Yes they Khan
Phenomenal performances by LDS junior members Muqaddam and Azhan Khan delivered the finest individual victory for the club since it's inception two years ago, with Muqaddam winning The Hertfordshire Junior Squash Under-11 title. His younger brother, performed equally well only losing out by a tie break in a 5 game thriller in the semi-final, having disposed of the third seed in the first round.
Both boys travelled to Bishop Stortford with high hopes, but it was all unknown territory for them, having only arrived in the country a few weeks ago. Azhan, 8 years old, faced the experienced Harry Kitchens in the first round and that experience told as Harry raced to a 2-0 lead, but Azhan showed incredible maturity in recovering to win the match 3-2. In the next round he comfortably despatched Harry Senior, before losing out in an epic battle with Jay Ledger, who had accounted for the top seed earlier in the competition.
Muqaddam showed similar nerves as he fell quickly behind 2-0 to number 2 seed Josh Abbs, but just like his younger brother, showed incredible resilience to triumph 3-2. Almost identically he disposed of his next opponent 3-0 to progress to the semi-final. Again like his brother, the semi-final was a titanic struggle with Muqaddam losing the first two games, but he dug deep and lengthened the rallies to put his opponent under intense physical pressure to triumph 3-2. By contrast the final was a straightforward affair as Jay Ledger, his brother's conqueror, toiled after such a demanding semi-final.
Paul Main, Chair of LDS, said, "This is a
tremendous boost for the club. For the lads to enter one of the top
squash tournaments in the country and win is an outstanding
achievement, all the coaches are absolutely thrilled by it.
Muqaddam has gained the prize, but Azhan's performance at such a
young age, is nothing short of amazing. Hopefully it can be the
dawn of a new era, not just for the club, but for the sport too - I
am very proud of both the boys."
Mohammed Nadeem, local entrepreneur and sponsor of the boys, said, "When I saw these boys play it was fantastic and I was delighted to help them out. I play a bit of squash myself and could see the talent right away and feel, with the support of the LDS coaching team, they could go very far indeed".
