Nine out of 10 of the gold medals went to Egypt in Birmingham this week as their 30-year hegemony at the venerable junior event continued uninterrupted.
Refaay's victory in the BU19 final made him the 150th Egyptian to win a BJO title - the first being the great Ahmed Barada in 1991.
Six feet tall and slender, Refaay reminds the observer somewhat of his four-time world champion compatriot Ali Farag.
Still only 17, Refaay will have the chance to come back next year and retain his BJO U19 title, having also won the U17s last year. He has also won two Egyptian Junior Opens and two national junior titles.
He will certainly be a strong contender to win his first World Junior Championship trophy at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada in July.
Both Sefaay's BJO victories so far have come against close friend Adam Hawal, who has already made headlines on the PSA Tour by defeating world no.3 Paul Coll at the CIB Egyptian Open in September.
Adam Hawal
Tuesday's BU19 final between the pair was a sweat-soaked epic which went the full distance, Refaay conquering his compatriot 11-9, 2-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-9 in 77 minutes.
"In Egypt, 300 juniors are fighting just to participate in this tournament," he said.
"It is 100 years old, and legends of our country like Mohamed ElShorbagy, Ramy Ashour and Ali Farag have won this tournament, so juniors like us look up to them.
"I'm feeling over the moon to win the BJO title at Under-19 just like those legends. Playing in a tournament like the BJO, you always feel like you're at the top of the world."
Refaay's opponent Hawal had an illness that hampered him during the pair's BU17 final in 2025 and had lost in the BU17 final the previous year too, whilst suffering from a hip injury.
He had spoken of "unfinished business" heading into this year's event. So to lose deep in the fifth game after a 77-minute battle was a really tough one to take for the Cairo teenager.
"Adam is absolutely a great player," said Refaay of his close friend. "We have played together in the juniors for years, but if I won or he won, it would have been a gold medal for Egypt, which is a great thing."
He added: "Coming to the BJO, fighting in every match with 100% effort, like you saw in my last two matches over 60 minutes, is a very great feeling.
"My coaches deserve all the congratulations. They always push me and give me positive energy.
"Always in Egypt, they tell us, work hard and be disciplined, look for higher positions, always be full of ambition and if you work hard, you will gain success."
Seif with the trophy
Other notable wins for Egypt included that of the very tall, imposing Farouk Mohamed in the BU17, Habiba Rizk in the GU17 (she's still only 15 and has three BJO titles already), and Layan Moustafa in the GU15 who collected her second BJO crown.
USA - having had their best ever BJO in 2025 with one gold medal, four on the podium and six semi-finalists - were slightly less successful this year. They had no finalists and two bronze medallists in Azlan Khan (BU11) and Brendan Tagliarini (BU17).
Hong Kong were offered hope of a first BJO gold medal since Annie Au's in 2004 when 5/8 seed Ngo San Leung reached the BU11 final, but emotions got the better of him in a 11-7, 14-12, 11-8 defeat to streetwise Egyptian Hazem Mahmoud El Fadly.
As for the host nation, England's sole medallist was Mariam Eissa, based in nearby Kenilworth, who won the bronze medal in the GU17 by beating USA's Isabella Tang in four games in the 3/4 place play-off.
In the semi-final, she was 8-4 up at 1/1 in games against Egyptian top seed Habiba Rizk, but the momentum turned on a stroke decision that was overturned on appeal to a no let against her.
"That was crucial, I could have won that game," Eissa said. "I thought it was a stroke, at the very least a let, but all credit to her, she ran with it from there.
"I came to this tournament and my only goal was to win it but yesterday I didn't play as well as I know I could have. It was a really tough one to come back from.
"I still feel I've coped really well with the pressure of how big this tournament is and how well I wanted to do."
