Ayaan courts victory in busy tennis season Playing tournaments in three different age groups has meant a busy spring and early summer for one Year 9 pupil. At just 14 years old, Ayaan Haneef (9SGJ) is currently playing in U14, U16 and U18 tournaments in Middlesex and around the country, with entries into more than 20 tournament draws already in 2018. And with his match practice has come success, with Ayaan winning a big U16 regional title in March and performing strongly for Middlesex with two single wins from three fixtures at the U14 national county finals in May. Ayaan is currently ranked the fifth best U14 in Middlesex, 28th in the U16 category and 52nd in U18s. Despite his young age, he also makes the Lawn Tennis Association’s national open ranking – the same list that contains Kyle Edmund and Andy Murray – at number 1,395.
Ayaan sizes up a backhand shot on court
It’s been a good Tennis season for the School with the pick of the matches against Merchant Taylors’ School. There were stand-out performances from Sebastian Langdon (U6REM), Mantej Kambo (U6CKL) and Darshan Shah (U6DPB) in the senior competition. In the junior competition Ayaan Haneef (9SGJ) and Alan Saeed (9KS) performed well beating Merchant Taylors’ top pairing in both singles and doubles. Further fixtures against Wetherby and City of London saw nearly 30 John Lyon boys representing their school.
John Lyon does Harrow proud in the pool The task of representing the Borough of Harrow fell to John Lyon’s young Water Polo players as they took part in the London Youth Games event in June. Up against 14 other boroughs at the tournament in Crystal Palace, the U15 team made up of boys from Years 8, 9 and 10 sealed a quarter final place, eventually coming 7th out of 15 teams. The John Lyon team took two out of three victories in the group stage, including a stunning 10-0 victory over Lewisham, before progressing to the knockout stage where they were defeated by a strong Croydon team. The John Lyon Water Polo team made it through to the last eight in the London Youth Games
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THE STANDARD The John Lyon School Magazine