Welshman Joel Makin Savours British Squash Title Success

Welshman Joel Makin is British under-23 squash champion.

Makin, from Pembrokeshire, won the title in Cambridgeshire, beating Richie Fallows (Essex) in the final.

He came out on top 11-7, 11-7, 8-11, 12-10 after a tough final lasting 69 minutes,

Makin clinched the national title in a dramatic and tense fourth game in an entertaining final match of the championships.

The first two games went to number one seed Makin. He played mature and disciplined squash at key points towards the end of both games and left Fallows facing a massive mental and physical challenge.

The second seed responded with more assertive and positive squash, taking the third game 11-8 as the tension built dramatically.

Nothing separated the players in the fourth. In a final which became increasingly physical the relationship between referee and players was tested on several occasions. Makin and Fallows were each given a conduct warning.

Fallows lost the chance to take it to a decider when he had game ball at 10-9, but Makin won three points in a row to lift the trophy.

A year earlier the rivals had clashed in the 2016 final when Fallows emerged the winner, but this was Makin’s day.

Ex-Welsh champion Makin, a player-ambassador for Unsquashable, is a former pupil at St John Baptist Church of Wales School, Aberdare currently based at the West Warwicks Club in Birmingham.

He defeated Michael Andrews 11-3, 11-5, 11-0 in his first match at the under-23 Open before beating Andrew Corcoran (Hampshire) 11-8, 11-3, 11-8.

Makin beat Joe Brooke (Oxfordshire) 11-4, 11-6, 11-4 in a semi-final, while Fallows won in straight games against Andrew Davies (England).

The World number 51 then swept to success against Fallows in a fiercely contested final to earn the title.