Al-Imran: Ninth Youth World Cup marks a global leap for squash

The Secretary-General of the Squash Federation, Hamed Al-Omran, emphasized the significance of the national youth squash team’s achievement of finishing ninth at the World Junior Squash Championships, which recently concluded in Canada and featured 24 participating teams.

In an interview with the “Sports Studio” program, he added that the “Blue Squash” team secured victories in four matches against the national teams of Canada, Switzerland, Australia, and China, while suffering defeats to Malaysia and India. The players who represented the national team at the tournament were Khaled Al-Fawzan, Abdullah Hani, Abdulrahman Al-Sana, and Abdulrahman Al-Kandari.

Al-Omran stated that the national team achieved a major leap, having finished 15th in the previous edition, which involved 16 teams, whereas in the latest championship, they secured ninth place globally among 24 teams comprising strong international players. This notable development reflects the success of plans aimed at building a promising generation capable of competing internationally.

He clarified that achieving these positive results against strong teams such as Canada, Switzerland, and Australia was the fruit of an intensive domestic training camp, followed by a successful 10-day external camp in Cairo, where the players faced off against distinguished and ranked Egyptian players. This contributed to enhancing their technical and physical readiness under the leadership of Head Coach Sherine Adel and Captain Ahmed El-Sayed, the fitness coach.

Al-Omran noted that the players did not participate in external tournaments last season, and the appropriate preparatory program that had been prepared for them was not implemented, in addition to the events that occurred in the region. He added that, had it not been for those circumstances, the national team would have been among the top four in the championship, emphasizing that there are outstanding players with a promising future ahead of them.

He extended his gratitude to the Public Authority for Youth and Sports, the Board of Directors of the Federation chaired by Waleed Al-Sumait, for their support, as well as to Assistant Secretary-General Hamad Al-Dughaim, who served as the head of the tournament delegation. Al-Dughaim was described as a beacon of activity, closely monitoring every detail, and playing a key role in boosting the players’ morale. Al-Omran also praised the role of the technical staff, led by Head Coach Sherine Adel, and the players’ commitment.