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Team England’s men and women secured top spot in their respective pools to send them through to the semi-finals of the 2024 European Team Championships in Switzerland.
On a jam-packed first day, both teams featured twice at the Uster Squash Arena, looking to start strongly and take control of their pools. The women were up first as they recorded a comprehensive 3-0 win over Czech Republic. No match lasted over half an hour as Georgina Kennedy, Jasmine Hutton and Lucy Turmel all stormed to victory.
The women's second match of the day came against third seeds France. A fixture that has been a tricky encounter over the years in European and World Team Championships. There were no problems on this occasion however as all three England players scored straight games wins. World No.6 Georgina Kennedy got the team off on the front foot with a win, which was followed by victories for Sarah-Jane Perry and Lucy Turmel.
The men’s team opened their 2024 campaign with a fixture against neighbours Ireland. Debutants World No.67 Tom Walsh and No.69 Ben Smith were thrown straight into action to earn their first caps and two victories for England. A clean sweep was secured as former World No.3 Marwan ElShorbagy and Curtis Malik claimed their third wins in England colours.
An all-British match up was next for the men as they took on No.4 seeds Wales which resulted in a clean sweep courtesy of Malik, the ElShorbagy brothers and Ben Smith.
On the second day of action, both teams faced Spain as they looked to remain undefeated heading into the semi-finals. The women took to the court first and again wasted no time in sealing victory. Perry, Hutton and Turmel all impressively won 3-0 with each match lasting no longer than 22 minutes. Another dominant display from the team, ensuring maximum confidence ahead of the final four.
In the men's, Walsh faced Ivan Perez in the opening match and what a match it was. After a staggering 102 minutes, it was the Englishman who hung on well in the fifth set tiebreak to win 12-10. An important win from Walsh as No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy couldn’t get over the line against Iker Pajares, losing 3-1.
The win was confirmed after a smart and clinical performance from Marwan ElShorbagy saw him get his revenge over Bernat Jaume after a loss to the Spaniard last month. Smith then followed up with a strong 3-0 win over Hugo Varela.
“Regarding the match, the score line and the duration sums it up pretty well,” said Walsh after his mammoth win.
“It was a battle out there. The Spanish are known for raising their level at team events and Ivan did exactly this today.
"I’m happy to get the result for the team and at that stage in the tie it seemed very crucial as we were 1-0 down. Definitely one for the memory bank.”
The women’s team will now take on Wales in their semi-final at 8:30am (UK time) whilst the men will face hosts Switzerland at 11am (UK time). Both matches will be streamed live on SQUASHTV, with scores and information on the official website here.
