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England made it a clean sweep at the European Junior Team Championships by claiming the Under-15 and Under-17 titles in Prague at the weekend.
It was the 12th year in a row England had clinched both titles and this added to the trophy won by the country’s under-19s in Lisbon last month.
The under-17 side led by 14-year-old Sam Todd, of Yorkshire, travelled to the Czech Republic on a quest for their 18th European Team Championships title. Both teams were named as favourites to retain the trophies they had won last year and neither failed to disappoint.
There was drama in the final of the under-17s as England took on Ireland in a showdown for the trophy. England’s Ben Sockett fought back from 2-0 down before injuring himself in a collision in the fourth game.
England Squash High Performance Coach Chris Ryder said: “He couldn’t put any weight on his leg. The referee deemed the incident to be ‘contributed injury’, meaning he had 30 minutes to get back on the court. Sadly for Ben he still couldn’t walk by this stage and was forced to concede the match.”
It was a frustrating end to the tournament for England’s No.3 ranked under-17 player and left the team 1-0 down in the final. Wins for US Open champion Sam Todd and British Junior Open finalist Elise Lazarus followed to turn the tie on its head and return the trophy to England.
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A 2-1 win for the under-15s against the Czech Republic, courtesy of victories for Ben Smith and Katie Malliff, ensured England had two winners in the competition once again.
Chris Ryder added: “The whole squad deserves credit for their positive attitudes and team-spirit throughout.”
The teams
Under-17s: Sam Todd (Yorkshire), Ben Sockett (Yorkshire), Lewis Anderson (Warwickshire), Elise Lazarus (Essex) and Alice Green (Essex).
Under-15s: Adam Goad (Cumbria), Ben Smith (Lincolnshire), Hassan Khalil (Warwickshire), Katie Malliff (Buckinghamshire) and Torrie Malik (Sussex).
With a very happy group of squash players! Winners of both U15 and U17 European junior champs. Well done team @englandsr
— RyderSquash (@RyderSquash) May 14, 2017
