The last four men and women standing will battle it out for a place in the WSF World Junior Squash Championships finals today as the individual competition approaches the conclusion at Melbourne Sports Centres.
There are four mouthwatering contests to look forward to today, with all the action from the glass court being streamed live and free from 14:00 (GMT+10) on worldsquash.tv and the Olympic Channel, with SQUASHTV also showing the day’s play (subscription required).
You can keep up with all the action from the 2023 WSF World Junior Squash Championships by following the World Squash Federation on Facebook, Instagram, Threads and Twitter. You can also follow Squash Australia on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
[2] Aboelkheir v [3/4] Azman
The opening match promises to be one of the best of the tournament as Egyptian No.2 seed Fayrouz Aboelkheir and Malaysian [3/4] seed Aira Azman renew their growing rivalry.
The pair have played each other three times in 2023; Aboelkheir began the year with a 3-0 victory over Azman in the semi-finals of the British Junior U19 Open, before Azman hit back when she came from behind to win 3-2 in the pools stage of the WSF Squash World Cup. Aboelkheir would have the last laugh in Chennai, though, with the 17-year-old downing Azman 3-1 in the rematch in the final.
Both players have looked at their best this week in Melbourne and will no doubt prove difficult to separate as Aboelkheir looks to reach the final having gone out at this stage last year, while Azman bids to be the first Malaysian woman to reach the final since the legendary Nicol David won the 2001 championship in Penang.
[3/4] Khan v [9/16] Scianimanico
In the day’s second match, Pakistan’s [3/4] seed Hamza Khan and French [9/16] seed Melvil Scianimanico eye history, with Khan vying to be Pakistan’s first finalist since Aamir Atlas Khan 15 years ago and Scianimanico the first [9/16] seed to reach the final since Egypt’s Omar Elatmas in 2014.
The pair have met once before, four years ago at the British Junior U15 Open, with Khan recording a comfortable round two victory.
There could be an interesting clash of styles in this match, with Khan’s crowd-pleasing attacking squash likely to be severely tested by Scianimanico’s dogged tenacity.
[1] Orfi v [3/4] Khafagy
The second women’s semi-final is an all-Egyptian affair between top seed and defending women’s champion Amina Orfi and [3/4] seed Malak Khafagy.
Still aged just 16, Orfi is regarded as one of the game’s most promising players and has already begun to make an impact on the professional circuit, with the Cairo-native beating a number of highly-ranked professionals as she reached the final of the Bronze-level Squash On Fire Open in February and the last 16 of the senior World Championship in May.
Orfi, who is yet to drop a game in Melbourne, enjoys a 2-0 winning record against Khafagy, with one of those wins a 3-0 victory in the quarter-final of the last edition of this tournament. The 18-year-old will take heart from her improved performance the last time she played Orfi, with Khafagy leading twice in an eventual 3-2 defeat in the semi-finals of this year’s British Junior U19 Open.
[3/4] Zakaria v [5/8] Khalil
The last match of the day is another all-Egyptian encounter between [3/4] seed Mohamed Zakaria and [5/8] seed Salman Khalil.
At just 15 years of age, Zakaria is already being discussed as a generational talent, with the young star also reaching the semi-finals as a 14-year-old last year.
Although Zakaria got the better of Khalil on his run to last year’s semi-final, the 18-year-old will have no fear after his stunning 3-0 win over tournament top seed Jonah Bryant last night.
Today’s order of play
Consolation match action is also taking place at the venue today, with play from the glass court, Court Six and Court Nine being streamed for free on worldsquash.tv.
To keep up with the draws, results and schedule– including from the consolation plate matches – follow the 2023 WSF World Junior Squash Championships on Tournament Software.
