After a fantastic week of squash in Nancy, France, it’s finals day of the 2022 WSF World Junior Squash Championships at Jarville TSB.
Play begins at 14:20 (GMT+2) and all the matches will be streamed on the WSF YouTube channel, which will also show plate matches from 10:00
Read on as we preview today’s quarter-finals. All stats kindly provided by Squash Info.
14:20 – [5/8] Salma El Tayeb (EGY) v [2] Amina Orfi (EGY)
In the 10th consecutive all-Egyptian women’s final, 15-year-old Amina Orfi goes into her first ever competitive match with compatriot Salma El Tayeb looking to be the youngest winner since current World No.2 Nour El Sherbini, who won the women’s championship as a 13-year-old in 2009.
Orfi had been enjoying a trouble-free passage to the final with straight-game wins in her first four matches, before her talent and willpower were put to the test in yesterday’s semi-final. Orfi looked set to be the latest in a string of top seed slayings when she slipped to 2-0 down to fellow Egyptian and 3/4 seed Fayrouz Abouelkheir, before battling back to clinch the match 3-2 with a nail-biting 12-10 win in the fifth game.
El Tayeb, meanwhile, will take heart from her brilliant form in Nancy. Like Orfi, El Tayeb won her first four matches without dropping a game, including an impressive win over 3/4 seed Aira Azman in the quarter-final. The 18-year-old followed this up with one of the performances of the tournament as she held off top seed Kenzy Ayman 3-1 to reach today’s final.
15:30 – [3/4] Finnlay Withington (ENG) v [5/8] Rowan Damming (NED)
In a repeat of April’s European Junior U19 Championship, England’s 3/4 seed Finnlay Withington goes up against 5/8 seed Rowan Damming of the Netherlands in the first all-European final in 20 years.
Damming will be hoping for revenge this time, having seen a one game lead evaporate in a 3-1 loss in April’s final. If the Dutchman, whose best strengths are his speed and movement, is to secure a maiden title for his country, he will need to find some of the form that saw him fight back from a game down to beat Mohamed Zakaria in yesterday’s semi-final.
Withington, meanwhile, is yet to trail at the tournament as he seeks to the first English winner since James Willstrop in 2002.
After making solid progress through the draw, the 18-year-old recorded a semi-final shock as he downed top seed Hamza Khan of Pakistan 3-2. Although he will have been concerned by the manner in which Khan came back from two games down to level, Withington will draw confidence from the decisive nature of the fifth game, in which he blew the top seed away 11-2.
The finals begin from 14:20 (GMT+2) today (August 16). You can watch the action live and free on the WSF YouTube channel, alongside the Olympic Channel, Sport en France and other streaming partners.
Click here for live results and results from the plate matches.
Draw: 2022 WSF Women’s World Junior Championship, Final
14:20 – [5/8] Salma El Tayeb (EGY) – [2] Amina Orfi (EGY)
Draw: 2022 WSF Men’s World Junior Championship, Final
15:30 – [¾] Finnlay Withington (ENG) – [5/8] Rowan Damming (NED)