Sport
Podium places for Aspire Academy student-athletes at Slovenian Junior Squash Open
Aspire Academy’s Omar Farag was victorious at the Slovenian Junior Squash Open in Ljubljana in the boys under-15 category. The event, organised by the European Squash Federation and featuring players from around the globe, was the first of 2026 for the Academy’s players.
There were also podium finishes for student-athlete Aly Ouda, who won bronze in the under-17s, while pre-academy player Maaz Bin Fahad was the runner-up in the under-13s. His triumph saw him go one step better than last year, when he finished as the runner-up.
"This tournament has been a very good experience for all our players, all of them delivering great performances and results,” he explained.
"Our players showed both physical and mental strength in this tournament, and it gives us high hopes for the upcoming tournaments.”
Omar Farag dropped just one game on the way to the final, which came in a 3-1 semi-final victory, before he enjoyed another 3-0 win in the final as he beat Noam Dror from Israel.
The other Aspire Academy participant at the tournament was Khalifa Al Emadi, who managed 17th place overall.
In the under-17 category, Aly Ouda won all three of his group matches to progress to the semi-finals, where he was edged out 3-2 by the top seed and eventual runner-up Fabijan Duran of Croatia.
The youngster was unfazed by the step-up in age and won all three of his pool matches to reach the final four. In the semi-finals, he took on the top seed from Croatia, and a near‑perfect display from Maaz Bin Fahad saw him hold his nerve to eventually secure the victory. In a tight final, he lost 3-2 to Malta’s Tom Agius to finish with a silver medal.
There was an outstanding win for Aspire Academy-trained Zoe Makaryous, who is just 10 years old, as she won three matches to claim the girls under-15 title.
Not only did she win all her matches 3-0, but she also allowed only 19 points while securing the 99 points needed for the emphatic victory.
The players will continue their development and training at Aspire Academy throughout February, before competing internationally again in the coming months.