Thomas & Tina take titles at 2024 AJO

Tina Ma won an all-Aussie final and Thomas Scott claimed the biggest result of his career as the 2024 Australian Junior Open came to a close on Thursday afternoon at Melbourne Sports Centres.

In a tournament which featured over 800 matches, 30 medallists and 10 champions were crowned on the final day of competition.

UNDER 19
Thomas Scott (NSW) bounced back strongly from an epic five-game semi-final to defeat Wong Lee Hong (Malaysia) 3-0 in the Boys Under 19 final.

Both players went the distance in their semi-final, but Scott seemed to have more energy from the outside and was comfortable running his opponent around the court, confident he had the legs to last the match.

“I didn’t feel to hot in the morning, I felt pretty terrible but I thought ‘he’s probably feeling the same’,” said Scott. “I had a chat with my mate’s dad who’s a physio here and he said I’m good to go; I got the green light so I just tried to go out as hard as I could.”

Learning lessons from the back end of his semi-final takedown of the second seed, Scott was determined to make his opponent work for every point, a tactic which produced a historic result.

“I tried to get into the same mindset as when I was down 2-0: every single one [point], make it long - make it hard for him to win,” he said.

“It’s definitely the biggest [result of my career]. I’ve won titles before, but never in the Under 19s and with this big of a crowd. Especially playing as an Aussie playing against a non-Aussie, it’s great to have the feeling of pretty much the whole crowd behind you.”

After the match, Scott paid tribute to Rohan Toole his coach at Thornleigh Squash Centre in northern Sydney along with National Pathways Coach Jenny Duncalf who helped guide him through the tournament.

In the Girls Under 19 final, New Zealand’s Ella Lash turned around a two-game deficit to lift the Sarah Fitz-Gerald Trophy.
Queensland’s Madison Lyon was aiming for a third straight Under 19s title but couldn’t close out the match in the third game, with

Lash building in confidence as the match wore on to score the upset result.

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Pakistan’s Mehwish Ali claimed the Girls Under 17 gold medal after defeating Xin Yii Lee in one of the best matches on the glass court today.

The Malaysian won the opening game before the second seed came back to be on the brink of victory up 2-1. When Lee forced a fifth game the match was anyone’s, however Ali was able to win the points which counted to claim the title.

Pakistan claimed both Under 17 titles with 3/4 seed Ibrahim Zeb beating top seed Brodie Bennett (NZL) in three games to win the gold medal. Zeb raced to win the first game 11-3, and while Bennett threw himself around the court - literally - in the next to games, he simply couldn’t get close enough to turn the tide.

UNDER 15
In the only all-Australian final of the day, Victoria’s Tina Ma proved too strong for Queensland’s Lilly Wilson to take the Australian Junior Open crown.

In a first game full of momentum swings, Ma won six straight points to open up an 8-4 lead, before Wilson won four of the next five to close the gap to one. The local was able to take control of the next couple of minutes which was all she needed to take the early advantage.

From there, Ma was able to limit her errors and played a largely risk-free match, confidently taking the next two games and the title.

“I played pretty well in the match,” said Ma. “It’s been my best performance over the three days.

“I beat a Kiwi in the semi-finals but it’s good that two Australians made the final.”

Today’s final was a rematch of the 2023 Oceania Junior Championships final in New Zealand, and both Ma and Wilson will be hoping to again meet in the final of the 2024 OJC which starts on Friday.

The Boys Under 15 final saw a showdown between Henry Kross from NSW’s central west up against Pakistan’s Yahya Khan.

The opening game was a battle of will and tactics, with Khan eventually edging Kross out 12-10.

From that point the Pakistani built in confidence, pulling away to win in three games.

UNDER 13
Japan’s Emily Senior’s title defence hit a brick wall today in the form of Pakistan’s second seed Mahnoor Ali.

Having dropped just 16 points in her opening three matches of the, Ali conceded only 13 in the final to play her way to gold.

Pakistan made it a clean sweep of the Under 13s with Huzaifa Shaid taking just 13 minutes to account for Malaysia’s Ong Hung Yu in three games.

UNDER 11
In the opening final of the day, India claimed the first gold of the 2024 AJO with Aradhana Singh defeating Malaysia’s Sashana Istritharan in three games. In completed a near faultless tournament for Singh who never dropped a game on her way to the title.

In an entertaining Boys Under 11 final, Malaysia’s Edward Lam won an entertaining match against Victoria’s Aleister Loo 3-1.

The AJO now makes way for the Oceania Junior Championships which start on Friday morning at Melbourne Sports Centres.

Click here for all 2024 AJO results.

2024 AUSTRALIAN JUNIOR OPEN
DAY 4 | THURSDAY 11 APRIL 2024

Girls Finals
U19 [2] Ella Lash (NZL) d [1] Madison Lyon (QLD) 3-2 (6-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-4)
U17 [2] Mehwish Ali (PAK)  d [5/8] Xin Yii Lee (MAS) 3-2 (10-12, 11-6, 11-9, 9-11, 11-6)
U15 [1] Tina Ma (VIC) v [2] Lilly Wilson (QLD) 3-0 (11-8, 11-6, 11-3)
U13 [1] Emily Senior (JPN) v [2] Mahnoor Ali (PAK) 3-0 (11-4, 11-4, 11-4)
U11 [1] Aradhana Singh (IND) v [2] Sashana Istritharan (MAS) 3-0 (11-4, 11-5, 11-2)

Boys Finals
U19 [3/4] Thomas Scott (NSW) [5/8] Wong Lee Hong (MAS) 3-0 (11-6, 11-8, 11-5)
U17 [3/4] Ibrahim Zeb (PAK) d [1] Brodie Bennett 3-0 (11-3, 11-7, 11-6)
U15 [17/32] Yahya Khan (PAK) d [1] Henry Kross (AUS) 3-0 (12-10, 11-7, 11-3)
U13 [1] Huzaifa Shaid (PAK) v [2] Ong Hung Yu (MAS) 3-0 (11-6, 11-3, 11-2)
U11 [3/4] Edward Lam (MAS) v [3/4] Aleister Loo (VIC) 3-1 (11-9, 7-11, 11-5, 11-5)