Stars of squash - Sports - Al-Ahram Weekly

Al-Ahram Weekly

4 days ago

Champions Orfi and Zakaria secured their titles over their fellow countrymen and women Nadien Al-Hammami and Marwan Asal in the finals of the World Squash Junior Championship held at the Black Ball Sporting Club in Cairo.
As reported by World Squash Federation, both champions have dominated the junior squash circuit in recent years. Orfi's win made her the first player in history to win the junior world championship four times. Zakaria comfortably followed up his win last year in Houston when he became the youngest ever male champion at age 16.
Already up to world No 5, Orfi has looked like a generational talent ever since capturing the title for the first time aged just 15 in 2022. Her win the year before in Houston drew her level with national icon Nour Al-Sherbini – who was in the crowd watching the final alongside several other legends of Egyptian squash. For Orfi, the final represented an opportunity for her to claim the title.
Looking determined and collected, Orfi clinched the first game 11-7, doubling her lead with a dominant 11-5 win. It was hard for Al-Hammami to find a way past Orfi's defence, and the top seed sealed her historic fourth title with another 11-5 victory.
Celebrating her win and title record, Orfi told World Squash journalists how happy and proud she was of her achievement. 'I can't believe it. I've been dreaming about this moment since I was 10 years old. I knew Nour Al-Sherbini was the only player to have won it three times before and watching her here in the crowd was special.
'I'm over the moon and it's very special for me because it's my home crowd and everyone that I've been playing in front of since I was a very young junior,' she added.
As World Squash reported, the men's final saw Zakaria proving he was a level above his competition as he delivered a completely one-sided 3-0 win over compatriot and 3/4 seed Asal who had shown promising signs in the first game, but could do little to beat the defences of world No 14 Zakaria, with the reigning champion retrieving excellently and punishing any loose shots to take game one 11-5. Unfortunately, the 17-year-old made several mistakes as Zakaria doubled his lead 11-3.
Game three was more of the same, with Zakaria patient despite rallies often breaking down as the number of collisions increased. The top seed kept his cool, though, calmly going about his business and bringing the contest to a swift end with an 11-4 victory to extend his record in the World Juniors to 13 wins without a game dropped since the final of the 2023 championship.
Following his win, Zakaria told the media 'it feels amazing. To do it in front of my parents and all of these legends in the front row makes it much more memorable. I think I played very well like I would have wanted. I'm very happy with my performances throughout the week and I'm thankful for my team for sticking with me, my parents and truly this amazing crowd. It's been an amazing week.'
The World Squash Junior Championships brought together the world's best squash talents aged under 19, with the men's and women's individual championships taking place from 21-26 July, followed by the men's and women's team championships from 27 July to 1 August.
At the closing ceremony, World Squash President Zena Wooldridge commented on how the tournament saw a huge attendance and fantastic atmosphere. 'I don't think there's another nation in the world that could support a World Junior Championship like what you have here. It shows how passionate Egypt is about squash and the number of legends you've had on court today just confirms that.
'This [Black Ball Sporting Club] is an amazing venue. I came here in 2022 and had my first tour around this venue and immediately thought this is an amazing venue for a World Championships.'
* A version of this article appears in print in the 6 August, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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