The next Irish Squash Club Coaching course will take place in Galway commencing mid July.
The course runs from 9:30 – 5:00pm each day – please arrive from 9:00am to register and complete paperwork.
This programme requires you to work with a support coach for the logged practice requirement element of the course. Please talk to Irish Squash or your local coach about help and support in this area. You should also talk to the club or squash centre you plan to provide the coaching in after you have finished the course. Please also read through this article on safeguarding children prior to attending the course.
Payment for the course must be received before the start of the course.
If you are interested in attending this course or have any queries please e-mail the Irish Squash office or Andre Davies in Connaught Squash
Mulhouse – France
Places 23 – 24
Ireland 2 Botswana 1
1. Arthur Gaskin lost to Alistar Walker
6-11 4-11 4-11
2. Brian Byrne beat Lekgotla Mosope
11-9 11-9 11-8
3. Steve Richardson beat Koketso Ntshebe
11-2 11-8 12-10
Ireland won their final match at the World Team Championships 2-1 against Botswana to finish 23rd place overall, out of 31 nations.
Steve Richardson got the team off to a good start with a straight sets win. It was Richardson’s 7th game in 7 days and his 5th victory in the tournament. The Ballymena man is still going strong at the ripe age of 40.
Arthur Gaskin came up against an inform Alistar Walker, the World number 15 was clinical all the way through the match. It was also Gaskin’s 7th match in a row and fatigue was evident during the match.
In the deciding match Brian Byrne despatched of of his hard hitting opponent in straight games. The Botswana man managed to break strings in 5 rackets during the match!
| 10.00 |  Ireland |
– |  Botswana |
2 – 1 | 23rd/24th playoff | ||||||||||||||
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Mulhouse – France
Places 21 – 24
Ireland 1 Japan 2
1. Arthur Gaskin beat Shinnosuke Tsukue
11-6 12-10 11-4
2. Brian Byrne lost to Yuta Fukui
6-11 7-11 9-11
3. Steve Richardson lost to Ryosei Kobayashi
12-10 5-11 8-11 11-8 6-11
Ireland lost to Japan 2-1 in their penultimate play off match. Arthur Gaskin got Ireland off to a perfect start with a straight sets win.
Brian Byrne went down in 3 games against a player who controlled the rallies well and took advantage of Byrnes sluggish start to the match.
Steve Richardson was playing his 6th match in a row and although he won the opening game in a tie break, it was a tough game. He battled well to get back into the game and levelled the match by winning the 4th set 11-8. There were clear signs of fatigue setting in early in the 5th and his young Japanese opponent seized his opportunities well to wrap up the match 11-6 in the 5th.
Ireland play their final match against Botswana tomorrow. The Africans have World number 15 Alister Walker at 1. Every match is tough at these championships and it’s even harder when the team are unable to rest a player due to Derek Ryan’s injury.
| 14.30 |  Japan |
– | Ireland |
2 – 1 | Round 3 | ||||||||||||||
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Mulhouse – France
Places 17 – 24 Ireland v Switzerland
Ireland 1 Switzerland 2
1. Arthur Gaskin v Nicolas Mueller 10-12 3-11 12-14
2. Brian Byrne v Reiko Peter 9-11 9-11 8-11
3. Steve Richardson v Patrick Miescher 8-11 11-6 11-6
Brian Byrne put in a strong performance in the opening match against Reiko Peter of Switzerland. The game started at a fast pace from the word go and after 2 sets either player could have been 2-0 up. Brian understandably let the pace drop in the 3rd but started to make a come back and placed his Swiss opponent under pressure to the last point.
Arthur Gaskin was next up against World number 18 Nicolas Mueller. Arthur had game balls in the first and third sets. He played to a high standard in those and pushed the Swiss all the way.
Steve Richardson played a best of three as the overall match had been decided already. He won 2-1.
Ireland play Japan tomorrow.
| 14.30 |  Switzerland |
– | Ireland |
2 – 1 | Quarter Final | ||||||||||||||
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Mulhouse – France
Places 17 – 31 Ireland v Kenya
Ireland won comfortably against Kenya today. Arthur Gaskin and Stevie Richardson won in straight sets to seal the win. Brian Byrne went on for a 1 set shoot out as the match was over. He won his game!
Derek Ryan has sustained a back injury and is unlikely to be competing in the remaining matches. There are 3 matches left which will stretch the reserves of the team.
Switzerland are next up for Ireland, this will be a tough match as they have world number 18 Nick Muller playing at 1 for them.
Ireland 3 Kenya 0
1. Arthur Gaskin v Maina Mwangi
11-9 11-7 11-4
2. Brian Byrne v Hartaj Bains
11-7
3. Stevie Richardson v Rajdeep Bains
11-3 11-5 11-8
| 14.30 | Ireland |
– |  Kenya |
ESP 1 | Round 1 | ||
Mulhouse – France
Pool F Ireland v USA
Unfortunatly Ireland just came up short in this deciding matach for the last 16. A superb win by Steve but it was just a bit too for far for Arthur Gaskin and Derek Ryan both losing 3-0. So 3rd place for Ireland in the pool.
Ireland V USA
Stevie Richardson 3 V Dylan Murray 2
CLASSIC…
Like I tell you again and again, it’s in the old pots that ones makes the best soups! As Steve precised, “the VERY old pots, Fram”….
What a match people, what a match! I made myself the pleasure of my tournament, I watched most of the match. And what a treat. For me, this match could be a symbol of the necessity of this competition. There we had a 40 years old, Steve Richardson, who wrote the book, never got a PSA ranking, and has been playing for his country for ever! Against an 18 years old Dylan Murray, who “was lucky” as he stated himself, as Todd Harrity got injured and couldn’t make the team this time. Still a junior…
First game was tough, with a few decisions from the refs that didn’t help the fluidity of the game, but it was split between the two players, and balanced out. Steve came back from 4/9, 7/10 to 10/10 thanks to a few unforced errors from his opponent as well, got himself a game ball at 11/10, but couldn’t transform it, and it’s the Jumping Dylan that takes it, 13/11.
It could have been the end, with a very tired 40 years old. They think it’s all over??? Naaaa. It was just beginning. The Irish, imperial, takes the next two, 6, 6. The fourth is as close as it comes, 4/4, 5/5, 7/7, 9/9, but this time, the American, looking fresher physically, clinches it, 11/9.
And at that point, to be honest, I thought my Stevie was cooked and well done. But amazingly, he stayed in it at the start of the decider, to get ahead in the middle of it, and just kept on making the court bigger and bigger for his young opponent. And completely against age logic, it’s the Irish that prevailed, 11/7…
Amazing, amazing stuff to start my day….
Steve Can I sit down??
You know why I won today? The only reason? Because I never lost against a junior. Not yet….
In the first game, I was down for most of it, and I could have sneaked it, but on my game ball, my mind was not focused enough. But you know, at the end of the day, I have very few winning opportunities left, and I thought I would grab them when one presents itself.
The 5th was so mental, that’s all it was, and it was so close as well… But as one of my team mates told me at 2/2, “there is only one man in the world I would trust completely to win at 2/2, and that’s you.” That’s inspirational…
Blog from Framboise Gommendy
Arthur Gaskin 0 V Christopher Gordon 3
11-3,11-7,11-8
Much better second game from Arthur saw him find his length more consistently and presented him with more opportunities to extend the court for the American. 3-0 but a highly competitive match.
Derek Ryan 0 V Gilly Lane 3
11/9,11/5,13/11
A fantastic game of squash with some incredible racket skills on display kept the large crowd entertained. Derek as you would expect played very well but Gilly came out on top 3/0.
| 11 June 13 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 11.00 |  U.S.A. |
– | Ireland |
ESP 2 | 2-1 | |||||||||||||
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Mulhouse – France
Pool F Ireland 2v Czech Republic 1
Derek Ryan went down 3-1 in a very close match v Petr Martin, the 24 year old Czech, who is nearly 20yrs younger than Derek. However the experienced irishman pushed him all the way.
Steve just had a superb victory 3-0 in 44 mins.
All down to Arthur!! Even though Arthur is 79 places higher than Ertl, Ertl rested yesterday v the USA so will be fresh so it will be a test for Arthur.
Arthur is 1-o up but just lost the 2nd 11-9.
Arthur 1-2 down in 3rd. 2-2, 4-5 down, Art 7-5 up, 9-6 up, he wins it with some lovely dead lengths 11-6 in 40 min. 2-1 up in games.
4-0 up in 4th game – great start! Czech coming back, 4-3 to Art, 6-4, 7-4 after the Czech complained about the PA putting him off.
8-5. Arthur does it with a match ball at match ball to win the match 3-1.
So this puts Ireland in a match with the USA tomorrow, to decide who goes through to the last 16.
This will be a real test their number 1 Christopher Gordon, who played in the Irish Open in April is world ranked 45, Julian Illingworth curiosly is currently ranked higher at 39 with the number 3 Gilly Lane unranked currently but an experienced player nonetheless.
So a tough ask for the guys but one they will relish!!
Match is on Tuesday at 10am Irish time.
| 10 June 13 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 12.00 | Ireland |
– |  Czech Republic |
PDS GC2 | |||||||||||||||
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Mulhouse – France
Pool F Ireland 0 v Germany 3
1. Arthur Gaskin v Simon Rosner
8-11 5-11 6-11
2. Brian Byrne v Raphael Kandra
2-11 10-12 4-11
3. Steve Richardson v Jens Schoor
6-11 11-9 6-11 5-11
Ireland played Germany, the 6th seeds in their opening pool match in Mulhouse France this afternoon.
The Germans started very strongly in each match and showed why they are favourites to top the pool.
Arthur Gaskin played a very high tempo game against the world number 12 Simon Rosner. Gaskin led for most of the first set but Rosner reeled him in to win 11/8 and eventually won the next 2 sets to claim a straight sets win.
Brian Byrne played extremely well in his second set against Raphael Kandra, having 2 game balls but eventually went down 12-10. The German was too accurate in the 3rd and went on to win in straight sets.
Stevie Richardson went down in 4 sets to Jen Schoor. Richardson levelled the match after taking the second set 11-9 and made life difficult for Schoor before the Mönchen Galdbach man wrapped up the match 3-1.
| 15.00 |  Germany |
– | Ireland |
3 – 0 | |||||||||||||||
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Next up for Ireland is the Czech Republic on the centre court at 11am Irish time on Monday morning. This is a must win game to have a chance of claiming the second position in the pool that would enable the team to progress to the last 16 of the event. The other team in Pool F are the USA.
For live streaming of the championships, follow this link
RESULTS: World Team Championship, Mulhouse, France
Final (all ties played in team order 3, 1, 2):
[2] ENGLAND bt [1] EGYPT 2/1 Daryl Selby bt Tarek Momen 11-5, 11-3, 11-7 (54m) Nick Matthew lost to Ramy Ashour 11-5, 6-11, 9-11, 9-11 (65m) James Willstrop bt Karim Darwish 11-3, 11-13, 11-3, 11-4 (69m)
3rd place play-off: [3] FRANCE bt [4] AUSTRALIA 2/0 Mathieu Castagnet bt Ryan Cuskelly 8-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-9, 11-6 (123m) Gregory Gaultier bt Cameron Pilley 11-9, 11-4, 11-4 (52m)
5th place play-off: [6] GERMANY bt [7] SOUTH AFRICA 2/0 Jens Schoor bt Clinton Leeuw 11-8, 11-9, 9-11, 11-3 (60m) Simon Rosner bt Stephen Coppinger 6-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-2 (46m)
7th place play-off: [8] INDIA bt [5] MALAYSIA 2/0 Mahesh Mangaonkar bt Muhd Asyraf Azan 14-12, 11-4, 11-7 (49m) Saurav Ghosal bt Ong Beng Hee 6-11, 7-11, 12-10, 11-7, 11-9 (59m)
9th place play-off: [16] SCOTLAND bt [14] PAKISTAN 2/1 Douglas Kempsell lost to Farhan Mehboob 3-11, 4-11, 5-11 (26m) Alan Clyne bt Nasir Iqbal 11-5, 11-4, 11-7 (23m) Greg Lobban bt Farhan Zaman 11-2, 11-6, 11-9 (31m)
11th place play-off: [15] CANADA bt [11] USA 2/0 David Letourneau bt Gilly Lane 8-11, 11-4, 11-7, 9-11, 11-9 (66m) Shawn Delierre bt Christopher Gordon 12-10, 8-11, 11-6, 11-5 (75m)
13th place play-off: [10] HONG KONG CHINA bt [9] FINLAND 2/1 Cheuk Yan Tang bt Matias Tuomi 10-12, 11-9, 11-9, 11-8 (60m) Max Lee lost to Olli Tuominen 5-11, 7-11, 11-6, 11-1, 7-11 (53m) Leo Au bt Henrik Mustonen 11-5, 11-2, 11-2
15th place play-off: [12] NEW ZEALAND bt [13] MEXICO 2/0 Paul Coll bt Eric Galvez 11-5, 12-10, 11-9 (44m) Martin Knight bt Arturo Salazar 11-5, 5-11, 13-11, 7-11, 11-1 (47m)
17th place play-off: [17/20] SWITZERLAND bt [17/20] NETHERLANDS 2/0 Jonas Daehler bt Bart Ravelli 11-7, 11-7, 11-9 (22m) Nicolas Mueller bt Laurens Jan Anjema 11-9, 9-11, 11-6, 3-11, 11-7 (64m)
19th place play-off: [17/20] KUWAIT bt [21/24] ARGENTINA 2/0 Yousif Nizar Saleh bt Juan Pablo Roude 13-11, 11-7, 11-7 (39m) Abdullah Al Muzayen bt Hernan D’Arcangelo 9-11, 12-10, 12-10, 14-12 (59m)
21st place play-off: [17/20] COLOMBIA bt [25/28] JAPAN 2/0 Andres Vargas bt Ryosei Kobayashi 11-7, 11-3, 11-4 (42m) Miguel Angel Rodriguez bt Shinnosuke Tsukue 11-2, 11-9, 11-5 (27m)
23rd place play-off: [21/24] IRELAND bt [21/24] BOTSWANA 2/1 Steve Richardson bt Koketso Ntshebe 11-2, 11-8, 12-10 (31m) Arthur Gaskin lost to Alister Walker 6-11, 4-11, 4-11 (25m) Brian O’Brion bt Lekgotla Mosope 11-9, 11-9, 11-8 (30m)
25th place play-off: [25/28] CZECH REPUBLIC bt [29/31] KENYA 2/0 Ondrej Uherka bt Rajdeep Bains 11-6, 11-4, 11-7 (29m) Ondrej Ertl bt Kenneth Mwangi 11-9, 11-7, 12-10 (39m)
27th place play-off: [25/28] POLAND bt [29/31] RUSSIA 3/0 Lukasz Stachowski bt Sergei Beljaev 11-0, 11-6, 11-4 (17m) Wojtek Nowisz bt Valery Litvinko 11-8, 11-7, 12-14, 11-4 (42m) Przemyslaw Atras bt Dmitri Grishanin 11-4, 11-2 (11m)
29th place play-off: [21/24] AUSTRIA bt [25/28] VENEZUELA 2/0 Marcus Greslehner bt Miguel Vallennilla 11-6, 11-4, 11-8 (21m) Aqeel Rehman bt Gabriel Teran 11-0, 11-1, 11-5 (16m)
31st place: [29/31] NAMIBIA
In a dramatic final of the WSF Men’s World Team Squash Championship in France which went the full distance, second seeds England upset defending champions Egypt to reclaim the sport’s most prestigious trophy for the fifth time since 1995.
Daryl Selby put the underdogs ahead before world number one Ramy Ashour evened matters for Egypt, the top seeds bidding to become the first nation since 1987 to win the title three times in a row.
In the decider, world No4 James Willstrop made up for his loss to Karim Darwish at the same stage of the previous final two years ago to beat the world No5 11-3, 11-13, 11-3, 11-5 to clinch the title for England for the first time since 2007.
31 nations have been competing in the 24th edition of the championship which is being staged in France for the first time in its 46-year history. Play has been taking place at two venues in Mulhouse, the Espace Squash 3000 Centre and the Palais Des Sports where, for the first time, matches have been played simultaneously on three ASB all-glass showcourts spectacularly lined up side-by-side.
England made a great start when team number three Selby beat Tarek Momen 11-5, 11-3, 11-7 in his first win over the higher-ranked Egyptian for over three years.
“I am much fitter now than I was,” said Selby when asked to explain the end of his losing run to Momen.
“The focus of my training for the last six months has been for this match,” continued the world No14. “The England team has taken this event extremely seriously. Watching James and Nick last night was an inspiration – the amount of effort they put in was phenomenal. I just wanted to put in the same – and if that helps us win the title I’ll be happy.
“The whole England Squash team put in a lot of effort and energy into the elite programme – and that win was the repayment of that investment. It’s also repaying the support from my family and, of course, there’s new member of my family since last time. In years to come, I would like him (baby son Noah) to be able to say that Daddy was a world champion for England.
“I couldn’t have dreamed of a better performance – my good friend Peter (Barker) would have been watching – as I watched him last time do the same thing to Hisham Ashour.
“This is a fantastic event – the organisers have done a great job – and it’s a great honour to be part of the England team.”
Nick Matthew, who prevailed in the event’s longest match when he beat the hosts’ world No2 Gregory Gaultier in a 138-minute semi-final marathon less than 24 hours earlier, was unable to stop world No1 Ramy Ashour from levelling the tie. Ashour extended his unbeaten run in the event over the last six years when he beat Matthew 5-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-9.
But Willstrop was the underdogs’ hero, taking out Darwish in 69 minutes of tense squash to bring the world title back into England hands.
“It doesn’t get much bigger – does it?” said the 29-year-old Yorkshireman as he tried to take in the achievement.
“We’ve worked so hard for this – we’ve had unbelievable support from England Squash back home,” Willstrop continued. “Nick made an amazing contribution last night.
“We had so many disappointments along the way after last year – so it’s nice to get the trophy back.
“We’ve got a great rivalry with the Egyptians and Ramy has had a lot of success – so it’s lovely when all the work pays off.”
England national coach Chris Robertson was delighted with his team’s success: “It’s good to win something you deserve to win – and I think we deserved to win this title tonight.
“Our goal is to win things – it was very disappointing to lose the final two years ago in Paderborn and also the women’s world final in Nimes last year.
“And it was good to see James exorcise his demons of Paderborn.
“I hope this will inspire some of the younger players back home – we need them to realise that they can also wins things.
“And of course this win is important as we look forward to next year’s Commonwealth Games.”
Earlier, to the ecstatic delight of the packed crowd at the Palais des Sports, hosts France won the bronze medal play-off battle against Australia – the third seeds beating the fourth-seeded former champions 2/0.
Squad number three Mathieu Castagnet survived a tense and close encounter against Ryan Cuskelly, twice coming from behind to beat the Aussie left-hander 8-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-9, 11-6. Showing few signs of the marathon encounter less than 24 hours earlier against England number one Matthew – after which he was barely able to walk – Gregory Gaultier put in a composed performance to overcome world No13 Cameron Pilley 11-9, 11-4, 11-4.
Team coach Renan Lavigne admitted that a team effort, involving the team physio, his staff and all the players helped lift Gaultier after his energy-sapping semi. “He said to me this morning ‘I want to play’,” said Lavigne.
“Right now I’m just relieved. It’s been a long week – and a long night last night, which was hard work.
“We were aiming for a podium finish so any medal is great – though gold would have been better!
“I have no regrets about last night – I can’t complain about losing such a monster semi. Nick played an incredible game.”
Sixth seeds Germany beat South Africa 2/0 to win the play-off for fifth place – recording their highest ever finish. “It was a fantastic performance by my team,” said German team manager Oliver Pettke. “It’s unbelievable to be fifth in the world – I am so proud of my team.
“We had a lot of German support here which was great – and I am sure our success will give squash a big push back home.
“I don’t want to think about what we might achieve next time, that’s two years away – now we should just enjoy the moment!”
India also celebrated their best finish since 1979, bettering their seeding by beating Malaysia 2/0 in the play-off for seventh place. Mahesh Mangaonkar beat Muhd Asyraf Azan 14-12, 11-4, 11-7 before Indian number one Saurav Ghosal recovered from two games down to defeat seasoned opponent Ong Beng Hee 6-11, 7-11, 12-10, 11-7, 11-9.
“It was a great effort today by Saurav and Mahesh, it’s so tough playing on the last day,” said India coach Cyrus Poncha. “I’m pleased with the results and confident that we will keep improving our rankings in the years to come. Most of all, I’m happy finishing as the highest Asian nation.”
Ghosal added: “It’s been a tough week, but I think we all played well and are pleased to finish today with a win. We were disappointed to lose yesterday to Germany – who have finished fifth today – I was so close to beating Simon (Rosner) in five.
“This is the toughest tournament in the world as, especially in my position as the number one, you play top players every day – it’s relentless! But we have a young team, so can look forward to doing even better next time.”
But arguably the most notable success was achieved by Scotland, the 16th seeds who won the play-off for 9th place after beating Pakistan 2/1.
“We achieved this after only losing out only to the event’s top two seeds Egypt and England, who went on to contest the final,” said Scottish coach Roger Flynn. “I’m a very proud man at the moment.”
Semi-finals (all ties played in team order 1, 2, 3):
[1] EGYPT bt [4] AUSTRALIA 2/1 Karim Darwish lost to Cameron Pilley 10-12, 16-14, 10-12, 9-11 (74m) Omar Mosaad bt David Palmer 11-13, 11-6, 11-9, 11-9 (80m) Tarek Momen bt Ryan Cuskelly 3-11, 11-6, 11-5, 7-11, 11-5 (67m)
[2] ENGLAND bt [3] FRANCE 2/0 Nick Matthew bt Gregory Gaultier 5-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-5, 12-10 (138m) James Willstrop bt Thierry Lincou 11-3, 11-8, 7-11, 13-11
5th – 8th place play-offs: [6] GERMANY bt [8] INDIA 2/0 Simon Rosner bt Saurav Ghosal 3-11, 11-8, 10-12, 11-8, 11-7 (91m) Raphael Kandra bt Harinder Pal Sandhu 11-9, 14-12, 5-11, 3-11, 12-10 (84m)
[7] SOUTH AFRICA bt [5] MALAYSIA 2/1 Stephen Coppinger bt Ong Beng Hee 6-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-5 (55m) Shaun le Roux lost to Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan 3-11, 11-7, 11-6, 5-11, 3-11 (63m) Clinton Leeuw bt Muhd Asyraf Azan 12-10, 11-3, 8-11, 10-12, 11-9 (85m)
9th – 12th place play-offs: [14] PAKISTAN bt [15] CANADA 2/0 Nasir Iqbal bt Shawn Delierre 11-6, 7-11, 11-6, 6-11, 11-3 (93m) Farhan Zaman bt Andrew Schnell 8-11, 11-6, 3-11, 11-5, 11-3 (46m)
[16] SCOTLAND bt [11] USA 2/1 Alan Clyne bt Christopher Gordon 12-10, 9-11, 11-2, 8-11, 11-7 (78m) Greg Lobban lost to Gilly Lane 3-11, 3-11, 11-4, 8-11 (43m) Douglas Kempsell bt Dylan Murray 13-11, 11-7, 11-8 (46m)
13th – 16th place play-offs: [10] HONG KONG CHINA bt [12] NEW ZEALAND 2/0 Max Lee bt Martin Knight 7-11, 11-9, 12-10, 8-11, 11-7 (88m) Leo Au bt Evan Williams 12-10, 2-11, 11-8, 11-3 (32m)
[9] FINLAND bt [13] MEXICO 2/1 Olli Tuominen bt Arturo Salazar 7-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-6 (37m) Henrik Mustonen bt Cesar Salazar 6-11, 11-2, 11-8, 8-11, 11-7 (47m) Matias Tuomi lost to Eric Galvez 7-11, 8-11 (20m)
17th – 20th place play-offs: [17/20] SWITZERLAND bt [17/20] KUWAIT 2/1 Nicolas Mueller bt Abdullah Al Muzayen 11-2, 7-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-8 (56m) Reiko Peter bt Ammar Altamimi 7-11, 11-3, 11-8, 11-9 (47m) Jonas Daehler lost to Yousif Nizar Saleh 9-11, 4-11 (18m)
[17/20] NETHERLANDS bt [21/24] ARGENTINA 2/1 Laurens Jan Anjema bt Hernan D’Arcangelo 11-1, 11-5, 11-6 (32m) Sebastiaan Weenink lost to Robertino Pezzota 8-11, 11-4, 9-11, 8-11 (62m) Bart Ravelli bt Leandro Romiglio 7-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-9
21st – 24th place play-offs: [25/28] JAPAN bt [21/24] IRELAND 2/1 Shinnosuke Tsukue lost to Arthur Gaskin 8-11, 10-12, 4-11 (51m) Yuta Fukui bt Brian O’Brion 11-6, 11-7, 11-9 (34m) Ryosei Kobayashi bt Steve Richardson 10-12, 11-5, 11-8, 8-11, 11-6 (61m)
[17/20] COLOMBIA bt [21/24] BOTSWANA 3/0 Miguel Angel Rodriguez bt Lekgotla Mosope 11-3, 11-8, 11-5 (21m) Erick Herrera bt Koketso Ntshebe 11-6, 11-5, 14-12 (18m) Andres Vargas bt Theo Pelonomi 11-3, 11-6 (10m)
25th – 28th place play-offs: [29/31] KENYA bt [29/31] RUSSIA 2/0 Kenneth Mwangi bt Valery Litvinko 11-5, 11-4, 11-8 (22m) Hartaj Bains bt Aleksander Shilov 11-2, 12-10, 11-8 (27m)
[25/28] CZECH REPUBLIC bt [25/28] POLAND 3/0 Ondrej Ertl bt Wojtek Nowisz 11-5, 11-8, 11-2 (31m) Petr Martin bt Marcin Karwowski 9-11, 11-6, 11-4, 11-6 (28m) Daniel Mekbib bt Lukasz Stachowski 12-10, 11-3
29th – 31st place play-offs: [25/28] VENEZUELA bye
[21/24] AUSTRIA bt [29/31] NAMIBIA 2/0 Aqeel Rehman bt Marco Becker 11-1, 12-10, 13-11 (29m) Jakob Dirnberger bt Andrew Forrest 11-6, 11-2, 11-2 (26m)
Top seeds Egypt and England will contest Saturday’s WSF Men’s World Team Squash Championship final in France for the second time in a row after surviving dramatic semi-finals before a packed and exuberant crowd at the Palais Des Sports in Mulhouse.
After defending champions Egypt recovered from a match down to beat former champions Australia 2/1 in the first semi, second seeds England overcame hosts France in a tense contest which ended almost two hours after midnight.
31 nations are competing in the 24th edition of the championship which is being staged in France for the first time in its 46-year history – at two venues, the Espace Squash 3000 Centre and the Palais Des Sports where, for the first time, play is taking place simultaneously on three ASB all-glass showcourts spectacularly lined up side-by-side.
The session began with favourites Egypt facing Australia, the fourth seeds. Underdogs Australia took the lead after close-fought battle in which Australian number one Cameron Pilley, ranked 13 in the world, recorded his career-first victory over world No5 Karim Darwish, winning 12-10, 14-16, 12-10, 11-9 in 74 minutes.
But Omar Mosaad, a world championship debutant, struck back for the defending champions, beating Australia’s comeback hero David Palmer 11-13, 11-6, 11-9, 11-9 in 80 minutes.
Egypt maintained the momentum when Tarek Momen, a last-minute addition to the team squad and also a championship first-timer, fought back from a game down to beat Ryan Cuskelly 3-11, 11-6, 11-5, 7-11, 11-5 in 67 minutes.
After his opening win, Pilley said: “There are only three Egyptians I hadn’t beaten – Ramy, Shabana and Darwish – so now it’s two. I’ve got close a couple of times before – but I’m now much more confident with my fitness and stamina.
“I’m playing really well – probably in the best form of my career. I’ve been working on things recently – mainly on my strengths rather than my weaknesses. That was probably one of the best wins of my career.
“In general when you wear an Aussie jersey, it helps you punch above your weight. When you’re out there you’re doing it for Australia.
“Being number one above David is a bit weird. Throughout my career I have always looked up to him. Having David’s presence lifts the team – it’s such an honour having him around.”
Mosaad, who revealed that he had been ill earlier in the week and unable to eat anything for a whole day, said after his win over Palmer: “It was a big match – everybody knows that David was world number one and a two-time world champion. It was hard today. I lost to him 3/0 last time we played – in fact I have never beaten him or taken a game off him before.
“When Karim lost the first match I tried to say to myself that the match starts now, not from 1/0 down. The first was a hard game and I made too many mistakes. Winning the second game was very important for me and for Egypt, because it brought Egypt back into the match.”
A downcast Palmer said: “I gave it my best – I was disappointed not to be able to close it out after Cam’s great performance. But all credit to Omar, he hardly made any mistakes the whole match.”
Momen was overwhelmed to have led Egypt into their sixth world team final since 1999: “It must be the most important match I’ve ever played – but I’m still not able to grasp the fact that I’m in the world team championship!
“I was nervous watching Karim’s match, but when I went on court for mine I didn’t feel that nervous – and I think I suffered as a result.
“In the break after the fourth game, my coach told me to step it up a notch and reduce the errors.
“Being in the final is an amazing feeling – I just hope we can win the trophy for the third time.”
Egyptian coach Mohamed Medhat Morsi added: “I was pessimistic when Karim went down as we know what a great player Palmer is. But once we had the decider, I was sure that Tarek would win.”
Passion and squash excellence were of the highest order in the opening match of the second semi when local hero Gregory Gaultier, the world No2, faced English rival Nick Matthew, ranked two places lower (both pictured below). This was the pair’s 35th encounter since meeting in the world junior championships 15 years ago – and the Frenchman was 5/2 ahead in meetings so far this year.
It was a titanic battle between two giants of the game – both used to playing each other on the PSA World Tour, but this time proudly representing their countries. With a capacity crowd cheering each French point won, Gaultier took the opening game.
But as the match progressed, with the pair exchanging games to take the match into a decider, both players suffered with cramp – Gaultier seemingly barely able to walk at 9-6 up in the fifth. Matthew maintained his composure, however – fighting not only the opponent but the vociferous crowd – and closed out the marathon encounter 5-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-5, 12-10 after two hours and 18 minutes!
“I’ve certainly never played a match before when both players have suffered severe cramp,” said the England number one. “At one point, I felt as if I’d been hit by the bullet of a sniper but, though the crowd were totally against me, I assume that it didn’t actually happen! Afterwards I maybe got lucky when he was affected by it more.
“But just look at the passion when playing for your country!
“I expected the crowd to be against me of course – it was the loudest crowd I’ve ever played before.
“I’m so delighted for my team as the last couple of times I haven’t done it for the team. The last few points were tough as I had to get the balance between adrenaline and being calm.”
After the passion of the French crowd subsided temporarily, it was time for veteran Frenchman Thierry Lincou, the 37-year-old former world champion, and world No3 James Willstrop to take to the court. The had met 20 times before, with the head-to-head record finely poised at 10 wins apiece – the most recent being in Lincou’s favour in the European Team Championships.
Willstrop opened up a two-game lead but Lincou refused to give up – winning the third and forging a 7-4 lead in the fourth. Both visibly tired as the end of the match approached – but the Yorkshireman clawed back the deficit and, on his third match-ball, finally put England into the final with an 11-3, 11-8, 7-11, 13-11 victory.
“The French pushed us all the way,” said an emotional Willstrop to the event MC afterwards. Referring to the opening match, the 29-year-old told the crowd: “It was one of the finest matches you’ll ever see, for athleticism and skilfulness – it was a match which this fantastic venue deserved, and the crowd deserved. It was a fantastic encounter.”
As the clock approached 2am, Willstrop was asked how the late hour affected him: “Squash players are used to schedules over-running so we know what to expect.
“It’s such a big win, to beat the French – but tomorrow’s another day and we need to prepare ourselves for the final.”
Germany survived two of the longest matches of the tournament to beat India 2/0 and earn a place in play-off for sixth place – guaranteeing the highest finish the team has ever recorded. World No12 Simon Rosner followed up his straight games defeat to Australian Cameron Pilley 24 hours earlier by twice coming from behind to beat India’s number one Saurav Ghosal 3-11, 11-8, 10-12, 11-8, 11-7 in 91 minutes before left-hander Raphael Kandra stemmed a fight back by Harinder Pal Sandhu to beat the Indian number two 11-9, 14-12, 5-11, 3-11, 12-10 in 84 minutes.
“It’s unbelievable – we were bronze medallists for the second time in the recent European Championships and now, six weeks later, we are in the top six of the world,” said German team manager Oliver Pettke. “Simon was really down after his match against Australia yesterday and we all tried to lift him – so we were really pleased with his performance today. That was a very important win for him.
“This is good for German squash. This generation of players is one of the best we have ever had – Simon has pushed everyone and we now have other players doing well on the world tour.”
History was made at the Espace club where Colombia beat event newcomers Botswana in a play-off for the 21st – 24th places. 14-year-old Theo Pelonomi became the youngest player ever to compete in the championships when he represented Botswana in the tie, losing 11-3, 11-6 to Colombian Andres Vargas in the dead rubber.
“I am happy being here – I can learn lots of things,” said schoolboy Pelonomi. “I wasn’t nervous about my match because I knew that the guy was better than me so I just tried to enjoy it.”
Botswana number one Alister Walker, the recently-crowned All-Africa champion who is ranked 15 in the world, added: “It’s all been such an experience for him, I don’t think he probably realises what an honour it is to put himself and his country into the records books.
“Coming here gave us the chance to make an amazing statement. He was a tennis player and switched to squash – so when he goes home and meets up with his friends they are bound to be envious of what he has done.
“And now the team is playing for 23rd place in the world championship in its first year – it’s an achievement of which we are very proud,” concluded Walker.
Final: [1] EGYPT v [2] ENGLAND
3rd place play-off: [4] AUSTRALIA v [3] FRANCE
5th place play-off: [6] GERMANY v [7] SOUTH AFRICA
7th place play-off: [5] MALAYSIA v [8] INDIA
9th place play-off: [14] PAKISTAN v [16] SCOTLAND
11th place play-off: [15] CANADA v [11] USA
13th place play-off: [9] FINLAND v [10] HONG KONG CHINA
15th place play-off: [12] NEW ZEALAND v [13] MEXICO
17th place play-off: [17/20] NETHERLANDS v [17/20] SWITZERLAND
19th place play-off: [21/24] ARGENTINA v [17/20] KUWAIT
21st place play-off: [17/20] COLOMBIA v [25/28] JAPAN
23rd place play-off: [21/24] IRELAND v [21/24] BOTSWANA
25th place play-off: [29/31] KENYA v [25/28] CZECH REPUBLIC
27th place play-off: [29/31] RUSSIA v [25/28] POLAND
29th place play-off: [21/24] AUSTRIA v [25/28] VENEZUELA
RESULTS: World Team Championship, Mulhouse, France
Quarter-finals (all ties played in team order 2, 1, 3):
[1] EGYPT bt [8] INDIA 2/0
Karim Darwish bt Harinder Pal Sandhu 11-7, 11-4, 11-2 (28m)
Ramy Ashour bt Saurav Ghosal 11-7, 11-9, 4-11, 13-11 (61m)
[4] AUSTRALIA bt [6] GERMANY 2/0
David Palmer bt Raphael Kandra 11-9, 11-4, 13-11 (45m)
Cameron Pilley bt Simon Rosner 11-3, 14-12, 11-5 (51m)
[3] FRANCE bt [5] MALAYSIA 3/0
Thierry Lincou bt Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan 11-6, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7 (52m)
Gregory Gaultier bt Ong Beng Hee 11-6, 11-6, 11-5 (42m)
Gregoire Marche bt Sanjay Singh 11-3, 11-3 (16m)
[2] ENGLAND bt [7] SOUTH AFRICA 3/0
James Willstrop bt Shaun le Roux 11-7, 11-6, 11-8 (38m)
Nick Matthew bt Stephen Coppinger 11-4, 11-4, 11-7 (33m)
Daryl Selby bt Rodney Durbach 11-7, 11-6
9th – 16th place play-offs:
[15] CANADA bt [10] HONG KONG CHINA 2/1
Dane Sharp lost to Leo Au 11-4, 4-11, 6-11, 10-12 (60m)
Shawn Delierre bt Max Lee 11-5, 12-10, 11-5 (52m)
David Letourneau bt Cheuk Yan Tang 11-1, 11-5, 11-5 (32m)
[14] PAKISTAN bt [12] NEW ZEALAND 2/1
Farhan Zaman bt Evan Williams 13-11, 11-6, 11-4 (29m)
Nasir Iqbal lost to Martin Knight 4-11, 13-15, 10-12 (53m)
Farhan Mehboob bt Paul Coll 11-5, 11-7, 11-4 (31m)
[11] USA bt [13] MEXICO 2/0
Gilly Lane bt Cesar Salazar 11-7, 12-10, 4-11, 11-3 (46m)
Christopher Gordon bt Arturo Salazar 11-6, 11-4, 11-9 (33m)
[16] SCOTLAND bt [9] FINLAND 2/1
Greg Lobban lost to Henrik Mustonen 13-11, 7-11, 11-3, 9-11, 9-11 (61m)
Alan Clyne bt Olli Tuominen 11-7, 11-5, 12-14, 10-12, 11-9 (60m)
Douglas Kempsell bt Matias Tuomi 8-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-5 (45m)
17th – 24th place play-offs:
[17/20] KUWAIT bt [25/28] JAPAN 3/0
Ammar Altamimi bt Yuta Fukui 11-6, 11-7, 11-7 (30m)
Abdullah Al Muzayen bt Shinnosuke Tsukue 11-8, 11-9, 11-8 (30m)
Yousif Nizar Saleh bt Ryosei Kobayashi 11-6, 11-9 (18m)
[17/20] SWITZERLAND bt [21/24] IRELAND 2/1
Reiko Peter bt Brian O’Brion 11-9, 11-9, 11-8 (47m)
Nicolas Mueller bt Arthur Gaskin 12-10, 11-3, 15-13 (39m)
Patrick Miescher lost to Steve Richardson 11-8, 6-11, 8-11 (33m)
[17/20] NETHERLANDS bt [21/24] BOTSWANA 2/0
Sebastiaan Weenink bt Lekgotla Mosope 11-7, 11-7, 11-8 (31m)
Laurens Jan Anjema bt Alister Walker 9-11, 11-6, 11-4, 11-5 (50m)
[21/24] ARGENTINA bt [17/20] COLOMBIA 2/1
Robertino Pezzota bt Erick Herrera 11-6, 11-6, 11-7 (42m)
Hernan D’Arcangelo lost to Miguel Angel Rodriguez 10-12, 9-11, 11-7, 12-14 (54m)
Leandro Romiglio bt Bernardo Samper 11-0, 11-6, 11-2 (29m)
25th – 31st place play-offs:
[29/31] RUSSIA bye
[29/31] KENYA bt [25/28] VENEZUELA 2/0
Hartaj Bains bt Miguel Mendez 11-6, 11-6, 11-1 (20m)
Kenneth Mwangi bt Gabriel Teran 11-6, 11-1, 11-7 (22m)
[25/28] POLAND bt [29/31] NAMIBIA 2/1
Marcin Karwowski bt Norbert Dorgeloh 11-4, 11-8, 11-13, 11-9 (36m)
Wojtek Nowisz lost to Marco Becker 11-13, 13-15, 8-11 (46m)
Przemyslaw Atras bt Andrew Forrest 11-8, 12-10, 8-11, 11-8 (58m)
[25/28] CZECH REPUBLIC bt [21/24] AUSTRIA 2/1
Petr Martin bt Jakob Dirnberger 11-6, 11-7, 11-8
Ondrej Ertl lost to Aqeel Rehman 11-9, 9-11, 3-11, 6-11 (53m)
Daniel Mekbib bt Andreas Freudensprung 11-6, 11-0, 11-3 (22m)
Top Four Nations Reach World Semis For Fourth Time In a Row
Egypt, England, Australia and hosts France will contest the semi-finals of the WSF Men’s World Team Squash Championship for the fourth time in a row after surging through today’s quarter-finals of the biennial event being staged in France for the first time in its 46-year history.
31 nations are competing in the 24th edition of the championship at two venues in Mulhouse – the Espace Squash 3000 Centre and the Palais Des Sports where, for the first time, play is taking place simultaneously on three ASB all-glass showcourts spectacularly lined up side-by-side.
Favourites Egypt, looking to become the first nation since 1987 to win the title three times in a row, brushed aside eighth seeds India 2/0.
Karim Darwish, the world No5 making his seventh successive appearance in the championship, defeated Harinder Pal Sandhu 11-7, 11-4, 11-2 – then world number one Ramy Ashour recovered from game-ball down in the fourth to beat top-ranked Indian Saurav Ghosal (both pictured below) 11-7, 11-9, 4-11, 13-11 in just over an hour.
“It’s my seventh time in a row in these championships and I am pleased to win today to put Egypt into a strong position in this tie,” said 31-year-old Darwish. “There are a lot of problems back in Egypt – if we win it’s the least we can do for our country to make the people happy. It would be great for our people.
“To be the captain of Egypt in the most successful era for squash in our country makes me very proud. It is one of my dreams to hold the trophy for the third time.”
After clinching victory for Egypt on the centre court in the hot Palais Des Sports, Ashour said: “The conditions out there were incredibly tough – it was exhausting physically and mentally. It felt like my 758th match of the year! It took me a long time to warm up.
“I really wanted to play Saurav today – I knew it would be a good game. I definitely lost a lot of calories.
“Everybody in the team is playing really well – we came here to win. The people back home are rooting for us big time – and we want to win it for them.”
When asked about th
Ireland’s men play in the World championships starting this Sunday 9th in Mulhouse, France. Mulhouse is on the Swiss border beside Basle.
Ireland are drawn against Germany, USA and the Czech Republic. Not a bad draw and the team are confident of a very good showing aiming to get to the last 16 at least.
There are 31 teams entered with 12 from Europe.
The Irish team is Arthur Gaskin, Derek Ryan, Brian Byrne & Steve Richardson.
Wishing the guys the best of luck and come back to the irish Squash website next week to get all the Irish results as they happen.
Fixtures
| 9 June 13 | |||||||
| 15.00 | Germany |
– | Ireland |
ESP 1 | |||
| 10 June 13 | |||||||
| 12.00 | Ireland |
– | Czech Republic |
PDS GC2 | |||
| 11 June 13 | |||||||
| 11.00 | U.S.A. |
– | Ireland |
ESP 2 | |||
An Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD, officially opened the new home for Irish Sport
and Irish Squash on the National Sports Campus in Blanchardstown, Dublin 15 on Wednesday 29th May. As it was also the day the International Olympic Committee shortlisted Squash for possible inclusion in the 2020 Olympics, lets hope it is a good omen.
Situated beside the HQ of the FAI and Institute for Sport, Irish Sport HQ is home to 19 National Governing Bodies (NGB’S) and is the first real home for Irish Sport. The National Aquatic Centre is also on the campus and is 10 years old this year and has been a huge success both as a home for high performance swimming and as a facility for families and the community with over 7 million visitors since it opened for the Special Olympics in 2003.
Leo Varadkar, the minister responsible for sport was also in attendance and spoke of further development that will take place on the 500 arce campus. Training pitches are being developed this year by the GAA, FAI & IRFU. An indoor arena will be the next priority when finances allow, but one thing is certain, the National Sports Campus is the future for Irish Sport, where many developments and facilities will be developed in the years to come.
Pictured is Ed Dunne, President of Irish Squash showing An Taoiseach the Silver medal which Ireland won at the recent European Championships in Amsterdam where Laura Mylotte, Ciara Moloney, Madeline Perry and Aisling Blake and manager Anne Costello, came 2nd in Europe for the second year in a row, a wonderful achievement!
Ed is also pictured with Minister Varadkar who is a regular sportsman himself.
29 May, St Petersburg, Russia: The World Squash Federation today welcomed the decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board to shortlist Squash as a potential sport to join the Olympic Programme for the 2020 Olympic Games. The IOC Executive Board, which comprises 15 IOC members including President Jacques Rogge, made its decision after receiving presentations from eight sports.
The Squash presentation team included seven-time women’s world champion and world number one Nicol David, and Ramy Ashour, men’s world champion and world number one. Three films – which can be viewed at www.worldsquash.org/ws/?page_id=11686 – were shown in the Squash presentation, including a newly-commissioned film which captures the broadcast innovations the sport has introduced in the last few years.
World Squash Federation President N Ramachandran, who led Squash’s presentation team, said: “This is a huge milestone in our quest to join the Olympic Programme and I would like to thank the Executive Board for the faith it has placed in Squash. It was fantastic to have the women’s and men’s world number ones on our presentation team, and Nicol and Ramy were passionate about what it would mean to them to have the chance to compete in the Olympic Games. It was also important that our presentation communicated the scale and breadth of innovations that Squash has introduced over the last few years, in particular in key areas such as broadcasting, and I believe we did that.
Malaysia’s Nicol David, seven-time World Champion, said: “This is a great day for Squash as it takes us one step closer to realising our long held ambition to join the Olympic Games. I said to the Executive Board that the one big regret in my career is that I have never had the chance to compete in the Olympic Games, but I would happily trade all my seven world titles for the chance of Olympic Gold. Hopefully that showed what competing in the Games means to me. It was a true honour to play a part in our presentation and I will do everything I can as we head towards Buenos Aires to help our campaign.”
Egypt’s Ramy Ashour, Men’s World Number one, added: “It was great for Nicol and me to be part of the presentation team and to represent the Men’s and Women’s professional Squash Tours. I think this was an important message to the IOC Executive Board as it shows what competing in the Games would mean to us and every single player on the tours. Being part of our presentation has fuelled even more my dream to compete in the Olympic Games, and I really do pray that this journey leads me to the Olympic Games in 2020, where I can make my country proud and win Gold for Egypt.”
President Ramachandran concluded: “Squash would grow all over the world with the Olympic Movement. We are a growing, global sport played in 185 countries by millions across the world. We offer the genuine prospect of new nations on the medal podium. We would be easy and low cost to integrate into the Olympic Games with just 64 athletes, two competition courts that can be built in days and we have a great track record of being hosted in iconic locations. I think all these elements were important considerations for the IOC Executive Board. It is critical now that we build further momentum and support ahead of the IOC member vote in Buenos Aires on September 8, and this is what the global Squash family is completely focussed on.”
Picture below shows the WSF St Petersburg presentation team, featuring President Ramachandran, centre, flanked by Nicol David and Ramy Ashour, with WSF Secretary General George Mieras (left) and WSF CEO Andrew Shelley (right)
– 
Squash is proposing a knock-out format men’s and women’s singles championships for inclusion in the Olympic Games. It would comprise 32 male and 32 female players.
Squash, wrestling and baseball/softball were shortlisted by the IOC Executive Board. A final decision on which sport will join the 2020 Olympic Games will be taken by the IOC membership at its Session in Buenos Aires on September 8 2013.
Gaskin Just Loses Out in Australia
Australia’s seemingly ageless Mike Corren broke yet another record at the City of Perth International Challenge in Western Australia when he became the oldest man ever to win a title on the men’s Professional Squash Association World Tour.
The 39-year-old beat Irishman Arthur Gaskin in four games in the final of the PSA Challenger 5 event at the Terrace Squash Centre in Perth to claim his 44th Tour title.
Corren becomes the first 39-year-old to win a Tour title, and the oldest player since France’s former world champion Thierry Lincou won the Bluenose Classic in Canada in April last year – one month before his 36th birthday.
World No63 Corren won his first title in Hong Kong in 1996 and has been a regular winner ever since – his current title haul being 13 more than his nearest PSA rival, the new British Open champion Ramy Ashour!
The Adelaide-based veteran has struggled in his previous two tournaments in Darwin and Alice Springs – but, after surviving a first round scare against fellow countryman Andrew Fraser, looked increasingly in control in Perth and saw off the dangerous Irishman in four games 12-10, 5-11, 11-6, 11-7.
Corren could add more trophies to his collection at his next two tournaments in his home state of South Australia, where he is once again top seed in both the Toyota Barossa Valley Open and South Australian Open.
RESULTS: PSA Challenger 5 City of Perth International Challenge, Perth, Australia
1st round: [1] Mike Corren (AUS) bt Andrew Fraser (AUS) 9-11, 15-13, 8-11, 11-7, 11-4 [Q] Liam Gutcher (ENG) bt James Skiffington (NZL) 11-8, 9-11, 11-5, 11-7 Sanjay Singh (MAS) bt [Q] T J Rarere (AUS) 11-4, 11-3, 11-7 Rhys Dowling (AUS) bt [6] Micah Franklin (BER) 11-8, 11-5, 11-5 [Q] Addeen Idrakie (MAS) bt [5] Justin Beard (AUS) 4-11, 11-8, 11-7, 5-11, 11-6 Nosherwan Khan (PAK) bt [Q] Thoboki Mohohlo (RSA) 11-5, 12-10, 11-7 Jean-Pierre Brits (RSA) bt Thomas Calvert (AUS) 11-9, 11-5, 11-6 [4] Paul Coll (NZL) bt [Q] Tristan Eysele (ENG) 12-10, 11-9, 11-8 [3] Arthur Gaskin (IRL) bt Luke Sims (AUS) 11-3, 11-2, 8-11, 11-3 [Q] Kwon Hyeon-Jun (KOR) bt Adam Auckland (ENG) 6-11, 11-5, 7-11, 11-8, 12-10 Sunil Seth (AUS) bt [WC] Matthew Bridle (AUS) 11-4, 11-8, 11-5 [7] Robert Downer (ENG) bt Jack Jago (ENG) 11-9, 11-6, 4-11, 11-8 [8] Kim Are Killingberg (NOR) bt [Q] Rohan Toole (AUS) 11-7, 11-3, 11-5 Matias Tuomi (FIN) bt [Q] Jason Patmore (AUS) 11-8, 11-5, 11-4 Arthur Moineau (FRA) bt Tim Cowell (AUS) 11-9, 12-10, 11-9 Tom de Mulder (BEL) bt [LL] Neal Brooker (ENG) 11-4, 11-4, 11-1
2nd round: [1] Mike Corren (AUS) bt [Q] Liam Gutcher (ENG) 11-7, 11-8, 11-7 Sanjay Singh (MAS) bt Rhys Dowling (AUS) 11-7, 11-4, 11-4 Nosherwan Khan (PAK) bt [Q] Addeen Idrakie (MAS) 8-11, 11-6, 10-12, 11-9, 11-4 [4] Paul Coll (NZL) bt Jean-Pierre Brits (RSA) 14-12, 11-5, 11-5 [3] Arthur Gaskin (IRL) bt [Q] Kwon Hyeon-Jun (KOR) 11-5, 11-7, 7-11, 11-6 Sunil Seth (AUS) bt [7] Robert Downer (ENG) 10-12, 11-9, 11-4, 6-11, 11-8 Matias Tuomi (FIN) bt [8] Kim Are Killingberg (NOR) 11-4, 11-7, 8-11, 13-11 Arthur Moineau (FRA) bt Tom de Mulder (BEL) 11-8, 11-4, 12-10
Quarter-finals: [1] Mike Corren (AUS) bt Sanjay Singh (MAS) 12-10, 11-6, 5-11, 11-5 [4] Paul Coll (NZL) bt Nosherwan Khan (PAK) 11-7, 11-7, 11-5 [3] Arthur Gaskin (IRL) bt Sunil Seth (AUS) 11-5, 11-9, 11-5 Matias Tuomi (FIN) bt Arthur Moineau (FRA) 11-9, 3-11, 11-9, 11-7
Semi-finals: [1] Mike Corren (AUS) bt [4] Paul Coll (NZL) 7-11, 11-5, 12-10, 11-5 (54m) [3] Arthur Gaskin (IRL) bt Matias Tuomi (FIN) 11-5, 11-8, 11-9 (40m)
Final: [1] Mike Corren (AUS) bt [3] Arthur Gaskin (IRL) 12-10, 5-11, 11-6, 11-7 (57m)
Women’s & Men’s World Number Ones in Squash Olympic Presentation27 May 2013, St Petersburg, Russia: A Squash delegation that includes women’s world number one Nicol David and men’s world number one Ramy Ashour, today arrived in St Petersburg ahead of a crucial presentation to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board, where the sport will make its case to join the 2020 Olympic Games Programme.
The IOC Executive Board is expected to reduce the current list of eight sports bidding to join the 2020 Games following presentations on 29 May.
World Squash Federation President N Ramachandran, who leads Squash’s presentation team, said: “This is a significant milestone in our quest to join the Olympic Programme and I am delighted that our presentation team includes the women’s and men’s world number ones and current World Champions. It is crucial that we show the IOC Executive Board that we have the absolute commitment of our leading players and having Nicol and Ramy with us says so much.
“An important theme of our presentation will be the scale and breadth of innovations that Squash has introduced over the last few years. These include all glass courts, professional sports presentation, referee video review and the latest broadcast techniques such as multiple camera angles, Super Slow Mo replay and our plans to introduce Super HD. Indeed, our innovation has probably been the most dramatic in the way Squash is now broadcast and presented.
“We will also be stressing the global reach of Squash. It is played in 185 countries by millions across the world, is growing in countries as diverse as Paraguay, India, Egypt and the United States – where we have almost one million players – and order books of court manufacturers are the fullest they have ever been.
“Squash also offers genuine medal opportunities to a growing number of countries and the prospect of new nations on the medal podium. Just look at the current Women’s top 20 which feature 11 countries, and the fact that all five continental confederations have produced both male and female world champions, as proof of this.”
Malaysia’s seven time world champion Nicol David, said: “I’m delighted to be here and play my part in what is an incredibly important moment for Squash. For so long I have dreamed of competing in the Olympic Games – so to be here, presenting to the IOC Executive Board, is a true honour. I just want to show how much competing in the Games would mean to me, as well as every single player on our tours. I’m also particularly proud of the strength and professionalism of our Women’s tour, and of female participation in the management of our sport.
“The one big regret in my career is that I have never had the chance to compete in the Olympic Games. I’m 29 years old but I still think I could play at the very top level in 2020 and I would happily trade my seven world titles for the chance of Olympic Gold. My own country, Malaysia, has never won Gold at the Games and if I can stay healthy, and of course with the support of the IOC, perhaps I can try to make Olympic history for Malaysia in 2020.”
Egypt’s Ramy Ashour, added: “It’s fantastic for Nicol and me to be part of the presentation team and to represent the Men’s and Women’s professional Squash tours. Squash has had a profound impact on many thousands of Egyptians, and it enjoys a popularity surpassed only by soccer in my country. It is played not just in Cairo but right across Egypt, by all ages – in fact, Egypt are women’s and men’s world senior and junior team champions, and the sport has given Egyptians a sense of pride over the past few, difficult years.
“Squash reflects the essence of Olympic sport – it’s gladiatorial, physically demanding and mentally challenging. It’s a true sport, and already played in every major multi sport games – including the Asian, Commonwealth, Pan Am and World Games.
“I’m only 25 but in my time competing on the Men’s Tour and international events, I know that our sport has been on a journey. And I really do hope and pray that this journey leads me to the Olympic Games in 2020, where I can make my country proud and win Gold for Egypt.”
President Ramachandran concluded: “Squash would also be easy and low cost to integrate into the Olympic Games with just 64 athletes, and two competition courts that can be built in a few days. We could share a venue or it could take place in an iconic location, and our sport has a great track record of doing exactly that.
“In fact, just last week the British Open took place in a Premier League soccer stadium. Scoring is simple in Squash, matches are short and positions are decided on court, not by judges’ scores. We will be doing our best to bring all these elements to life in our presentation.”
The final decision on which sport will join the 2020 Olympic Programme will be made by the IOC membership at the IOC Session in Buenos Aires on 8 September 2013.
Laura Massaro has become the first Englishwoman to win the Allam British Open title in 22 years after a superb performance to defeat top seed Nicol David. 
The 29-year-old from Preston saw the perfect start to British Open campaign, beating unseeded Joey Chan in the opening round, followed by a tricky four-game tie against Dipika Pallikal of India. Massaro needed to another good performance to see off the challenge of Egyptian Omneya Abdel Kawy in the quarter-finals, before recovering from a game down to beat close rival Raneem El Weleily in yesterday’s semi.
All the signs were pointing to another title win for Nicol David, as the world champion from Malaysia looked strong in her early round matches against Joshana Chinappa and Sarah Kippax. In the quarters she dismissed Joelle King in straight games, and Alison Waters faired no better in the semi-final round as the seven-time world champion moved into the final yet to drop a game.
Massaro, who defeated the world No.1 on her home-turf in the KL Open in March, got off to the best possible start in the final of this $90,000 World Series event. She stormed to a five-point lead before David could register a response, and had her opponent retrieving into all four corners of the court.
Volleying well and picking her moment to attack short, the Englishwoman closed out the first game, but David game back in the second with all guns blazing. Her length extended, she caused problems for Massaro for the first time in the match, who struggled to gain time on the tee, pinned to the back of the court. A 7-1 lead was soon converted by the Malaysian to draw level, which set up a nail-biting third game.
Both players battled for the middle of court, hunting the volley to deny the other time. The scores remained close throughout the game until David snuck ahead in the last few points. Massaro salvaged three game balls however, and served to win the third game before winning the crucial point on a video review stroke.
With the home favourite back in front, David refocused but was unable to launch a similar counter attack as she had in the second game. Massaro, tactically astute all match, stayed with the higher seed during the early points, before pulling ahead to 7-3 with the crowd roaring their support. David’s error count increased uncharacteristically as she searched for the winning points, and wasted a vital point by serving out to gift Massaro championship ball.
The four-time British Open winner salvaged two points, but this was not to be her year as the packed audience celebrated witnessing the first home winner of the British Open since Lisa Opie in 1991. An excellent tactical effort from Massaro sees the Englishwoman clinch the third World Series title and the twelfth of her career.
Photographs to follow, upon emailed request.
Final:
[2] Laura Massaro (ENG) bt [1] Nicol David (MAS) 11-4, 3-11, 12-10, 11-8
Semi-finals:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt [4] Alison Waters (ENG) 11-5, 11-4, 11-5 (27m)
[2] Laura Massaro (ENG) bt [3] Raneem El Weleily (EGY) 8-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-9 (48m)
Quarter-finals:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt [6] Joelle King (NZL) 13-11, 11-8, 11-1 (35m)
[4] Alison Waters (ENG) bt [12] Kasey Brown (AUS) 11-4, 11-3, 11-4 (25m)
[3] Raneem El Weleily (EGY) bt [8] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) 9-11, 11-6, 11-4, 11-5 (42m)
[2] Laura Massaro (ENG) bt [14] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) 11-7, 11-6, 9-11, 11-8 (50m)
2nd round:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt Sarah Kippax (ENG) 11-2, 14-12, 11-2 (35m)
[6] Joelle King (NZL) bt [13] Annie Au (HKG) 11-5, 11-7, 11-5 (27m)
[4] Alison Waters (ENG) bt [16] Rachael Grinham (AUS) 11-2, 11-4, 8-11, 7-11, 11-4 (42m)
[12] Kasey Brown (AUS) bt Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) 8-11, 9-11, 12-10, 11-7, 12-10 (61m)
[8] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) bt Nour El Tayeb (EGY) 14-12, 11-4, 11-4 (25m)
[3] Raneem El Weleily (EGY) bt [11] Madeline Perry (IRL) 11-7, 12-10, 11-5 (25m)
[14] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) bt [5] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) 16-14, 11-7, 11-8 (29m)
[2] Laura Massaro (ENG) bt [15] Dipika Pallikal (IND) 6-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-6 (45m)
1st round:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt [Q] Joshana Chinappa (IND) 11-4, 11-5, 11-4 (30m)
Sarah Kippax (ENG) bt [10] Natalie Grinham (NED) 9-11, 13-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-7 (68m)
[6] Joelle King (NZL) bt [Q] Samantha Cornett (CAN) 11-8, 11-7, 11-8 (34m)
[13] Annie Au (HKG) bt Aisling Blake (IRL) 11-9, 8-11, 11-6, 11-6 (56m)
[4] Alison Waters (ENG) bt Emily Whitlock (ENG) 11-13, 11-7, 11-7, 11-9 (56m)
[16] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt [Q] Nicolette Fernandes (GUY) 10-12, 1-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-8 (58m)
Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bt [7] Low Wee Wern (MAS) 11-7, 13-11, 7-11, 11-9 (62m)
[12] Kasey Brown (AUS) bt [Q] Lauren Briggs (ENG) 11-6, 11-5, 11-7 (39m)
Nour El Tayeb (EGY) bt [9] Camille Serme (FRA) 10-12, 11-6, 11-7, 11-5 (49m)
[8] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) bt [Q] Latasha Khan (USA) 11-4, 11-2, 11-2 (24m)
[11] Madeline Perry (IRL) bt [Q] Emma Beddoes (ENG) 12-10, 11-8, 11-9 (44m)
[3] Raneem El Weleily (EGY) bt [Q] Delia Arnold (MAS) 8-11, 11-7, 11-3, 11-4 (39m)
[14] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) bt Donna Urquhart (AUS) 11-9, 11-4, 11-4 (22m)
[5] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) bt [Q] Amanda Sobhy (USA) 12-10, 9-11, 14-12, 11-7 (47m)
[15] Dipika Pallikal (IND) bt Line Hansen (DEN) 13-11, 14-16, 11-6, 8-11, 11-4 (76m)
[2] Laura Massaro (ENG) bt Joey Chan (HKG) 14-12, 11-1, 11-6 (29m)
