On our final day of competition we faced Germany. We prepared as usual, our final buffet breakfast at the Hyatt Regency was emotional for Gavin, he demolished his usual stack of freshly made pancakes and waffles… We were keen to finish on a positive note and get the win. The final day is tough, the mood is always a little somber for all the teams outside of the final. However, it was nice to be in the club with most of the other teams. The divide between the mall and club left it feeling a bit empty and lacked atmosphere during the team event. The glass court set up in the Express Avenue Shopping Centre was really impressive but in our opinion, it did take away from the event and made it difficult to watch the top match ups. The glass court in the ISA would have been sufficient.
Playing order was 1,3,2. Conor, Scott, Sam. Conor was playing really good stuff, digging deep and focusing on the job in hand. At the end of the second, his German opponent had to quickly reel off three tins and make a runner for the WC.. Deli belly struck again. He impressively managed to get back before the ref call time, but Conor wasn’t troubled and ran out an easy winner in the end.
Scott continued his rich vein of form, he made light work of his opponent. Too much ball control, deception and won relatively easy in 3. That wrapped up the tie and our event.
Looking down through the final team positioning from 2 to 18, England to France, there really was not much to separate any of us. France, for example were two points away from beating Malaysia.. that could have landed them in the top 8, not playing Scotland for 17-18.. USA somehow managed a run to the semi finals (other teams injuries helped), Michael Creavan had beaten their no.2 player in the individuals. We had a shot at England that could have swung either way too. Egypt were head and shoulders above the rest, but really and truly, not much to separate the rest.
Some shocking news came as we finished our match with Germany, the South African coach, who was present for the tie previous to ours, had suddenly passed away just outside the venue. He was a real gentleman and his passing caused a wave of shock and sadness throughout the event. RIP Mr Graham Prior.
Egypt ran out winners over England in the final. The “formal” function was held in our hotel. A few speakers from WSF and the Indian Squash President said a few words and we headed back down to our final supper in the buffet. An over load of tandoori chicken and naan bread the past two weeks won’t be missed by lots of the guys. I might miss it a little.
All in all, it was some experience. The tough team losses were super hard to digest, the dept of every nation was impressive. Argentina’s no.1 player only losing one match the entire event and Czech Republic’s bronze medal were the stand out performances.
So many lessons learned for the full squad, very much a worth while effort! We will be tougher and we have gained a wealth of experience.
The long journey home has begun with a arduous trek through immigration in Chennai airport. Some tired bodies, tired minds. India is an experience like no other, the team were a pleasure to spend time with, great fun and their positivity was infectious! That’s certainly helps on a long trip such as this. Life long memories made.
Time to set some goals and get ready for the season ahead, this team and all it’s players have a lot more to achieve yet!
– 
Germany: 2-0| Time: | Sun 29/07/2018 13:15 |
|---|---|
| Draw: | Junior Team – Men’s |
| Score: | 2-0 |
| Order | Event | Ireland |
– | Germany |
Score | Points | Duration | ||||||
| 1 | MS1 |
|
– |
|
11-5 11-5 9-11 11-4 | 1-0 | 0:30 | ||||||
| 2 | MS3 |
|
– |
|
11-9 11-9 11-9 | 1-0 | 0:35 | ||||||
| 3 | MS2 |
|
– |
|
Court 3, our home court at this stage.. We took on the formidable Colombians, the 7th seeds for this event. That means we’ve played our matches against the 3rd, 4th and 7th seeds. Tough going.
One of the reasons they were seeded 7th is because of their no.1 player. Mathias Knudsen. He has been a really outstanding player in this championships, he plays a very exciting and unusual brand of squash.
Playing order was 1, 2 ,3.. Our team had Conor, Scott and Gavin representing, Sam was still recovering from a virus.
Conor looked rejuvenated, playing really smart squash, causing all sorts of problems for the mega talented Colombian. He used height superbly well, some perfect lobs followed by quick counter drops. A few phases of play where Mathias was unplayable, the first game was close, but no cigar.
Similar story in the 2nd game, great squash from both, it was on a knife edge. Tight all the way but we lost it again, 0-2 down.
A valiant effort in the 3rd, a few outrageous shots from both players, serious retrieving but again, no joy. 3-0 Colombia.
Scott was on next. He has excelled in the past few days. A very professional performance after losing the first, he took down his tall opponent in 4. He had to work hard though, never easy, in the end he was just the better squash player.
Gavin had his debut for the team in the decider. Nerves weren’t evident in the opening games, he played the best I have seen him play! Massive rallies, full court coverage, clinical finishing, inspiring stuff. His error count was low, used height beautifully and controlled the pace.
He was 2-0 up, 15-13 and 11-5.
The third was quickly won by the Colombian, perhaps Gavin’s efforts were starting to show..
He lost the fourth and went toe to toe on the fifth game for about 8 points. Unfortunately the South American was too strong in the end. Unbelievably good performance from Gavin, shame it couldn’t have been converted to a win.
Another loss, another lesson learned. Tomorrow is our final day and we’re playing Germany. Hoping to finish with a win..
David Noone
– Ireland: 2-1| Time: | Sat 28/07/2018 14:30 |
|---|---|
| Draw: | Junior Team – Men’s |
| Score: | 2-1 |
| Order | Event | Colombia |
– | Ireland |
Score | Points | Duration | ||||||
| 1 | MS1 |
|
– |
|
11-7 11-8 11-6 | 1-0 | 0:32 | ||||||
| 2 | MS2 |
|
– |
|
11-8 5-11 9-11 6-11 | 0-1 | 0:36 | ||||||
| 3 | MS3 |
|
– |
|
13-15 5-11 11-3 11-7 11-2 | 1-0 | 1:02 |
India is starting to catch up on us. We certainly have no complaints about our comforts here, it’s a top end hotel we’re staying at, that serves top end food. But no matter how great the surroundings are, it’s not home and it can be hard to be away from home for this long. Especially when most of our players have just turned 17.. This feeling of loneliness mixed with a groundhog day feeling is a little more on the surface the day after losing a close battle in the last 16..
Even still, every time you play for your country, it is a privilege and we tried our upmost to forget the longing for home and focus on our match against Switzerland.
There are no easy matches at this championships. The seeds from no.2 right down to no.17 or no.18 could honestly beat each other. It is amazing and a true testament to a healthy worldwide squash scene. This tie was one of those that could swing either way. Everyone needed to be on top form.
Sam was on first against Nils Roesch, whom he had beaten in the individual event. We were confident for this match but within the first 5 points, Sam was white as a ghost and his eyes were almost rolling in his head. He lost it quickly. Between games he took on some essential fluids, electrolytes, carbohydrates.. He dug deep in the second, somehow finding the energy to get to 6 all, but lost it from there. He wasn’t himself and had zero energy. He finished out the match, but there was very little resistance.
Conor was up against Yannick Wilehmi. A tough test. Like all the no.1’s here, you don’t get much cheap and the battle runs a lot deeper than just playing a game of squash. Yannick’s a great technician, cuts down from a height on every ball and works the corners very well. He’s athletic and very resilient. A slippy start from Conor in the first, he lost it 11-3. He then started to played some great squash, each of the 2nd and 3rd games were close. 6 all in each is where the game ran away from him. There is a lesson in that for Conor and like all of his matches here, he’ll be a better player for this experience.
So with two 3-0 losses, the tie was over. So Scott didn’t play.
It was a tough day at the office.
We’re going to go to the mall to watch England play Pakistan and then go to the escape rooms, to get our mind off squash and have some fun. Top 10 is no longer possible for us, but we have a lot of pride to play for.
Looking forward to another test tomorrow.
David Noone
– 
Switzerland: 0-2| Time: | Fri 27/07/2018 14:30 |
|---|---|
| Draw: | Junior Team – Men’s |
| Score: | 0-2 |
| Order | Event | Ireland |
– | Switzerland |
Score | Points | Duration | ||||||
| 1 | MS1 |
|
– |
|
3-11 9-11 6-11 | 0-1 | 0:33 | ||||||
| 2 | MS2 |
|
– |
|
6-11 7-11 3-11 | 0-1 | 0:33 | ||||||
| 3 | MS3 |
|
– |
|
Malaysia for a place in 1/4 final, top 8. It was always going to be a big ask, a win would require top performances from all players and take all the experience and fitness we’ve built up over the past few months. Malaysia are traditionally one of the strongest nations at this championships but have been tested in their group stage by France. Their top string player just lost in the 1/4’s of the individual event, a close 3-2.
We fielded our strongest team again. Playing order today was 3, 1, 2. Scott, Conor, Sam.
Morning prep went well. Very light 0730 wake up gym session for Scott, just to get the body moving and the blood flowing. A champions breakfast of freshly made omelettes, apart from Gavin, who is devouring about 4 freshly made breakfast waffles everyday.. with cream..
We got tuctucs to the club, more convenient and it heightens the senses.. Perception and reactions are sharp after 15 mins on the roads in India.
With all supporters in place, the flag laid down, team photos taken, we were ready.
Scott was class in the opening game. Long, hard, high tempo rallies. He showed the Malaysian that it wasn’t going to be easy. It wasn’t. Scott took the first.
The 2nd was the same, really closely contested. It was a heated battle, plenty of argy bargy, mental and physical reserves were being tested. Scott lost the 2nd and 3rd, both players looking a bit punch drunk in the 4th, it could be anyones match.
At 6-10, match ball down, Scott put a really good string of points together and got back to 9-10. We thought that this might be going to 5, unfortunately it didn’t.
Scott played really well, kept his error count down and is playing better each day!
Conor had a tough one. Darren Rahul. Their no.1. He dominates the middle, holds his ground and sometimes takes excessive space. Conor needed to play tidy squash, maybe the best he’s ever played to win..
He started supremely well. Similar to yesterday, hit every corner at the right time, applied great pressure. He was one up in no time.
Very exciting for us, he was close to taking the second and it went to the wire. The Malaysian took it and carried the momentum through the 3rd. Conor’s fitness was now becoming an issue, usually his strength, it was unusual to see him deprived of oxygen. Being exposed to this level of squash is one of the many reasons a trip like this is so worth while for player development. Conor was pushed to the edge, mentally and physically. He did extremely well for 95% of the match, but just couldn’t push past that fatigue. A great lesson and will inspire future training sessions.
With Conor losing 3-1, the choice was made not to play the dead rubber match. Sam practiced with the rest of the squad in preparation for tomorrow’s tie against Switzerland. They lost out to a strong Czech team. We play at 1430, again on court 3.. no streaming.
Our team spirit is still high, we had a good laugh in the hotel, watch Pakistan beat India in the mall and were treated to a high class meal thanks to Henry. Very generous. Very enjoyable.
The highest we can finish now is 9th.. that’s the goal and we’ll do our best to execute.
– Ireland: 2-0| Time: | Thu 26/07/2018 11:00 |
|---|---|
| Draw: | Junior Team – Men’s |
| Score: | 2-0 |
| Order | Event | Malaysia |
– | <a href="https://wsf.tournamentsoftware
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