Five years ago, Welshman Oliver Jones had never hit a squash ball — but incredibly he is now set to represent his country in the European Team Championships.
Jones' astounding achievement is rooted in what he admits is "total obsession", a personal training regime that borders on masochism, support from three-time world champion Nick Matthew, training with world no.1 Mostafa Asal, and even special words of encouragement from the great Jahangir Khan!
It was in 2021 that Jones, then 14, was taken to a leisure centre in Cardiff by his grandad for his first ever hit at squash. He soon joined Rhiwbana Squash & Racketball Club and walked from home every day without fail to play, train and do solo sessions. The obsession had taken hold.
He quickly leapt from ladder 18 to ladder 1 in the club’s box leagues, broke into the Wales junior squad and started competing in European junior tournaments, funded by his sideline work as a child actor (he was an extra in 'Paris Has Fallen', a TV spin-off of the Gerard Butler film franchise).
On a trip to the French Junior Open in February 2023, he made friends with Omar Elkeiy, son of Mohamed Elkeiy – who, shortly afterwards, become coach of an ascending Egyptian enigma named Mostafa Asal.
Oliver texted his new friend Omar to ask his father whether he could come over and train in Egypt in the summer of 2023. Elkeiy Snr invited him to his base at the Alex West complex in Alexandria, which features apartments, restaurants and sports facilities including six squash courts.
There, Jones trained with Omar and was amazed to be joined by fellow local resident Asal, as well as Mohamed ElSherbini, Aly Abou Eleinen, Karim El Hammamy and France’s Sebastien Bonmalais.
At the time, Jones said: “It has been amazing experience. I’m so lucky. It has taught me so much. I was expecting there to be other players here, but I didn’t expect to be going on court with pro players every day!"
The four-week experience in Egypt only turbo-charged the teenager's squash infatuation. He studied A Levels in PE, drama and politics, playing squash or hitting the gym during any breaks in his timetable and every single evening and weekend.
After leaving college, he started travelling to Sheffield three days a week for training with Nick Matthew at Hallamshire. The three-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist took him under his wing, but expressed some concern about his training regime.
"I've been told by Nick to calm it down," laughs Jones. "I got to the stage where I'd developed how to hit the ball and move well, but I was doing the sort of workload that I don't think anybody else was doing."
Whether he was with Matthew in Sheffield or with Welsh national coaches David Evans or Greg Tipping in Cardiff, Jones fitted early morning solos in before and after his coaching sessions. He explains: "I'll then do a two-hour session in the afternoon, then when everyone else goes home I'll stay and do more solo, hit the gym and finish about 10.30 or 11pm.
"I repeated that for two years. I was quite weird about it. If I hadn't done it, I wouldn't feel settled. It's definitely a complete obsession. A bit crazy, really!
"But I know that I can't keep doing that. It's just not sustainable. I got a bit unwell and I've learned those lessons. It's got me to a good level very quickly but now I need to be a bit smarter now I'm playing full-time."
Jones has been advised to take a more measured approach in the build-up to his senior international debut for Wales at the European Team Championships in Amsterdam from 29 April - 2 May.
"David [Evans] pulled me to the side during a session and said, 'You've been selected,'" reveals Jones. "I actually didn't believe him!
"Since I started squash it's the best news I've ever heard. I was actually quite emotional, which isn't like me. I went in the changing rooms and was punching the air. I was so happy. I definitely didn't expect it, not yet anyway."
Jones trains regularly with Rhys Evans but has never been on court with his other likely Wales team-mates Emyr Evans and world no.4 Joel Makin. "To be in an environment with them is going to be so exciting," he said.
Also exciting was a recent arrival in his inbox with the name 'Jahangir Khan' next to it. "He told me he's been monitoring my progress and said he's amazed at how much I've improved. I was so happy when I saw that," said Jones.
Jones recently posted a video on Instagram contrasting his awkward backhand technique from four years ago with his grooved style of today, a stark illustration of how far he's come in such a short time.
He explains: "A lot of people were shocked because they remember from me from three or four years ago. They said, 'How is that even possible?' But I don't think anybody has appreciated how hard I've been working.
"I've probably still got quite a lot of bad habits because I've not had embedded techniques and movement from a young age, but I see it as an advantage.
"I've been playing properly for four years, they've probably been playing since they were six and there should be no possibility of me beating them, but when I do, it's such a nice feeling and gives me confidence. It's made me work even harder."
With some funding from his parents, sponsorships and a few appearance fees from the Welsh, Bristol and Yorkshire leagues, he is pumped for his international debut and his professional career beyond.
"I'm going to up my training a bit in the next month, then I might ease off a bit to go into the Europeans as fresh as I possibly can," he promises. "I'm determined to give it everything I've got."
