Squash Australia is proud to announce their 12-player squad for the 2022 WSF World Junior Squash Championships in Nancy, France on 11-21 August.
This year marks the return of the blue ribbon junior international squash event after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of both the 2020 and 2021 editions set to be held in Australia and Egypt, respectively.
National Pathways Coach Jenny Duncalf said she was looking forward to the fantastic opportunity for the young players.
“All of the players selected have displayed the performance and commitment level to earn their spot in the Australian team for the much-anticipated upcoming World Junior Championships,” Duncalf said.
“With the event having not been held since 2019, it is a huge opportunity for them to proudly pull on the Australian shirt on the international stage for the first time in a long while and will be eager as ever to perform and gain exposure against the world’s best,” she added.
Nine of the 12-player strong squad will be experiencing their first Junior World Championships with Greg Chan, Erin Classen and Kurstyn Mather having previously represented Australia at the 2019 event in Kuala Lumpur.
They will be joined by reigning Australian Junior National Champions Oscar Curtis (U19 Boys), Madison Lyon (U19 Girls), Maggie Goodman (U17 Girls) and Maja Maziuk (U15 Girls), as well as Western Australian State Boy’s Champion Dylan Classen, Queenslanders Brendan MacDonald and Sophie Fadaely, and Victorian Andre Lynn.
Dylan Classen says his selection has been validating for all the training and effort he’s put in.
“I'm extremely happy to be selected for the Worlds team as this was something I was training for and just to receive confirmation of being selected was fulfilling,” Classen said.
“I'm hoping to learn many things from this experience, but the thing I'm hoping to learn the most is where my level of squash needs to be in order to become top in the world.”
Fadaely, who has been playing on the PSA Satellite and Challenger tour, says making the World Junior Championships team had been a goal four years in the making.
“This was a goal my coach and I set for me four years ago, so it is a great feeling to be rewarded for all the hard work we have put in over the past few years,” the 18-year-old said.
“I'm looking forward to getting the chance to play against all the other top athletes from each country, and get to play alongside a great Australian junior team.
“I’m hoping to learn from the other players at world juniors and see which areas I can improve on going forward. It's such a cool opportunity to get to see such a variety of players and game styles that you can learn from.”
Australian players have previously won five individual World Junior titles with the likes of Peter Nance, Chris Robertson, Sarah Fitz-Gerald, Rachael Grinham and Robyn Friday coming away with the top prize, while there have also been seven team victories.
The World Junior Championships is held annually with the 2022 edition featuring a junior men’s and women’s individual event as well as the men’s junior team championships which is held in alternate years.
Australia’s 2022 World Junior Championship squad
Boys Team (to compete in the Men’s Junior Individual and Team Event)
Greg Chan (Western Australia)
Dylan Classen (Western Australia)
Oscar Curtis (Western Australia)
Luke Eyles (Queensland)
Boys Team (to compete in the Men’s Junior Individual Event)
Brendan MacDonald (Queensland)
Andre Lynn (Victoria)
Girls (to compete in the Women’s Junior Individual Event)
Erin Classen (Western Australia)
Sophie Fadaely (Queensland)
Maggie Goodman (New South Wales)
Madison Lyon (Queensland)
Kurstyn Mather (Queensland)
Maja Maziuk (New South Wales)