Squash: Kempsell comes up short in final

Edinburgh’s Dougie Kempsell (Waverley) was the No. 1 seed and put up a fine challenge in the final, but he eventually had to settle for second place behind Pakistan’s Syed Hamzah Shah Bukhari in the Under-19 event of the Scottish Junior Open squash championships at Heriot-Watt University yesterday.

In a thrilling four-game final that saw Kempsell suffer an injury to his hand in the fourth game it was the No. 2 seed who secured victory 11-7, 10-12, 11-6, 11-4.

But Rosie Allan (Montrose) ended a 15-year drought when she beat England’s Sarah Dowson 11-3, 8-11, 11-6, 11-2 to win the girls’ Under-19 title. The 17-year-old claimed one of the biggest victories of her career and is the first Scot to win a senior event since Edinburgh’s Pam Nimmo in 1996.

Allan is already working with Scottish National coach Roger Flynn at the Heriot-Watt Squash Academy and she will be young enough to defend the title next year. Today, Allan will make her senior Scotland debut in a B international against Wales at Heriot-Watt. The line-up also includes Edinburgh’s Franya Gillen-Buchert.