Defending champ Nour right on track in Namibia

Nour El Sherbini checked into the quarter-finals of the World Junior Championships without breaking too much sweat. - filepic

PETALING JAYA: Three-time world junior champion Nour El Sherbini stayed on track for a record fourth World Junior Squash Championship title.

The 18-year-old Nour, who already holds the record for being the youngest winner and the first three-time holder, was on fire in Windhoek, Namibia on Tuesday, swatting aside South Africa’s Kacey-Leigh Dodd 11-4, 11-2, 11-1 in just 21 minutes to enter the quarter-finals.

She will meet England’s Lily Taylor, who toppled joint fifth-eighth seed Marie Stephan of France 5-11, 3-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-5, in the last eight.

Four other Egpytians – Nouran Gohar, Salma Hany, Mariam Metwally and Habiba Mohamed – also made light work of their opponents to check into the last eight.

Second seed Nouran will take on joint fifth-eighth seed Sabrina Sobhy of the United States for a place in the semi-finals.

Joint ninth-12th seed Georgina Kennedy was the second English girl to qualify for the quarter-finals after pulling off an upset over joint fifth-eighth seed Nele Gilis of Belgium.

In the men’s event, unseeded Egyptian Youssef Aboul-Makarim, who stunned compatriot and defending champion Karim El Hammamy in the second round, was unable to progress losing to Youssef Soliman, also of Egypt, 11-8, 4-11, 5-11, 5-11.