Title holder Tarek enters final of World Junior squash

Top seed and defending champion Marwan Tarek bounced back from being 4-8 down in the deciding game to oust his Egyptian compatriot Omar El Torkey in the men's semifinal of the WSF-World Junior Squash Championship (Under-19), here today.

Tarek, who won a 11-9 6-11 11-8 2-11 11-8, will meet fellow countryman Mostafa Asal, the second seed, in tomorrow's final.

The women's final will also be an all-Egyptian affair as no 1 seed Rowan Redy Araby made short work of Jana Shiha 11-5 13-11 11-6 to set up a clash with the second seed Hania El Hammamy, who sent England's Lucy Termel packing in four games.

While Tarek was pushed all the way in his match, Asal romped into the summit clash with a fluent win over another Egyptian Mostafa El Serty (3/4 seed).

The contest between the no 1 seed and his fellow Egyptian El Torkey saw neither willing to give an inch to the other as they played with a lot of intensity.

Torkey not only matched his famed rival stroke for stroke but also looked capable of pulling off an upset.

Fast rallies interspersed with an occasional drop shot was the feature as the two went all out, gasping for breath at times but relentless in their pursuit of ascendancy.

In the decider, Torkey went up 8-4 and the possibility of a shock result appeared real before the top seed turned the tables on his opponent reeling off seven straight points to emerge victorious in little over an hour and a half.

"That's the longest match I've ever played, but no regrets, it's the WJ semis. I was 3 points from going out, I'm sop happy to reach the final again," the no 1 seed said after the win.

Unlike the men's no 1 seed, the women's top seed Araby won in straight games. Shiha surprised her rival in the second game which she led and almost grabbed the game but the defending champion from Alexandria showed her capability with some smart pick ups and drives to win on extra points.

The second women's semifinal saw the only non-Egyptian, Termel put up a fight and win the second game.

However, Hammamy hit back strongly in the next two and never allowed the English girl any opportunities to close out the match in 40 minutes.