Egypt returned home with two major titles from the women's world junior squash team championships in Belgium Defending champions Egypt was forced to settle for second place in the team event in the women's world junior squash championship in Herentals, Belgium after Ranim El-Weleili took top honours in the individuals. On Sunday second seeded Hong Kong stunned Egypt in the final in Herentals with a 2-1 victory to give them their first junior women's squash team title. In the first match Joey Chan took a close first game against individual semi-finalist Sara Badr 10/9, then took the next two 9/6, 9/ 0 to give Hong Kong an unexpected lead. Individual champion El-Weleili levelled the match with a 9/3, 9/3, 9/0 victory over Annie Au to set up the decider. Chiu Ka Kei faced Egypt's Lina El-Tannir who had suffered a shock defeat in the second round. The Hong Kong girl took the first game 10/8, but fell behind as El-Tannir rallied to take the next two 9/5, 9/6. But the final act saw Ka Kei claim the final two games 9/4, 9/3 to give Hong Kong a historic victory. England beat the US 2-1 in the play-off for third place. In the individual event played last week, Egypt retained the world junior title vacated by Omneya Abdel-Qawi, as El-Weleili, the second seed, overcame India's Joshna Chinappa in straight games in Herentals. Chinappa, "off colour and a bundle of nerves" according to Indian sources, threatened only briefly as she led in the third, but the Egyptian got back into her rhythm, and after seeing one match ball saved, clinched the title on a second. Chinappa, the top seed and British Open U19 champion, had not dropped a game until the final, but El-Weleili, the British U17 champion had come from 0-2 down in the semi-final and her precise game, full of drop- shots from all over the court, was just too much for the top seed to handle. El-Weleili, 16 and from Alexandria, will still be eligible to defend her individual title in 2007.
