Egypt’s 22-year winning streak in the Men’s World Junior Team Championship in squash is over.

The team lost the title to England 2-1 in Nancy, France. England had been the runner-up in most of those lean years starting in 2000 but this week landed on top.

In what would be the most thrilling encounter in the tournament, the English won the first match as their No 1 Finnlay Withington beat Karim Al-Torkei 2-0.  

In the second match Salman Khalil, an unexpected addition to the team in place of Mohamed Nasser, beat England’s Jonah Bryant 3-1 to level the tie in an upset win.

The weight of the tie breaker fell on the shoulders of England’s Sam Osborne-Wylde and Egypt’s Mohamed Zakaria who at just 14 made history by being the youngest player on record to appear in the Men’s Team Championship final.

Osborne-Wylde took the early lead, beating Zakaria 11-3 in the first game and 11-6 in the second. But Zakaria fought back to win the third game 11-4. However, the more experienced Osborne Wylde had the upper hand in the final game 11-8 to give England a famous win.

“It is normal to lose once in time,” Egyptian Squash President Assem Khalifa said after the defeat. “We have been the winners for a long time. This time we tried to play with new faces and give them the chance to compete on the international level to gain experience and confidence. I am very proud of the players and what they have achieved as the team has the youngest player of the championship who is Egyptian.

“This is what we are after,” Khalifa said. “Building a team with new blood and new players who are still so young and will gain experience and help Egypt to keep its winning streak for years to come.”

*A version of this article appears in print in the 25 August, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.