DAN Jenson, a member of Australia's victorious World Junior
Championship squash team, was feeling more like Cinderella than the
under-19 top seed in the Bank of Scotland Scottish Junior Open when he
arrived at Colinton Castle, Edinburgh, yesterday.
A holdall containing the 17 year-old's squash kit -- and, most
importantly, his shoes -- had been lost in transit from Adelaide to
London, and he had little hope of the airline carrying out the Prince
Charming role before the start of the tournament today.
Fortunately, he was able to purchase new gear at the Colinton Castle
Sports shop -- but he was suffering a problem with sore toes even after
a short warm up with fellow-Australian Natarsha Tippett, the No.4 seed
in the girls' under-19 event.
It was far from the ideal preparation for the 6'2'' youngster who is
aiming to conclude three years' training at the South Australian
Institute of Sport with victory in both this week's event and the
British Junior Open, which starts in London on Saturday.
In the latter, he is the No.2 seed behind England's Justin Rennie.
''I'll be in Britain for a month before going back to play the
Australian Tour and then on to the world-ranking circuit,'' said Jenson,
who benefits from regular practises with Chris Dittmar whenever the
world No.2 returns to Adelaide.
While Glasgow Accies' Matthew Morton, the leading Scottish junior, is
unranked in the boys' under-19 event, there are three home-based top
seeds in the girls' events, namely Claire Waddell (under-19), Pam Nimmo
(under-16) and Laura Hamilton (under-14).
Aberdeen's Waddell, the current leader of the Scottish Grand Prix
rankings, is expected to meet her regular north-east rival Wendy
Maitland in the final.
But young Tippett, who has just been awarded a scholarship to the
Australian Institute of Sport in Brisbane, will be out to dent Waddell's
reputation in the semi-finals.
Egypt have sent a strong squad of 16 players -- including three girls
-- and in addition to Mohamed Medhat Morsy being seeded second to Jenson
in the under 19 event, Ahmed Barada and Armed Faizy are expected to lift
the under 16 and under 14 titles respectively.
Always regarded as one of the principal events on the world junior
circuit, the Scottish Junior Open has surpassed expectations this year
with a record 200 players, and an overseas entry list that reads
Australia, Egypt, Germany, Ireland, Malaysia, Spain, Belgium, Sweden,
USA, South Africa and Canada.
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