English Trio Progress In British Open Qualifiers

English trio Joe Lee, Chris Simpson and Jonathan Kemp progressed through to the qualifying finals of the Allam British Open Squash Championships at the expense of fellow Britons in the first qualifying round at Pontefract Squash Club in Yorkshire.

The main draw of the 2013 Allam British Open, the fourth PSA World Series event of the year, will take place for the first time at the KC Stadium in the nearby city of Hull from 20-26 May.

Lee, a London-born 23-year-old looking to secure his first appearance in the main draw of the historic championship, beat England's Ben Coleman 12-10, 11-4, 11-4 - and will now face the top-ranked player in the qualifiers for a place in the main draw.

Egyptian Karim Abdel Gawad, the 21-year-old world No24 from Cairo, defeated experienced Englishman Chris Ryder 17-15, 8-11, 11-9, 11-7.

Guernsey-born Simpson, fresh from his Tour title triumph in last week's Jersey Classic, despatched Englishman Declan James 11-5, 11-5, 11-2. The Harrogate-based world No26 now also lines up against an Egyptian, Mazen Hesham Ga Sabry.

The delighted 19-year-old from Cairo upset Hong Kong's Leo Au, ranked 13 places higher, 11-7, 6-11, 14-12, 11-8 in 60 minutes.

"It means so much to me," said teenager Ga Sabry. "This is only my second big tournament ever, and getting to play in the British Open is one of my dreams!"

Veteran Jonathan Kemp became the third English success on the day after beating Welshman Peter Creed 11-7, 11-2, 11-7 in just 30 minutes.

Buoyed by two PSA Tour title wins already this month, the 32-year-old from Ipswich now faces Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan in a bid to secure his sixth appearance in the main draw of the British Open since 2004.

Adnan carries Malaysian hopes through to the qualifying finals single-handedly after surviving a 70-minute battle against US champion Christopher Gordon 12-10, 13-11, 6-11, 11-9.

Qualifying finals line-up:
Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) v Joe Lee (ENG)
Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY) v Marwan Elshorbagy (EGY)
Jonathan Kemp (ENG) v Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS)
Shawn Delierre (CAN) v Ryan Cuskelly (AUS)
Mazen Hesham Ga Sabry (EGY) v Chris Simpson (ENG)
Max Lee (HKG) v Mohd Ali Anwar Reda (EGY)
Henrik Mustonen (FIN) v Gregoire Marche (FRA)
Alan Clyne (SCO) v Andrew Wagih Shoukry (EGY)

Picture by Steve Cubbins