Joo Young Na made history for the Republic of Korea as he brilliantly battled back to defeat Malaysia’s Harith Danial to become the first ever Korean to reach the final of a WSF World Junior Squash Championship.
The 17-year-old [9/16] seed, who captured headlines yesterday with a shock win over reigning champion Hamza Khan, looked in trouble when he went 0-2 down to the dominant Danial.
The Korean, however, channelled all his mental and physical fortitude after game two, taking full advantage of the ball softening up to begin to hurt the Malaysian.
Danial’s conservative and watchful strategy, which had served so well in the opening games, began to unravel as Na built momentum, with the Korean retrieving nearly every ball and looking increasingly confident on the attack as he wiped out Danial’s lead with 11-7 and 11-4 wins before etching his name into the record books with an 11-2 victory in the fifth game.
Na is the lowest seeded player to qualify for the men’s final since Egypt’s Omar Elatmas, who reached the final of the 2014 edition in Windhoek, Namibia as [9/16] seed.
“Thank you all so much for always cheering, supporting, and taking interest. I will fight for it tomorrow, too. We will do our best to shine for Korea,” Na said afterwards.
Na will take on Egypt’s Mohamad Zakaria in the final, with the top seed playing a measured game as he beat India’s Shaurya Bawa in straight games to reach the final for a second year in a row.
“This year, I was extremely focused because I messed up last year [Zakaria was defeated in last year’s final by Hamza Khan]! I know all my mistakes now and have made significant improvements, but the job is so far from done,” Zakaria said.
Zakaria isn’t the only returning finalist, with Amina Orfi’s mission to become the first ever player to win three consecutive titles still alive after a typically efficient win today against compatriot Nadien Elhammamy.
Orfi, crowned champion in France in 2022 and Australia in 2023, was in control throughout against the [3/4] seed, wrapping up the match with 11-7, 11-1, 11-6 wins.
Afterwards, Orfi said: “I don’t think [playing an Egypt teammate] really affects my play because everyone is different; not all Egyptians play the same and there’s no one characteristic. Sometimes it’s good to have your Egyptian coaches cheering for you, but I don’t think it makes that much of a difference and I’m just looking forward to tomorrow.”
Facing Orfi tomorrow is another teammate, No.2 seed Fayrouz Aboelkheir, who ensured there would be an all-Egyptian final as she ended home hopes with an 11-5, 11-3, 11-4 win over American [3/4] seed Caroline Fouts.
After her match, Aboelkheir explained that she felt relieved to have delivered an all-Egyptian final after her loss in the semi-finals last year to Malaysia’s Aira Azman ended an incredible 10-year run of all-Egyptian finals.
“I’m really happy this year [that it will be an all-Egyptian final] because last year I broke that 10-year record. I’m glad that I’m starting it again! I’m just trying to start a new record for Egypt,” Aboelkheir said.
The 2024 WSF World Junior Squash Championships finals take place tomorrow, 17 July. Play begins at 13:30 (GMT-5) with the women’s final, followed by the men’s final at 14:30. Head to WORLDSQUASH.TV to watch all the action live and free.
Click here to view all the results from day five of the WSF World Junior Squash Championships.
Results: 2024 WSF World Junior Championships, Women’s Semi-Finals
[1] Amina Orfi (EGY) bt [3/4] Nadien Elhammamy (EGY) 3-0: 11-7, 11-1, 11-6 (35m)
[2] Fayrouz Aboelkheir (EGY) bt [3/4] Caroline Fouts (USA) 3-0: 11-5, 11-3, 11-4 (26m)
Draw: 2024 WSF World Junior Championships, Women’s Final
[1] Amina Orfi (EGY) v [2] Fayrouz Aboelkheir
Results: 2024 WSF World Junior Championships, Men’s Semi-Finals
[1] Mohamad Zakaria bt Shaurya Bawa (IND) 3-0: 11-5, 11-5, 11-9 (41m)
[9/16] Joo Young Na (KOR) bt [9/16] Harith Danial (MAS) 3-2: 8-11, 6-11, 11-7, 11-4, 11-2 (59m)
Draw: 2024 WSF World Junior Championships, Men’s Final
[1] Mohamad Zakaria v [9/16] Joo Young Na (KOR)