RESULTS: Women's World Junior Squash Championship, Cologne, Germany
Quarter-finals:
[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) bt [7] Nouran El Torky (EGY) 11-7, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7 (41m)
[3] Amanda Sobhy (USA) bt [8] Anaka Alankamony (IND) 12-10, 11-4, 11-6 (22m)
[4] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) bt [6] Olivia Blatchford (USA) 11-1, 11-6, 11-7 (29m)
[2] Dipika Pallikal (IND) bt [5] Kanzy Emad El-Defrawy (EGY) 9-11, 11-9, 11-2, 12-10 (50m)
The 2010 Women's World Junior Squash Championship unveiled its eagerly-anticipated semi-final line-up when the top four seeds came through the quarter-finals of the World Squash Federation event at the ACR Sportcenter in Cologne, Germany.
In an all-Egyptian clash, event favourite Nour El Sherbini dropped her first game of the tournament in overcoming seventh seed Nouran El Torky 11-7, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7.
The 14-year-old from Alexandria – the youngest player remaining in this U19 championship – now has arguably her toughest test against USA's third seed Amanda Sobhy.
The 16-year-old New Yorker is the highest-ranked player in the event – and beat El Sherbini in last year's world junior team championship in straight games in their only previous meeting.
Sobhy is also riding high after making history by becoming the first 16-year-old to win four WISPA World Tour titles. The left-hander, ranked 36 in the world, despatched eighth-seeded Indian Anaka Alankamony 12-10, 11-4, 11-6 in just 22 minutes.
India's No2 seed Dipika Pallikal lines up against Egypt's fourth seed Nour El Tayeb in the other semi-final in a repeat of last year's match at the same stage of the competition – in which El Tayeb upset the then top seed to reach the final.
Pallikal, 18, from Chennai, recovered from a game down to beat Egypt's fifth seed Kanzy Emad El-Defrawy 9-11, 11-9, 11-2, 12-10 in 50 minutes, while 17-year-old El Tayeb, from Cairo, defeated USA's No6 seed Olivia Blatchford 11-1, 11-6, 11-7.
Semi-final line-up:
[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) v [3] Amanda Sobhy (USA)
[2] Dipika Pallikal (IND) v [4] Nour El Tayeb (EGY)