2022 World Junior Championships Daily Review

The 2022 World Junior Championships are underway in Nancy, France.

The singles event takes place from 11-16 August before the Men’s Team event runs from 17-21 August.

Find out how the Australian team did below.

Day 11

The Men's World Junior Team Championships came to an end in Nancy, France on Sunday (CET) with the final day of competition.

Coming up against Colombia in the 11th place playoff, Western Australian Oscar Curtis was first up on court against Juan Jose Torres Lara.

It was a close match up with the Colombian player taking the early advantage for his team with a 3-0 (11-9 11-9 11-8) win.

The matches only continued to intensify as Luke Eyles and Greg Chan took to their court. 

In a tough match that went for five games, Chan battled it out against Juan Irisarri to keep Australia's chances of finishing 11th alive. Despite being down 2-1 after the third game, Chan fought his way back into the match winning the fourth to level it at 2-2 ahead of the deciding game.

Chan came out of the gates in blistering form to secure a 3-2 (13-11 6-11 5-11 11-8 11-1) win and level the match. 

Enter Elyes.

The Queenslander won his opening game but his opponent, Jose Santamaria, proved too strong on the day as Elyes went down 1-3 (11-5 3-11 8-11 7-11).

The result sees Australia finish 12th, their best finish at the tournament since 2016.

The full results can be found here.  

Day 10

A tough loss for the Australian men against Canada at the Men's World Junior Team Championship overnight, going down 1-2 in the 9-12 playoffs.

Captain Oscar Curtis was the first on court for the Australian men, starting strong with a win over Canada's Syan Singh (5-11, 13-11, 11-6, 11-6).

The win inspired Curtis' team mates Gregory Chan and Dylan Classen who would play the remaining two match for the Australians.

However, the class of Canada's Jacob Lin was too strong for Gregory Chan, going down in straight games (6-11, 9-11, 7-11).

Young gun Dylan Classen stepped on to the court in the third match for the Aussies, pushing Mohamed Kamal all the way to four games.

In the end, it was Kamal who claimed the win, after a tough match against Classen (11-7, 9-11, 5-11, 9-11).

The Aussies will now face Colombia on Sunday 21 August at 6pm AEST on TSB Jarville - 8.

Day 9

The Australian men will playoff for 9-12 at the Men's World Junior Team Championships, after a tough loss to India.

Oscar Curtis was the first Aussie on the court, matching up against Arnaav Sareen. It was a 4-game thriller, with the Indian the eventual victor.

In the second game, Aussie Luke Eyles retired hurt, conceding defeat to India's Krishna Mishra (7-11, 3-11, 2-6).

As a result of Eyles retiring hurt, India claimed a 2-0, unfortunately knocking the Aussies out of the competition.

The Aussies will now face Canada on Saturday 20 August at 8pm AEST on Squash Club "Le Reve"-3.

Day 8

Australia is through to the main draw of the Men's World Junior Team Championship after finishing second in Group B.

Beginning their day against Kuwait, Oscar Curtis, Greg Chan and Dylan Classen all won their matches to give Australia a 3-0 win that saw them continue their undefeated streak.

Up next was No.2 seeds England, who had also been undefeated until this point. Western Australians Curtis and Classen's both returned to the court for this match and were joined by Queensland's Luke Eyles. 

Taking to the court first was Curtis as he came up against Finnlay Withington, who had won a silver medal in the men's singles event earlier in the week. The dual Australian Junior Open and Australian Junior Championships winner didn't make it an easy match for Withington as they battled it out over three games. While the English player would draw first blood, winning 3-0 (11-9 11-6 11-9), Australia's players would only continue to push the English team.

It was a slow start to Match 2, as Eyles went down to Jonah Bryant in the opening game. However, game two saw both players going for the win as they threw every hit they had in their repertoire to get the advantage. In the end, Bryant won out before also taking the third game for a 3-0 (11-5 16-14 11-6) victory and securing another point for England.

Classen came out swinging in Match 3, pushing Franklyn Smith all the way in the first game. The English player was able to settle into the game more in the second, giving himself a 2-0 lead. Classen continued to give it his all on court but Smith proved to be too strong in the end, winning 3-0 (12-10 1106 11-9) to give England the overall win.

Australia will now face India on Friday 19 August at 10am (local time)/6pm (AEST) on Squash Club "Le Reve"-5. 

Day 7

The Men's Junior Team Championships have kicked off win a victory for Australia over South Korea in Nancy, France.

The combination of Oscar Curtis, Luke Eyles and Greg Chan saw Australia secure a 3-0 victory in their first match of the tournament over the 10/12 seeds. 

Curtis, from Western Australia, got proceedings underway taking on Joo Young Na. Taking game one, Na changed the pace of the game to level the score after taking the second. However, Curtis swiftly halted any momentum his South Korean counterpart had gained to win the third with a tight four game falling into the hands of the Aussie for a 3-1 win (11-5 8-11 11-5 12-10).

Giving Australia the lead, Eyles took to the court to face Seojin Oh in a five-game thriller. 

The match shifted back and forth between the two players. Having won the fourth game to level it at 2-2 and force a deciding game, the Queensland used every inch of the court to get the win over his opponent, taking a 3-2 victory (3-11 11-9 5-11 11-6 11-7).

With a 2-0 advantage, Chan had the chance to seal the win for Australia as he took on Jeong Uk Ryu.

Despite the close game, Chan cruised comfortably through the match to win 3-0 (11-6 11-8 11-7).

Australia will be back on court against Kuwait on Thursday night (AEST).  

Day 6

The singles competition at the World Junior Championships has concluded with an array of finals matches in Nancy, France.

First Australian up on court was Maggie Goodman who got proceedings underway on the final day of individual competition with a 3-0 (11-4 11-0 11-4) victory over Sara Natalia Caicedo Ortiz of Colombia before an all Australian battle over on Court 5 at Squash Club Le Reve saw Queensland's Sophie Fadaely beat Western Australia's Hannah Slyth 3-1 (5-11 11-8 11-5 11-5).

After Slyth, who is the youngest member of Australia's team at the World Championships, won game one, Fadaely turned proceedings around by taking the next three games to finish 57th.

Fellow Queenslander Kurstyn Mather continued winning ways with a tough 3-0 (12-10 11-6 11-8) victory over South Africa's Nicola Bently. It was an evenly matched game throughout, especially in game one with both players fighting for every shot.  

Erin Classen also found a win in her 45/46th place match against France's Lilou Brevard. The Mirrabrooka Squash Club player managed to ease through game one and two before Brevard changed tactics and pushed Classen all the way in the third. In the end, Classen saw out the game 3-0 (11-5 11-2 12-10) to finish 45th overall.

Meanwhile, Madison Lyon suffered a loss in the 29/30th place playoff against India's Yuvna Gupta, going down 0-3 (5-11 6-11 1-11). Despite the result, the Australian Junior Open champion was Australia's highest placed player at World Championships, finishing 30th. 

Attention now turns to the Men's World Junior Team Championship which will get underway Wednesday 17 August where Australia has been placed into Group B alongside South Korea, Kuwait and England.

Day 5

With just one day remaining in the singles competition, it was a winning day on court for the Australian women's players at the Junior World Championships.

After Dylan Classen and Luke Eyles losses on Sunday, there were no more Australian players left in the men's draw. 

Madison Lyon will play for a 29-30th place finished after her opponent Ona Blasco retired during their match. At the time the Sandgate Squash Centre player was up 2-0 (11-6 11-8).

After beating New Zealand's Maiden-Lee Coe 3-0 (11-7 11-3 11-5), Mirrabrooke Squash Club's Erin Classen will come up against France's Lilou Brevard. 

Hannah Slyth and Sophie Fadaely have set up an all-Australian clash for 57-58th place after both secured wins on Day 5. 

Slyth won in a five-game thriller over New Zealand's Anne Leakey. The Western Australian took the first two games before momentum shifted to Leakey. Coming down to the fifth and final game, it was a tight and tense tussel between the two opponents but Slyth came out on top, winning 3-2 (11-8 11-8 8-11 3-11 11-9).

Meanwhile, Sophie Fadaely won 3-0 (11-8 11-2 11-5) over South Africa's Rachel Shannon.

Fellow Carins Squash Club player Kurstyn Mather will play for a 61st place finish after beating Belgium's Jeanne Dael 3-0 (11-9 11-5 11-6).

Maggie Goodman also secured a 3-0 (11-7 11-7 11-6) against Renske Huntelaar of the Netherlands.

Day 4

It was a tough day on court for Team Australia at the World Junior Championships.

In the Men's Plate, Western Australia's Dylan Classen came agonisingly close to advancing to the semi-finals but went down to Eygptian Omar Azzam in the quarter-final. 

Azzam, who is just 16-years-old and has experience on the PSA Tour, showed his dominance in game one to take it 11-1. As Classen found his grove, he made it tough for the Egyptian to ease through the match with the Aussie athlete testing him in game two and three. 

Unfortunately, it wasn't to be as Azzam secured a Plate semi-finals spot with a 3-0 (11-1 11-6 12-10) win.

Meanwhile, in the Men's - Special Plate, Luke Eyles went down to Malaysia's Harith Danial Jefri 0-3 (11-4 11-8 13-11). 

Over on the women's side of the draw, Queensland Madison Lyon will play for a 27-28 place finish after going down to France's Lauren Baltayan 1-3 (11-3 11-0 8-11 11-1). 

Hannah Slyth beat Belgium's Jeanne Dael in the places 57-64 in a tense five-game match. Coming from behind after losing the first two games, Slyth turned the game around in the third, winning 12-10. She continued on the winning path in game four and five to secure a 3-2 (4-11 6-11 12-10 11- 11-) victory.

Sophie Fadaely also won her places 57-64 match defeating South Africa's Nicola Bently 3-0 (11-8 11-2 11-5).

Maggie Goodman produced a win against Poland's Jagoda Gora 3-0 (11-2 11-3 11-1). 

Erin Classen will play for a 45-48 place finish after France's Ella Galova won 3-1 (11-6 11-2 7-11 11-7).

Day 3

It was a mixed day of results for our young Aussie athletes competing at the WSF World Juniors in Nancy, France.

In the Consolation Round of 16, Luke Eyles defeated Ukraine's Timofey Radionov in a five-set back-and-forth battle (12-10 6-11 11-5 4-11 11-8).

Eyles will now face Harith Danial Jefri from Malaysia in the Consolation quarter-final at 11.40am local time (7.40pm AEST).

Dylan Classen was the other Aussie to secure a victory on Day 3 of competition, defeating Samuel Gerrits of the Netherlands 3:2 (11-5 4-11 11-7 5-11 11-8).

Other athletes had tough battles on their hands, and unfortunately lost to their opponents:

33th/48th place: Jhansi Bhavsar (USA) def Erin Classen 3:0 (11-9 11-3 11-2)

Arav Bhagwati (USA) def Brendan Macdonald 3:1 (11-5 10-12 11-4 11-9)

65th/80th place: Ana Munos (FRA) def Margaret Goodman 3:2 (11-5 6-11 11-13 3-11 11-7)

Seth Flisberg (RSA) def Gregory Chan 3:0 (11-6 11-7 17-15)

49th/64th place: Maya Weishar (GER) def Kurstyn Mather 3:0 (11-7 11-4 11-8)

49th/64th place Maria Clara Ramirez Velasquez (COL) def Hannah Slyth 3:1 (11-8 7-11 11-9 11-7)

17th/32nd place Ocean Ma (CAN) def Madison Lyon 3:1 (11-5 11-4 11-9)

49th/64th place Naomi Nohar (NED) def Sophie Fadaely 3:1 (11-9 9-11 11-9 11-3)

Day 2

The remaining two Australian single players both put in a huge effort overnight in Round 3 of the Squash World Junior Championships in Nancy, France, but fell short of advancing to the round of 16.

After a bye in round 1 and a dominant straight set victory in round 2, reigning Australian Junior Open U19 Girls champion Madison Lyon faced 5/8 seed Malak Khafagy from Egypt overnight.

While the opening two sets were a close contest of back-and-forth points, Khafagy ran away with the final set to claim the win 3-0 (12-10, 11-8 11-3).

In the men's competition, Oscar Curtis faced Ireland's Denis Gilevskiy in the Round of 32.

Curtis came into the match off the back of two straight set victories in the opening rounds of competition on Friday.

However Ireland's 9/16 seed proved dominant on the court, and took the victory 3-0 (11-3 11-6 11-4) to advance to the Round of 16.

In the Plate matches, all five Aussie men notched wins on the board, as did Maggie Goodman and Erin Classen in the women's event.

Plate Match Results

Brendan Macdonald (AUS) def Raphael Margon (FRA) 3:0 (11-7 11-6 11-7)

Dylan Classen (AUS) def Daniel Lynch (IRL) 3:0 (11-9 11-7 11-6)

Andre Lynn (AUS) def Kian Englund Jonsson (NOR)3:0 (11-4 11-8 12-10)

Greg Chan (AUS) def Abdul Rahman Mohamad Al Maghrabi (KWT) 3:0 (11-8 11-6 11-9)

Luke Eyles (AUS) def Juan Irisarri (COL) 3:2 (11-6 7-11 11-7 8-11 11-6)

Maggie Goodman (AUS) def Maria Camila Sabogal (COL) 3:0 (11-7 11-2 11-3)

Erin Classen (AUS) def Rachael Shannon (RSA) 3:0 (11-7 11-3 11-6)

Kurstyn Mather (AUS) def by Shameena Riaz (IND) 1:3 (4-11 11-7 9-11 7-11)

Hannah Slyth (AUS) def by Lilou Brevard (FRA) 1:3 (11-5 2-11 7-11 5-11)

Sophie Fadaely (AUS) def by Marie Van Riet (GER) 1:3 (13-11 5-11 6-11 5-11)

Day 1

It was a mixed day on court in Nancy as competition got underway in the women’s and men’s singles draw at the World Junior Championships. 

After a tough day of competition, two Australians have secured a spot in Round 3.

Women’s World Junior Championships

Madison Lyon will be the sole Australian woman in Round 3 of the Women’s event after a day 1 victory.

Coming off a bye in Round 1, the reigning Australian Junior Open U19 Girls champion came up against South Africa’s Ashton Weir. Lyon didn’t waste time trying to find a win, securing her spot in Round 3 with a dominant 3-0 (11-7 11-6 11-0) performance. 

The Sandgate Squash Club player will now face 5/8 seed Malak Khafagy of Egypt on Friday 12 August at 5:20pm (local time)/ 1:20am (AEST on Saturday).

Maggie Goodman lost to Canada’s Maria Min in a tough match going down 1-3 (11-7 10-12 11-13 10-12) in Round 1. Goodman, who hails from Willoughby Squash Club in NSW, won game one before a close three games saw Min down the Aussie.

Kurstyn Mather overcame Romania’s Andreea Ghiorghisor 3-1 (9-11, 11-1, 11-7, 11-7) despite losing the opening game. The North Queensland athlete came back with a vengeance in game two with a dominant performance and saw the momentum continue as she advanced to the next round.

With Round 2 being played later on in the day, Mather faced Noa Romero Blazquez of Spain. The Spanish athlete proved to be too strong, defeating the Aussie 3-1 (11-3 6-11 11-4 11-5).

The youngest member of Australia’s World Junior Championships team, Hannah Slyth, went straight into Round 2 where she faced Hong Kong’s Tse Yee Lam Toby. It proved to be a close match despite the scoreline with Toby winning out in the end 3-0 (12-10 11-9 11-6).

Cairns Squash Club’s Sophie Fadaely started off her World Junior Championships debut with a win over Italy’s Flavia Miceli 3-0. Coming up against England’s Emma Bartley in Round 2, the match went down to the wire. 

Fadaely took the opening game before Bartley took the second and third. Game three proved to be a close-fought and tense match, which could’ve gone either way. While the Queenslander was down 2-1, she fought back to level the match 2-2 in the fourth and send the match to a decider. 

The English player showed her dominance in the fifth set, sealing the win 3-2 (9-11 11-4 12-10 7-11 11-3).

Meanwhile, Western Australia’s Erin Classen had a tough draw on her hands. She defeated Greece’s Ioanna Zoi 3-0 (11-1 11-3 11-2) in the opening round, before she came face-to-face with No.2 seed Amina Orifi of Eygpt. 

15-year-old Orifi, who has a British Open Junior title to her name, showed her prowess, winning 3-0 (11-3 11-0 11-0). 

Men’s World Junior Championships

Oscar Curtis is through to Round 3 after easing past USA’s Rehan Luthra 3-0 (11-7 11-7 11-4) and South Africa’s Luke James Jacoby 3-0 (11-6 11-3 11-4) on Day 1 of competition.

He will now face 9/16 seed Denis Gilevskiy of Ireland on Friday 12 August at 4pm (local time)/12am (AEST on Saturday).

In other parts of the draw, in the first match on the glass court, and against a host nation player, Daisy Hill Squash Club’s Brendan Macdonald fought hard in his 0-3 (5-11 10-12 3-11) loss to France’s Melvil Scianimanico.

Fellow Queenslander Luke Eyles won through to Round 2 after beating Ali Alnejadah of Kuwait 3-0 (11-2 11-5 11-3). He then had a close battle against Canada’s Karim Michael. 

Despite the Canadian taking game one and two, Eyles made a comeback in the third to bring it to 2-1. It was a tight game four as they both levelled the match at 10-10, sending it to a tiebreak. Unfortunately, it was Michael who reached the two-point buffer first, winning the game 3-1 (11-7 11-5 4-11 12-10).

Andre Lynn suffered a loss in the opening round to India’s Shaurya Bawa 0-3 (7-11 4-11 7-11). 

Greg Chan was also ousted in Round 1 with Canada’s Jacob Lin taking the match 3-1 (11-6 11-6 6-11 11-8) while fellow Western Australian Dylan Classen went down 0-3 (10-12 11-13 5-11) in a close match against USA’s Avi Agarwal.