Egypt's Adel & Jordan's Alsaraj Claim Tecnifibre British Junior Open Crowns by Steve Cubbins
photos courtesy Steve Cubbins
January 6, 2014
Tecnifibre British Junior Open 2014 - Day FIVE, Finals:
The fifth and final day of the Tecnifibre Junior Open, and Abbeydale was the only place to be today.
Five for Egypt and Yathreb, two for Malaysia as Amded lifts the Cup for Jordan
Well, what a start to
the day in the G13 final ! Malaysia’s Aifa Azman saw a two-game lead
disappear and then came back from 6-10 down in the fifth, saving six
match balls in all before taking the match 16-14 in the decider.
Another five-setter
followed in the Boys U13, but this time the top seed triumphed as
Mohamed El Shamy retained his title in similar dramatic fashion to how
he won it last year.
At 2-1 down and 9-5
down in the fourth it wasn’t looking good, as he took a second injury
break of the game and looked to be struggling with leg and back
problems. But he returned to take a rumbustious fourth game 12-10 -
saving a match ball - and was in control in the decider.
Another five-setter in
the G15 final, this time a seesaw battle between the unflappable top
seed Siv Subramanian, runner-up in last year’s final, and the excitable
Egyptian Hania El Hammamy, still sporting her forehead bump from
yesterday’s match.
It swung one way then
the other, with whoever got a lead in each of the games staying ahead
until the end, and in the decider it was the Malaysians who were
cheering the loudest.
After saving a couple
of game balls in a tight first, top seed Youssef Ibrahim always had the
edge in the next two games of his all-Egyptian B15 final with Moustafa
Montaser.
Next up was another all-Egyptian final in the G17 climax, and once again it was the top seed who triumphed in straight games.
The irresistible force
that is Habiba Mohamed was too strong for Hana Basem as she stormed
through to collect her fourth BJO title in a row.
Egypt collected their
fourth title - with one more guaranteed to follow - when Boys U17 top
seed Youssef Soliman beat Malaysia’s Ng Eain Yow - last year’s U15
winner - in four games.
The Egyptian looks
strong as he took a 10-5 lead in the first, and although Ng closed that
gap and took a close second game, Suliman was on top again in the next
two games to claim his first title.
It was a repeat of
their 2010 U15 final, but for Yathreb Adel the Girls U19 final was a
sixth in a row, and she repeated her 2010 win over Mariam Metwally -
the top seed - in four tough, uncompromising, tense, and fiercely
contested games.
Adel edged the first
two after early deficits, but couldn’t do the same in the third as
Metwally pulled one back.Adel was always just ahead in the fourth
though, finally clinching her fifth BJO title in just unbder an hour.
A new nationality was
sure to be engraved on the Boys U19 trophy, the Drysdale Cup, as Peru’s
Diego Elias, the U17 winner last year, took on Jordan’s Ahmad Alsaraj.
Alsaraj forged ahead
in the early stages of both the first two games and held on to those
advantages, and although Elias rallied to take the third, it was the
Jordanian who was on top from the start of the fourth, capitalising on
a 7-1 advantage to take the game 11-3 and with it the title.
So ends another Tecnifibre British Junior Open ... see you all next year !!
