British Junior Open: Malaysian Clean Sweep on Opening Day in Sheffield
by Steve Cubbins


photos courtesy Steve Cubbins

January 2, 2014 - It was an earlier start than usual for some on the opening day of the Tecnifibre British Junior Open, being staged in Sheffield for the 19th year in a row, as Sheffield's own world champion and world number one Nick Matthew hosted a book signing at the Copthorne Hotel, giving some lucky juniors a chance that most professional players can only dream about ... having Nick Matthew for breakfast!

Then the action took place at three venues - Abbeydale, Hallamshire and Fulwood - for a busy opening day featuring 400+ players and 36 nations.

The large Egyptian contingent - in serious contention for a clean sweep of all eight titles - had a good day with their seeded players progressing in all divisions, but it was the Malaysians who had most to cheer about with an impressive 23 wins out of 23, the highlight being a comeback from 0-2 and 0-5 down from Kah Yan Ooi min the Girls’ U15 event.

There were plenty of home players in action too, of course, with Richie Fallows and Lily Taylor - both featured on the tournament poster - leading the charge into day two.