History was rewritten for France\u2019s men\u2019s team as they reached the semi-finals of the World Squash Junior Team Championships for the first time in 26 years during another thrilling day of action in Niagara-on-the-Lake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The World Squash Junior Championships bring together the world\u2019s best under-19 squash players, with the men\u2019s and women\u2019s individual championships having taken place from July 20\u201325 and the men\u2019s and women\u2019s team championships being contested from July 26\u201331.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the knockout stages using a 1-2-3 string order, teams battled for a place in the World Squash Junior Team Championships semi-finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among the day\u2019s action at White Oaks Resort & Spa, France stole the headlines by beating No.6 seeds Malaysia 2-0 to secure their first World Squash Junior Team Championships semi-final appearance since 2000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With history on the line, the No.4 seeds made the perfect start through No.1 string Amir Khaled-Jousselin, who produced an outstanding performance to defeat Nickhileswar Moganasundharam 11-6, 11-9, 11-3 in a high-quality contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Holding a 1-0 advantage, France were just one victory away from a historic place in the final four. Th\u00e9o Baudry put France within touching distance of the semi-finals after taking a 2-1 lead against Altamis A. Sufian, but the Malaysian refused to go down without a fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The fourth game developed into a tense, end-to-end battle, with neither player willing to surrender an inch of court. Despite Sufian\u2019s resistance, Baudry held his nerve in the closing stages to seal an 11-6, 6-11, 11-6, 11-9 victory, to a wave of celebrations from the French team as they booked a long-awaited place in the semi-finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe boys are too young to remember the previous semi-final, but they knew they could make history today, and they did it,\u201d said France coach Renen Lavigne after the historic victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe knew that Amir [Khaled-Jousselin] would be able to put us in the lead, and we know that Th\u00e9o [Baudry] is mentally very strong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd knowing that Th\u00e9o had already played his opponent in the individual consolation rounds, so we studied that match and his opponent and it paid off today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lavigne continued: \u201cIt is a great feeling for the whole team. It feels amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having secured their place in the semi-finals, France will now face defending champions Egypt, who progressed with an entertaining 2-0 victory over Pakistan on the glass court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, in the women\u2019s draw, the No.3 seeds USA came from behind to defeat India and reach the semi-finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
India made the stronger start, with No.1 string and reigning World Junior Champion Anahat Singh defeating Diya Yadav in straight games. However, they were unable to build on the early advantage as Charlotte Sze levelled the tie by overcoming Rudra Singh 11-6, 11-4, 11-8 to force a deciding match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With momentum firmly on the USA\u2019s side, No.3 string Lily Bourell sealed her team\u2019s place in the final four with a straight-games victory over Anika Dubey. The USA women\u2019s team will now face defending champions Egypt, who advanced to the semi-finals with an impressive 3-0 victory over Australia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joining them in tomorrow\u2019s action will be the USA men\u2019s team, who also progressed to the semi-finals after defeating No.8 seeds Japan, who were making their first quarter-final appearance in 14 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yaseen Shalaby and Lars Gertsen put the USA in complete control with straight-games victories over Shunsaku Kariyazoo and Ren Makino respectively, before Brendan Tagliarini completed the clean sweep with a 2-0 victory over Shu Takahashi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After sealing a 3-0 victory, the USA will face No.5 seeds India, who booked their place in a second consecutive semi-final with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over No.3 seeds England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elsewhere, No.2 seeds Hong Kong, China continued their pursuit of the women\u2019s World Squash Junior Team Championships title with a convincing victory over hosts Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Helen Tang gave Hong Kong, China the perfect start with a straight-games victory over Wing Kai Gladys Ho before Ena Kwong secured the tie by defeating Veera Dhaliwal 3-0 to book her team\u2019s place in the semi-finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hong Kong, China will now take on No.4 seeds Malaysia, who reached the final four after overcoming No.6 seeds England. Whitney Wilson laid the foundations for Malaysia\u2019s victory by defeating Emily Coulcher-Porter 3-1 before Harleein Tan wrapped up the tie with an 11-2, 11-5, 11-5 victory over Reka Kemecsei.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
History was rewritten for France\u2019s men\u2019s team as they reached the semi-finals of the World Squash Junior Team<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15199,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[37],"class_list":["post-15198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-squash"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t