Last year’s runner-up Mariam Eissa has another chance to win the ProAir British Junior Squash Championship girls’ U19 title after reaching the final again at the age of just 15.
Top seed Eissa (Warks) closed out a 11-9 11-3 13-11 semi-final win over [3/4] Emily Coulcher-Porter (Bucks) on the glass court at Abbeydale Squash Club in Sheffield on Saturday evening. She will play Wales’s Ellie Breach for the title after the second seed’s four-game win over [3/4] Robyn McAlpine of Scotland in the other semi.
Eissa, who plays at Kenilworth and Stratford Squash Clubs, said after her win: “I don’t really think about playing in an older age group. I’m confident in my game and the way I play. I know that I’m up there with the standard of the older girls and I really enjoy it.”
Looking ahead to her final against recent Welsh Junior Open winner Breach, Eissa said: “I played Ellie twice in the British Junior Championships last year and played her two weeks ago in a PSA event. Although I won those matches, I know it will be a tough one tomorrow.”
Only one of the Malik brothers made it into the BU19 final; top seed Bailey (Sussex), who overcame [3/4] Dylan Roberts (Kent) 11-8 12-10 11-8. Bailey’s brother [5/8] Heston saw his semi-final against [2] Alex Broadbridge (Hants) interrupted by a power failure in the third game but that didn’t prevent European No.1 Broadbridge from wrapping up a 15-13 11-5 11-9 win.
Top-seeded Ronnie Hickling’s quest for the BU17 title came under severe pressure in his semi-final against [3/4] Damien Duckett (Middx). The Surrey player lost the first game 11-2, and although he rebounded to go 2-1 up in games, the fourth went Duckett’s way on a tie-break. Hickling took the decider 11-5 and will play [5/8] George Griffths (Hants) for the title after he knocked out 2023 U15 champion [9/15] Luke McBride (Surrey) in four games.
Top seed Harriet Broadbridge (Hants) will get the chance to add a second British title to her collection when she faces [2] Renata Colabella (Kent) in the GU17 final. Broadbridge recorded her third successive straight-games win in seeing off [3/4] Ella Bannister of Scotland while Colabella found the going a little tougher against [5/8] Isabella Hutton (Sussex) in an 11-8 11-8 8-11 11-8 triumph in their semi.
Ali Khalil (Warks) is yet to drop a game in four rounds of the BU15 thus far and [5/8] Thomas Irani (Sussex) was given short shrift by the top seed in their semi-final. [2] Matthew Hong Ki Leung (Glos) will face Khalil in the final after beating [5/8] Joe Colton (Surrey) in three.
GU15 top seed Ameerah Ismail has followed her Warwickshire county team-mate Khalil in breezing through the draw without dropping a game. Her latest win over [3/4] Phoebe Griffiths of Wales sets up a Sunday morning final against second-seeded Pontefract junior Fearne Copley, who edged past [3/4] Esther Chak (Surrey) in four.
The BU13 final will be a brotherly showdown between twins Oscar and Finley Brown (Leics). Top seed Oscar brushed past [3/4] Ben Lamond (Dorset) in three while [2] Finley overcame Scotland’s Callum Smith 5-11 11-1 12-10 11-0. The Brown brothers met at the British Junior Open in Birmingham in January when Finley won 11-9 in the fifth.
The top two seeds will also contest Sunday morning’s GU13 final, although neither found an easy passage through their semi-final. [1] Nadiya Ismail (Warks) required two tiebreaks in her straight-game victory over [5/8] Rida Ali (Sussex) and [2] Sienna Hampshaw (Yorks) surrendered a two-game lead to [3/4] Siona Mishra (Warks) before winning the decider 11-5.
Top seed Ada Brown (Norfolk) was knocked out of the GU11 in the semi-finals after a gutsy performance by Scottish champion and 3/4 seed Sophie Ballentyne, who won 11-9 11-9 8-11 11-5. In Sunday’s final, Ballentyne meets second seed Elsie Griffiths from Wales who had to dig very deep to see off [3/4] Olivia Holbrook (Hants) after going 2-1 down.
The BU11 semis went with the seedings as top-seeded, Pontefract’s James Swinden and Ireland’s Harry Knox set up a final showdown on Sunday morning. Swinden was pushed to four games by [3/4] Thomas Earwicker (Surrey) but Knox was more efficient in seeing off [5/7] Archibald McLeod in three.
The BU9 competition kicked off on Saturday in a group format with [1] Max Hall (Yorks), [2] Keaton Fiander-Derry (Surrey), [3] Cristian Law (Herts) and [5] Eyad Mahmoud (Lancs) winning their groups with two wins from two to seal their places in Sunday’s group for positions 1-4.
The GU9 is organised into three groups of three and top seed Manar Ismail (Sussex) and [2] Evie Hennings (Surrey) progressed easily enough from their groups with two wins, while [3/4] Eleanor Flett dramatically beat Holly Thompson 14-12 in the fifth in order to top Box C and progress to Sunday’s three-way play-off for the title.
To view all results from today’s semi-finals day, plus the draws for tomorrow’s finals, please click here.
