England edge France in thriller to win 12th consecutive European Mixed Team U19 title

England won a 12th consecutive ESF European Mixed Team U19s title as Asia Harris and Abdallah Eissa secured wins either side of a defeat for U19 Individual champion Jonah Bryant in Zurich.

Harris got England’s title defence underway with a tense 3-2 win over Cairo-born 15-year-old Lauren Baltayan.

The 18-year-old’s nerves were tested in a back-and-forth opening game, with the pacy Baltayan earning a game ball at 10-9. Harris, however, coped well, calmly saving it and converting her first to take the opener 12-10.

At 10-8 down in the second, Harris looked in danger, only for the Pontefract native to save both game balls and a further two in the tie break as she eked out a 2-0 lead with a 15-13 win.

Baltayan then pushed Harris hard and forced the tie into a fifth game after dominating the third 11-5 and edging the fourth 11-9.

Harris may have feared momentum was going the Frenchwoman’s way when Baltayan reeled in Harris’ 6-3 lead in game five to level. The Englishwoman, however, clung on well, finding her targets more consistently - and in the face of raucous support from the gallery for Baltayan - to win the next five points unanswered and give England the lead.

Despite a comfortable 3-0 win for Bryant last week against Melvil Scianimanico, today he faced much stiffer resistance from the Frenchman in a nail-biting 80-minute encounter.

In a gripping opening game, the 17-year-old from Brighton saved two game balls and saw four of his own saved as he eventually took the lead with a 16-14 win.

After comfortably claiming the second game 11-4, Bryant seemed well on his way to delivering the title for England when he took a 7-4 lead in game three. Scianimanico, however, dug in to breathe life into French hopes with an impressive 11-9 win, which he then followed up with an 11-7 as France came back from 2-0 down to 2-2 for the second match in a row.

This time, though, England were unable to hold out, with Scianimanico completing a spectacular comeback as he edged the fifth game 11-9 to take the final into a tie-breaking third match.

In the decider, Abdallah Eissa was composure personified as he got England over the line.

The Cairo-born 17-year-old made a strong start to his first ever match against French 18-year-old Titouan Isambard, dictating the tempo and hitting the back expertly as he won the first game 11-8.

The Warwickshireman continued to attack well in a more even second game, which he clinched 11-8 again.

Having seen 2-0 leads slip for both Harris and Bryant, Eissa was in no mood for a repeat. In a devastating third game display, the 17-year-old was unstoppable, blowing away Isambard 11-1 in 16 minutes.

Afterwards, England Development Head Coach Tim Vail said: “It was always going to be a tense affair; the crowd definitely wanted France to win.

“Everyone put in a shift and we deserved the victory.

“Asia played well in patches but was anxious, [but] moved well in the fifth and kept her composure.

“Jonah played well to go 2-0 up and should have won 3-0. Melvil looked down and out but had the heart of a lion and stayed in the match somehow and fought his way to victory as Jonah tired.

“Abdallah was in control from the start. His length and width were good and kept himself in front of Titouan.”

England’s success in the team event caps a perfect stay in Switzerland, with every England player in the individual championship reaching or bettering their seedings as Jonah Bryant and Asia Harris won their respective titles.

Result: ESF European Mixed Team U19 Squash Championships 2023

[1] England 2-1 [2] France

Asia Harris bt Lauren Baltauan 3-2: 12-10, 15-13, 5-11, 9-11, 11-6

Melvil Scianimanico bt Jonah Bryant 3-2: 16-14, 11-4, 9-11, 7-11, 9-11

Abdallah Eissa bt Titouan Isambard 3-0: 11-8, 11-8, 11-1