Tuesday March 19th, 2024
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Egypt’s Next Generation of Squash Stars Dominate at the WSF World Junior Championship

Hania El Hammamy and Mostafa Asal were crowned as champions after competing in all-Egyptian finals.

Staff Writer

Despite determined resistance in the men’s semi-finals and a heart-breaking home bid in the women’s, the 2019 CIMB Foundation WSF World Junior Squash Championships reached its climax in Malaysia with two all-Egyptian finals. 

Taking place in Kuala Lampur, the women's final saw Heliopolis' Hania El Hammamy compete and win against Wadi Degla's Jana Shiha, with the men's final having Al Ahly's Mostafa Assal face and veat Moustafa El Sirty. 

“It was heart-breaking playing Jana because she’s a very good friend and it’s just so hard to play a close friend when you want to win the title so bad,” said El Hammamy.

“Of course, playing in this final helped me. The mood and the tension is completely different and now with Hania done with juniors, I believe I’ll be more prepared to win it next year. I’m happy for Hania. It’s her last world juniors and I’m glad she made it," shared Shiha. 

In the men's competition, Mostafa Assal achieved the World Championship title for the second time in a row. “I faced a lot of challenges during the tournament; it wasn’t easy to achieve the title two times a row,” Assal said in an interview. 

“I am thankful for a second place finish after finishing third last year. It shows progress in my squash and hopefully I’ll come back and win it next year,” said El Sirty.