Bailey Malik and Mariam Eissa showcased their thrilling potential by lifting the U19 titles at the 2024 ProAir British Junior Squash Championships in Sheffield on Sunday.
Twelve British junior champions were crowned at Abbeydale Squash Club in what is the tournament’s 50th year. The four days of action culminated in boys’ U19 top seed Malik (Sussex) closing out a 11-6 11-8 4-11 11-8 win over [2] Alex Broadbridge (Hants), polished off in style with an exhibition forehand boast which rolled flat out of the nick.
Malik’s front-court deception and creativity frequently paid dividends against European No.1 Broadbridge and saw him follow in the footsteps of elder sister Torrie who won the British girls’ U19 title in 2021 and 2022. Meanwhile, Bailey’s brother Heston, the 5/8 seed, beat [3/4] Dylan Roberts (Kent) in five games to win the BU19 bronze medal play-off.
“It feels great to win at the 50th anniversary year of the British Junior Championships,” said Bailey.
“Winning this title has been one of my goals the last few years so I’m happy to take the win. The atmosphere at this tournament has always been great, especially at Abbeydale as you’ve got a lot of seating. I love it!”
Aged just 15, GU19 top seed Eissa (Warks) reaffirmed her awesome talent with a 11-3 11-7 11-3 victory over Wales’s second seed Ellie Breach in the final. Eissa’s relentlessly accurate length hitting never allowed Breach a foothold in the contest as she waltzed to her third British junior title.
“It feels absolutely amazing,” said Eissa.
“Last year I played the [U19] final and I didn’t quite manage to get the win so it gave me extra motivation this year. I prepared very hard for this tournament. Unfortunately, the week before I felt a bit ill. I wasn’t one hundred per cent, but I was confident in the training that I’d done prior to that.”
Earlier, [5/8] George Griffiths (Hants) was an outstanding winner of the BU17 title, overcoming top seed Ronnie Hickling (Surrey) 14-12 15-13 9-11 11-5 in a high-quality final. Earlier this year, Griffiths won the English U15 title and was U15 runner-up at the French Junior Open. At 15, he has plenty of time left to win more trophies in the U17 age group.
Top seed Harriet Broadbridge (Hants) made up for her elder brother Alex’s disappointment by cruising through the draw to lift the GU17 trophy. Broadbridge’s 11-4 11-4 11-5 victory over [2] Renata Colabella (Kent) repeated the result of the pair’s English Junior Championship U15 final in February.
BU15 top seed Ali Khalil encountered his first significant resistance of the week in a thrilling final against [2] Matthew Hong Ki Leung (Glos). Khalil had to be at his best to bag a 12-10 11-8 11-13 11-6 victory. It’s his first British title and marks further progress on his podium finishes at the recent Egyptian and Dutch Junior Opens.
Top seed Ameerah Ismail (Warks) blitzed her way to the GU15 trophy courtesy of an 11-5 11-5 11-7 victory over [2] Fearne Copley (Yorks). Ismail won all five of her matches during the tournament in straight games and adds the U15 title to the British U13 crown she won in 2022.
That win made it an Ismail title double as Ameerah’s younger sister Nadiya (Warks) had earlier won 11-7 11-3 13-11 against [2] Sienna Hampshaw (Yorks) in the GU13 final. It was also Nadiya’s second British title and she dropped just one game in her four matches en route to the gold medal.
The battle between twin brothers Oscar and Finley Brown (Leics) for the BU13 title went the way of top seed Oscar 11-8 11-6 6-11 11-5. Oscar finished second in the English Junior Championship in February but went one better in Sheffield, as well as claiming household bragging rights.
Sophie Ballentyne is now the Scottish and British GU11 champion following her 11-8 11-6 11-9 victory over [2] Elsie Griffiths of Wales in Sunday morning’s final. Meanwhile, James Swinden (Yorks) justified his top seeding in the BU11 with a four-game win over Ireland’s second seed Harry Knox.
The GU9 was organised into three groups of three with the winner of each group going into a three-way round-robin for the medals. The title ultimately hinged on the clash between [1] Manar Ismail (Sussex) and [2] Evie Hennings (Surrey) which the top seed won 11-5 in the fifth after being pegged back from two games up. Both Ismail and Hennings beat [3/4] Eleanor Flett (Hants) who finished with the bronze medal.
There was a similar group format in the BU9 with the result also pivoting on a tight clash of the top two seeds in the group for positions 1-4. It was top seed Max Hall (Yorks) who won a see-saw encounter 6-11 11-7 6-11 11-4 11-9 against [2] Keaton Fiander-Derry (Surrey) to complete a clean sweep and the gold medal. Fiander-Derry took silver and [3] Cristian Law (Herts) bronze.
Results – 2024 ProAir British Junior Championships Finals
- Mixed U9 Champions: Manar Ismail (Sussex) and Max Hall (Yorks)
- GU11 [3/4] Sophie Ballentyne (Scotland) 3-0 [2] Elsie Griffiths (Wales) 11-8, 11-6, 11-9
- BU11: [1] James Swinden (Yorks) 3-1 [2] Harry Knox (Ireland) 11-5, 9-11, 11-6, 11-4
- GU13: [1] Nadiya Ismail (Warks) 3-0 [2] Sienna Hampshaw (Yorks) 11-7, 11-3, 13-11
- BU13: [1] Oscar Brown (Leics) 3-1 [2] Finley Brown (Leics) 11-8, 11-6, 6-11, 11-5
- GU15: [1] Ameerah Ismail (Warks) 3-0 [2] Fearne Copley (Yorks) 11-5, 11-5, 11-7
- BU15: [1] Ali Khalil (Warks) 3-1 [2] Matthew Hong Ki Leung (Glos) 12-10, 11-8, 11-13, 11-6
- GU17 [1] Harriet Broadbridge (Hants) 3-0 [2] Renata Colabella (Kent) 11-4, 11-4, 11-5
- BU17 [5/8] George Griffiths (Hants) 3-1 [1] Ronnie Hickling (Surrey) 14-12, 15-13, 9-11, 11-5
- GU19 [1] Mariam Eissa (Warks) 3-0 [2] Ellie Breach (Wales) 11-3, 11-7, 11-3
- BU19 [1] Bailey Malik (Sussex) 3-1 [2] Alex Broadbridge (Hants) 11-5, 11-8, 4-11, 11-8
