EUROPEAN SQUASH NEWS

RESULTS: European Junior (U19) Individual Squash Championships, Herentals, Belgium

Men's final:
[1] Laurence Delasaux (ENG) bt [9/12] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) 9-2, 9-3, 9-1

Women's final:
[1] Charlie De Rycke (BEL) bt [3/4] Emma Beddoes (ENG) 9-4, 10-8, 2-9, 2-9, 9-2

Delasaux & De Rycke Win European Titles

England's Laurence Delasaux and Belgium's Charlie De Rycke confirmed their top seedings in the 2004 European Junior (U19) Individual Squash Championships by claiming the men's and women's titles, respectively, in Herentals, Belgium.

Delasaux, the two-times British Junior National champion from Yorkshire, cruised to victory in his second successive appearance in the final, beating surprise opponent Mathieu Castagnet, a 9/12 seed, 9-2 9-3 9-1.

Giant-killer Castagnet, a 17-year-old Frenchman, had reached the final after removing both second-seeded compatriot Yann Perrin and England's 3/4 seed Chris Simpson in tough five-game upsets in the previous two rounds.

Delasaux, an 18-year-old from Hull who went through the tournament without dropping a game, joins a distinguished group of Englishmen who have won the men's title, including Peter Marshall, Paul Johnson and Adrian Grant, as well as county team-mates James Willstrop and Lee Beachill.

Charlie de Rycke became the first ever Belgian winner of the women's title after a revenge match with 3/4 seed Emma Beddoes in which the Englishwoman, who beat her at last year's quarter-final stage, took the local star the full distance.

Beddoes, the 18-year-old British Junior National champion from Warwick, fought back from 0/2 down to level the match - but de Rycke, who celebrates her 17th birthday on Saturday, refocused to take the title with an impressive 9-4 10-8 2-9 2-9 9-2 victory over her older opponent.