Asal, Araby win titles in World Junior Squash as Egypt dominate

In an all-Egyptian final, the second-seeded Mostafa Asal pulled off a stunning win over top seed Marwan Tarek in the men's final to emerge the new champion in the WSF-World Junior Squash Championship (under-19) here today.

Asal played confidently to defeat Tarek, the defending champion, 11-7 13-11 11-4 in 45 minutes at the Express Avenue mall, which saw a good turnout.

In the women's final, top seed Rowan Redy Araby justified her billing with a straight games win over fellow Egyptian Hania El Hammamy and retained the crown.

The No.1 seed began well and took an early lead as the two were involved in a battle of attrition marked by long rallies. Tarek went ahead 5-3 and was beginning to look comfortable before his countryman hit back.

After a few long rallies, Asal found himself in front and closed out the opening game, conceding seven points.

Tarek seemed intent to wait for his rival to commit mistakes, but that tactic did not work against Asal, who was not only adept in returns but also mixing them.

In the second game, Tarek wasn't at his best and Asal seized the advantage and overcame a minor hiccup to win it on extra points.

In the third, Asal raced to 8-1 lead before Tarek fought back briefly, but the no.2 seed kept his nerve to shut out the favourite and win the match.

"I am happy I finally won. I thought Marwan was not fully fit after the exhausting match yesterday," the new world junior champion said after the final.

The women's final, also an all-Egytpian affair, saw numerous long rallies and drop shots before Araby came up trumps.

The top seed appeared to be cruising to an easy win before Hammamy won the third, capturing six straight points from 6-10 down.

To Araby's credit, she didn't let the loss of game three upset her and won the fourth 11-9 to defend her title.

Results (Finals): Men: Mostafa Asal (Egy, 2) bt Marwan Tarek (Egy, 1) 11-7, 13-11, 11-4.

Women: Rowan Elaraby (Egy, 1) Hania El Hammamy (Egy,2)