(updated 28-jun-10 14:53 )

USA & India Celebrate Historic World Championship Success

Hidden behind the fulfilled predictions that the top eight seeds are through to the quarter-finals of the Women's World Junior Squash Championship in Germany lies the fact that USA and India are both celebrating the appearance of two players in the last eight of a world championship for the first time.

And all four players marked their historic success with relative ease in the second round of the World Squash Federation event at the ACR Sportcenter in Cologne.

India's Dipika Pallikal and Anaka Alankamony, both from Chennai, made their breakthroughs after straight games wins.  Second seed Pallikal, the only player to be marking her fourth appearance in the championship, beat Salma Hany 12-10, 11-8, 11-2 in 34 minutes - thereby avenging her five-game loss to the 17-year-old Egyptian in January's British Junior Open.

Anaka Alankamony, the 15-year-old eighth seed, needed only 21 minutes to overcome 18-year-old Colombian Catalina Pelaez 11-8, 11-8, 11-7.

New Yorkers Amanda Sobhy and Olivia Blatchford displayed the same prowess which has seen the US pair make their mark on the WISPA World Tour. 

Sobhy, who last month became the first 16-year-old in history to win three Tour titles, fought off the challenge of promising Egyptian Yathreb Adel, beating the 14-year-old from Cairo 11-7, 11-6, 5-11, 11-7.

Olivia Blatchford, 17, dismissed French opponent Melissa Alves 11-9, 11-9, 11-6 in 27 minutes – and will now take on last year's runner-up Nour El Tayeb, one of four Egyptians in the last eight.

Event favourite Nour El Sherbini claimed one of the quickest victories of the day by beating France's Julia Lecoq 11-5, 11-6, 13-11 in 21 minutes.

The 14-year-old defending champion from Alexandria now faces fellow countrywoman Nouran El Torky, the No7 seed who survived the toughest second round battle in overcoming Australian Tamika Saxby 7-11, 17-15, 7-11, 11-5, 11-3 in 49 minutes.

RESULTS:  Women's World Junior Squash Championship, Cologne, Germany

2nd round:
[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) bt [9/16] Julia Lecoq (FRA) 11-5, 11-6, 13-11 (21m)
[7] Nouran El Torky (EGY) bt [9/16] Tamika Saxby (AUS) 7-11, 17-15, 7-11, 11-5, 11-3 (49m)
[8] Anaka Alankamony (IND) bt [9/16] Catalina Pelaez (COL) 11-8, 11-8, 11-7 (21m)
[3] Amanda Sobhy (USA) bt [9/16] Yathreb Adel (EGY) 11-7, 11-6, 5-11, 11-7 (35m)
[4] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) bt [9/16] Farah Abdel Meguid (EGY) 11-7, 11-9, 5-11, 11-8 (37m)
[6] Olivia Blatchford (USA) bt [9/16] Melissa Alves (FRA) 11-9, 11-9, 11-6 (27m)
[5] Kanzy Emad El-Defrawy (EGY) bt [9/16] Cyrielle Peltier (FRA) 11-3, 11-7, 11-8 (26m)
[2] Dipika Pallikal (IND) bt [9/16] Salma Hany (EGY) 12-10, 11-8, 11-2 (34m)

 

Quarter-final line-up:
[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) v [7] Nouran El Torky (EGY)
[3] Amanda Sobhy (USA) v [8] Anaka Alankamony (IND)
[4] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) v [6] Olivia Blatchford (USA)
[2] Dipika Pallikal (IND) v [5] Kanzy Emad El-Defrawy (EGY)