Sports Bulletin Report
Houston (USA): The World Squash Federation (WSF) board has awarded US Squash the rights to host the 2024 WSF World Junior Squash Championships, with the event set to be held in Houston, Texas July 12-23, 2023.
The 2024 edition, which will feature both men’s and women’s junior individual tournaments, will take place at the Houston Squash Club, which is also home to two PSA World Tour Gold events the Houston Open.
Next year's championships will also see the men’s and women’s junior team championships being held simultaneously for the first time in event history.
The 2023 event, which was staged in Melbourne, Australia, saw Egyptian 16-year-old Amina Orfi claim her second consecutive women’s individuals title and Pakistan’s Hamza Khan become his country’s first champion since Jansher Khan in 1986.
In the women’s team event, Egypt also claimed their tenth WSF Women’s World Junior Team Championship title and eighth in succession.
This will be the first time US Squash has hosted the event since the 2011 women’s individual and team championships in Boston, when the women’s team - led by 2010 individual junior world champion Amanda Sobhy - finished runner up to Egypt.
“Houston is one of the fastest growing squash communities in the U.S. and we are looking forward to hosting the world’s best junior players in Texas, ” said Kevin Klipstein, US Squash President & CEO. “The community is incredibly diverse and energetic, and we applaud all of Jahanzeb Khan’s efforts at Houston Squash Club. He’s led the development of squash from the grassroots to hosting the first ever major national junior event in Texas.
"We appreciate the World Squash Federation’s consideration in awarding this event to the US. To see how far junior squash has come in just 12 years since we last hosted the World Juniors in Boston is remarkable, and largely due to the dedication of teaching pros and coaches all across the country. We’re looking forward to the partnership with Houston to host a world class experience.”
Houston Squash Club CEO Jahanzeb Khan said: "It is an honor for Houston Squash Club to host this world class junior event in Houston, Tx for the first time in the history of Squash. We are thrilled to work with US Squash and member nation federations and we look forward to successfully hosting the athletes from July 12-23, 2024.”
WSF CEO William Louis-Marie said: “On behalf of the World Squash Federation, I’d like to express our gratitude to both US Squash and Houston Squash Club for hosting the 2024 WSF World Junior Squash Championships.
“We’ve seen a huge increase in the sport’s popularity, particularly at junior level, throughout the USA and the bronze medal won by their junior women’s team this year and the silver by the senior women’s team last year shows the progress being made across the board by US Squash.
"I commend the efforts of US Squash and Houston Squash Club for their work in the development of squash for women and girls and in helping to deliver both individual events and both team events simultaneously for the first time in our sport's history. This is a great step forward for squash.”
