England Elevated In Women's World Junior Team Seedings

Today's final confirmation of the seedings for the Hoe Hin White Flower Ointment Women's World Junior Team Championships, which begin in Hong Kong on Tuesday, has elevated former champions England to second place in the list, behind favourites Egypt.

The team event will follow the world individual championships, in which Egypt's defending champion Raneem El Weleily faces France's second seed Camille Serme in tomorrow's final.

In the provisional seedings, England were named as fifth seeds, with hosts and title-holders Hong Kong second, and New Zealand third, and Malaysia fourth.

However, a place in the last sixteen of the individual event by unseeded English 15-year-old Kimberley Hay (from Newcastle-upon-Tyne), and a quarter-final berth by 17/32 seed Sarah-Jane Perry (aged 17, from Kenilworth in Warwickshire) raised the expectations of the England squad - which also includes quarter-finalist Victoria Lust, the British Junior champion from Bedfordshire.

But Egypt, with four players through to the fourth round, and only one failing to reach the last eight, remain firm favourites - led by Raneem El Weleily, the 18-year-old world No23 from Alexandria, and including 16-year-old Heba El Torky and 17-year-old Alia Balbaa, both also from Alexandria; and 18-year-old Nour Bahgat from Heliopolis.

The revised seedings are as follows:

[1] Egypt, [2] England, [3] New Zealand, [4] Hong Kong, [5] Malaysia, [6] France, [7] Germany, [8] USA, [9] Australia, [10] Canada, [11] India, [12] Netherlands, [13] South Africa, [14] Switzerland, [15] Japan, [16] South Korea, [17] Singapore, [18] Zimbabwe, and [19] China.

China, South Korea and Zimbabwe will make their debuts in the 2007 Championships.