanwhile, overcame [17/32] Salma Barkouk (Northumbria) by an 11-4, 11-1, 11-4 scoreline. [17/31] Lauren Keeley (Warwicks) caused a seeding shock in the last-32 round as she clinched a five-game thriller with [9/15] Kei Yin Lo (Herts), 11-9 in the deciding game. The Boys’ U13 event kickstarts in earnest tomorrow.
Action from the Boys’ and Girls’ U11 and U9 draws gets underway over the next two days in Sheffield.
Watch the remainder of the 2025 Squash Travel by Nirvana British Junior Championships live from the all-glass show court at Abbeydale on the official tournament website.
You can also follow the action on the official England Squash Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
