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Finals:
G13: Nour El Sherbeny (Egy) bt Nour
Ibrahim (Egy)
9/4, 9/1, 9/2 (20m)
G15: Nour El Tayeb (Egy) bt Menat
Aller Nasser (Egy)
10/8, 9/0, 9/3 (31m)
B13: Osama Khalid Khalifa (Egy) bt
Shehab Essam (Egy)
9/5, 9/0, 9/7 (27m)
B15: Karim Ali Fathi (Egy) bt Nasir
Iqbal (Pak)
9/2, 9/6, 9/1 (30m)
G17: Dipika Pallikal (Ind) bt Heba El
Torky (Egy)
9/6, 5/9, 9/6, 1/9,
9/5 (48m)
B17: Karim Abdel Gawad (Egy) bt Amr
Khalid Khalifa (Egy)
10/8, 9/7, 9/7
(54m)
G19: Camille Serme (Fra) bt Annie Au
(Hkg)
7/9, 2/9, 9/3, 9/3,
9/7 (69m)
B19: Mohamed El Shorbagy (Egy) bt
Gregoire Marche (Fra)
9/6, 9/7, 9/1 (50m)
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Another Six
for Egypt ...
It was another great day for the Egyptians in Sheffield as they took
home six of the eight titles - just as they did last year.
Mohamed El Shorbagy collected his third title, Nour El Tayeb,
Nour El Sherbeny, and Karim Ali Fathi doubled their
tallies, wit a first title for Osama Khalid Khalifa.
France and India bagged a title each as Camille Serme and
Dipika Pallikal took the Girls U19 and U17 crowns.
The Presentations |
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B19:
Mohamed El Shorbagy (Egy) bt Gregoire Marche (Fra)
9/6, 9/7, 9/1 (50m)
Three in a row for Shorbagy
Having won the U15 and U17 titles in the last two years, Mohamed El
Shorbagy was favourite to make it a hat-trick this year, and despite
the best efforts of France's surprise finalist Gregoire Marche, he
duly fulfilled those expectations.
The Frenchman led 6/4 in the first but was never ahead again, but
threatened in the second when he pulled back from 7/2 to 8/7. The
Egyptian put a crosscourt wide of his opponent to double his lead, and
in the third treated the crowd to the full range of his explosive
shot-making.
Three titles already, and he's not seventeen until next week - not
many would bet against another two miniature Drysdale cups making
their way to the Shorbagy household ...
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G19:
Camille Serme (Fra) bt Annie Au (Hkg)
7/9, 2/9, 9/3, 9/3,
9/7 (69m)
Comeback Queen Camille
At two games to love and 0/3 down it looked for all the world as
though Camille Serme was heading for her second successive U19 final
defeat with Annie Au was firmly in command.
Camille seemed reluctant to play the ball short, which is Annie's
strength, and while Annie was content to play that game for the most
part, her long drops and deceptive boasts were racking up the points,
and when it did go short it was usually the Hong Kong girl that came
off best.
 But
at 3/0 in the third it all changed around. Suddenly Camille started
forcing the pace, looking comfortable in her game at last, and Annie
was struggling to keep her game going, those drops all too high now.
Camille took the next 13 points, pulling a game back and gong 4/0 up
in the fourth. It was enough, and it was soon two games all.
The European champion carried her momentum into the fifth to go 5/0 up
this time. The Asian champion wasn't finished as she clawed her way
back into the game, but Camille reached 8/3 match ball with some
determined play.
She almost threw it away, with some careless tins as Annie pulled back
to 7/8, but on the fourth match ball Camille's innocuous-looking drive
rolled out of the side wall nick and the comeback was complete ...
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G17:
Dipika Pallikal (Ind) bt Heba El Torky (Egy)
9/6, 5/9, 9/6, 1/9,
9/5 (48m)
Fifth time lucky for Dipika
"I've been coming for five years and never got past the
quarter-finals, so to win the title is just unbelievable," said the
new champion after a dramatic Girls U17 final. The fact that she beat
an Egyptian bidding for her fifth successive title made it even
better.
 It
wasn't a flowing game, with two players equally intent on attack
trading points in short, sharp rallies, but my, it was dramatic, with
both players pumping themselves up and the packed crowd getting
heavily involved.
They traded the first four games - whoever got the first few points
wen thent on to take the game - and it was the Indian's turn to streak
ahead in the decider. 5/0 became 8/5 ... one match ball was saved by
Heba ... Dipika tinned an easy winner on the second ... but it was
third time lucky for Dipika as she delightedly claimed the title ...
"I knew my seeding
wouldn't be very good (5/8), but if you want to win you have to beat
everybody anyway, so that didn't matter.
"I was so nervous going onto court, and I couldn't believe it when I
was 2/1 up. I just tried to finish the match in the fourth, I was
thinking about how I'd collect the trophy rather than the match.
"In the fifth I started to hit the ball deep again, like I had done in
the first. I was confident I would win by then, I just knew it was my
day ..."
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B17:
Karim Abdel Gawad (Egy) bt Amr Khalid Khalifa (Egy)
10/8, 9/7, 9/7
(54m)
First one for Gawad
Karim Abdel Gawad claimed Egypt's fifth title of the day, but his
first, getting the better of three close games against compatriot Am
Khalid Khalifa.
Gawad recovered from 2/5 down in the first to take the lead, held sway
throughout the second, and led 7/4 in the third, looking good for the
title.
Khalifa fought back to level at 7-all, but it was a delighted Gawad
who took the last two points and the title ...
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Another two for Egypt
B13: Osama Khalid
Khalifa (Egy) bt Shehab Essam (Egy)
9/5, 9/0, 9/7 (27m)
B15: Karim Ali Fathi (Egy) bt Nasir
Iqbal (Pak)
9/2, 9/6, 9/1 (30m)
The second batch of finals made it
Egypt 4 Rest of the World 0, as Osama Khalid Khalifa claimed the U13
title - he'll be hoping his big brother can make it a double in the
U17 final - and Karim Ali Fathi proved too strong for Nasir Iqbal.
Iqbal succeeded Fathi as U13 champion last year, and the Egyptian had
a distinct physical advantage over the much smaller Pakistani - not
that that stops Iqbal from hitting the ball extremely hard.
Fathi was generally in charge of the rallies, and too many errors from
Iqbal in the first didn't help his cause. The Pakistani fared better
in the second, recovering from 8/1 down, but couldn't fully close the
gap, and a quick 5/0 start for the Egyptian in the third all but
sealed the title.
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Nour
double for Egypt
G13: Nour El
Sherbeny (Egy) bt Nour Ibrahim (Egy)
9/4, 9/1, 9/2 (20m)
G15: Nour El Tayeb (Egy) bt Menat
Aller Nasser (Egy)
10/8, 9/0, 9/3 (31m)
Finals day started with two
all-Egyptian finals and two repeat titles for Nours ...
Nour El Sherbeny swept to victory to retain her U13 title,
while Nour El Tayeb added the U15 crown to the U13 title she
won in 2004.
El Tayeb fought back from 8/5 down in the first, literally diving all
over the court as she pulled it back to take the game 10/8.
She took a quick start in the second, and when Nasser tinned an easy
winner to go 4/0 down she seemed to lose heart. A few tins, a few
uncontested winners and El Tayeb was 2/0 up.
The third was better contested, but the result was never in doubt as
Nour claimed her second BJO title.
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Ibrahim and El Sherbeny
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Nour El Tayeb and fan club ... |
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Boys U15 3rd/4th: Murray bt Ashoush 9/7, 10/8, 10/8 |
A
bit of History
Nine of today's finalists are already British Junior Open champions
from previous years ...
B19: El Shorbagy won the U17 in 2007 and the U15 in 2006.
G19: Serme was U17 champion in 2006, Au won the U15 in
2004.
B17: Khalifa was U15 champion in 2007.
G17: El Torky is defending her title, and also won the U15 in
2006 and 2005, and the U13 in 2004.
B15: Iqbal won the U13 title in 2007 Fathi won it in in
2006.
G15: El Tayeb won the U13 title in 2004.
G13: El Sherbeny is defending her title.
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Girls U15 3rd/4th - Blatchford bt Rushdi 3/1 |
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Girls U13 13th/14th - Beecroft bt Lake 3/2 |
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