England and Hong Kong’s rising stars come together

Young talent from England and Hong Kong came together and played a test series of friendlies as part of a Youth Sports Exchange programme in preparation for the 2023 British Junior Open.

Hong Kong’s biggest rising stars in the U13 and U15s categories met at Sutton Coldfield Squash Club earlier this month to take part in a morning training session followed by test matches.

Level 3 coaches Mike Harris and Michelle Williams led coaching sessions with the focus centred around defence/use of height and playing/dealing with pressure.

Harris said:

“It was great to see the English and Hong Kong kids mixing in together so comfortably from the off. They all got stuck into the lob and defence themed section of the morning training well and applied it to their match play in the afternoon. It was a great atmosphere throughout the day.”

Players took part in the much loved ‘king of the court’ game which allowed them to move up and down courts and work with different opponents.

And to build up an appetite before lunch, they played a one-point pressure game which ended the morning session on a high.

Following lunch, the teams exchanged gifts of towels, pins and chocolate.

England Squash referees joined to help better prepare the players for their British Junior Open matches which would take place at the University of Birmingham Sport just a couple of days later.

After ten fiercely contested matches, England emerged victorious overall with six wins to Hong Kong’s four.

The two closest matches of the day were Ali Khalil (ENG) vs Chun Yin Cheuk (HK) and Ameerah Ismail (ENG) vs Lok Yin Tang (HK) where Khalil and Ismail both emerged 3-2 victors in a thrilling five-game battle.

Williams said: “Throughout the day there was a definite buzz around the club with both teams recognising what a great opportunity this was before the British Junior Open started.

“Everyone embraced the ‘playing under pressure theme’ with a few fun conditioned games, which were played in the right spirit.”

She added: “Finishing with the test matches in the afternoon was a fantastic way to end such a top-class day!”

You can find the full list of results below:

Nadiya Ismail (ENG) vs Ka Min Li (HK) 0-3, 3/11 5/11 4/11?

Esther Chak (ENG) vs Ka Ki Tang (HK) 0-3, 7/11 9/11 9/11

Phoebe Griffiths (ENG) vs Ka Yau Chung (HK) 3-1, 11/9 11/7 9/11 11/8?

Ameerah Ismail (ENG) vs Lok Yin Tang (HK) 3-2, 7/11 11/5 11/5 11/13 11/8

Fearne Copley (ENG) vs Venus Hau (HK) 3-1, 11/4 8/11 11/7 11/8

Jaanshere Khan (ENG) vs Ho Sum Li (HK) 3-0, 11/4 12/10 11/9?

Matthew Hong Ki Leung (ENG) vs Tsz Long Yuen (HK) 3-0, 11/7 11/2 11/3

Will Burton (ENG) vs Karson Yueng (HK) 0-3, 5/11 4/11 6/11

Ali Khalil (ENG) vs Chun Yin Cheuk (HK) 3-2, 7/11 11/6 12/14 11/6 11/7