Sports Bulletin Report
Houston, Texas (USA): Korean squash lad Joo Young Na toppled defending champions Mohammad Hamza Khan from Pakistan 3-2 in the quarterfinal of the World Junior Squash Championship 2024 in a historical fixture here at Houston Squash Club, Texas, United States of America.
The [9/16] seed had already made history at Houston Squash Club by becoming the first player from his country to reach the quarter-finals after a victory over compatriot Seojin Oh, but against Khan went one better with a spectacular performance.
Na started his match brilliantly against Khan, who last year ended Pakistan’s 37-year-wait for the title, pinning the No.2 seed in the back corners and drawing errors from his fellow 18-year-old to race into a 2-0 lead. The expected Khan response finally came in game three as the reigning champion began to settle and find his marks, with Khan taking the game 11-7 and then levelling with a comfortable 11-3 win in game four.
Despite momentum seeming to be behind Khan, Na regathered his composure fantastically in game five, outmaneuvering the tiring Khan and steadily building up an increasingly unassailable-looking lead, which proved the case as, despite a late surge from Khan, Na was able to hold out to record an 11-5 victory to see out the match.
Bawa showed impressive determination and composure in his semi-final win over Low, fighting back from three match balls down to become the first Indian to reach the last four since Kush Kumar in 2014, with the Indian collapsing to the ground after the win as the realisation of his achievement sank in.
Incredibly, Bawa wasn’t the only player to mount a thrilling comeback from three match balls down, with [3/4] seed Nadien Elhammamy doing the same against Indian [5/8] seed Anahat Singh in the women’s draw.
Elhammamy who five days ago celebrated her 17th birthday, started well against the 16-year-old, opening up a 2-0 lead as she defended Singh’s attacking game well. The Indian came back hard in game three, though, reducing the deficit with an 11-5 win in game three and a hard-fought 12-10 victory in game four.
Singh appeared to have completed the comeback when she went 10-8 up in the fifth game, only for Elhammamy to dig in spectacularly to force a tie break. Singh earned another match ball at 11-10 but once again was denied by the Egyptian, with Elhammamy storming on to clinch the game 13-11 and the match 3-2.
Results (Women’s Quarterfinals):
[1] Amina Orfi (EGY) beat [5/8] Nour Megahed (EGY) 3-0: 11-6, 11-5, 11-5 (22m)
[3/4] Nadien Elhammamy (EGY) beat [5/8] Anahat Singh (IND) 3-2: 11-8, 11-9, 5-11, 10-12, 13-11 (65m)
[3/4] Caroline Fouts (USA) beat [5/8] Jana Swaify (EGY) 3-0: 11-9, 11-2, 12-10 (32m)
[2] Fayrouz Aboelkheir (EGY) beat [5/8] Riya Navani (USA) 3-0: 11-7, 11-6, 11-6 (26m)
Results (Men's Quarterfinals):
[1] Mohamad Zakaria (EGY) beat Abdullah Nawaz (PAK) 3-0: 11-3, 11-2, 11-3 (31m)
Shaurya Bawa (IND) beat Low Wa Sern (MAS) 3-2: 2-11, 11-4, 10-12, 11-8, 12-10 (79m)
[9/16] Harith Danial (MAS) beat [9/16] AbdAllah Eissa (ENG) 3-0: 11-6, 11-9, 11-6 (33m)
[9/16] Joo Young Na (KOR) beat [2] Hamza Khan (PAK) 3-2: 11-9, 11-9, 7-11, 3-11, 11-5 (66m).
