England’s Georgina Kennedy and New Zealand’s Paul
Coll are the 2022 Commonwealth Games singles
champions after they beat Canada’s Hollie Naughton
and Wales’ Joel Makin in front of a sell-out crowd
of 2,000 inside the University of Birmingham Hockey
and Squash Centre.
Appearing in her debut Commonwealth Games, 3/4 seed
Kennedy put in yet another remarkable performance to
cap a year in which she has risen from a
relative-unknown World No.185 to World No.8 and a
national star, drawing comparisons with clubmate
Emma Raducanu.
Kennedy, as she had in victories over Yeheni Kuruppu,
Nicole Bunyan, Rachel Arnold and compatriot
Sarah-Jane Perry in Birmingham, today blew 5/8 seed
Naughton away with her devastating speed and court
coverage.
There was an intriguing clash of styles in game one,
with Naughton’s power and Kennedy’s pace well
matched as the scores reached 6-6.
Kennedy, though, soon kicked on and took the first
game 11-7 before doubling her advantage with a
dominant 11-5 win in the second.
Naughton responded well in the third and blasted her
way to a 10-4 lead, before Kennedy incredibly saved
all six game balls to force a tie break.
Kennedy had one hand on the gold medal when she had
match ball at 11-10, before a determined Naughton
pulled the game back with a 14-12 win.
Somehow, Kennedy moved even faster in the fourth
game and went on the attack as she raced away to a
6-1 lead. This time, Naughton was unable to recover,
and Kennedy took the title with a 11-5 victory.
“I’m a bit lost for words really,” Kennedy said
afterwards. “Yesterday when I won the semi-final I
was filled with emotion and at the moment I’m just
in shock a little bit!
“I wish I could put into words what this means to
me, but I honestly can’t. It’s a dream and this
dream has become a reality now. I’ve been thinking
about how it would feel for so long and I’ve been
building up for this for two years now, and now it’s
happened, I’m just a bit speechless!”
More history was made in the men’s final, as Coll
became the first Kiwi to win a singles gold medal
after twice coming from behind in an epic encounter
with Makin.
Coll went into the match with an 11-2 head-to-head
record over Makin, including a victory from two
games down in the semi-finals of the 2018 Games.
It was the University of Birmingham graduate Makin,
though, who began quicker and the World No.7 made
the ideal start to the match when his attacking
strategy caught Coll off guard as he won the first
game 11-3.
Makin continued to show excellent ball control in a
tight second game, but was unable to prevent an
improving Coll – who was ranked World No.1 between
March and May of this year – from edging the contest
11-9.
Makin, who enjoyed the vast majority of the crowd’s
support, responded fantastically in the third game.
The 27-year-old attacked the front of the court with
relish to reclaim the lead with an 11-8 win, as the
incredible athleticism of both men drew gasps and
applause from the fans.
Neither player elected to change the ball for the
fourth game, which became a shootout as both men
played thrilling squash. Coll, though, was able to
keep his nose ahead throughout and took the match
into a fifth game with an 11-8 win.
Although Makin continued to throw everything at Coll
in the final game, the 2018 runner up looked ice
cold in his bid to erase the pain of four years ago.
The Kiwi began to dominate the court and had five
gold medal balls at 10-5. Makin went all out and
saved two, but Coll eventually brought a thrilling
match to an end with an 11-7 win.
After sharing a long embrace with his New Zealand
teammates , Coll said: “I was battling with wanting
it too much earlier.
“It’s such an amazing team environment. I was
hurting at the end and everyone who came out gave me
a lot of energy to push through.
“I’m over the moon and I can’t wait to go back to
the village with the gold draped around my neck.”
There was another historic accomplishment in the
bronze medal matches as India’s Saurav Ghosal became
the first Indian to win a singles medal when he
downed 2018 champion James Willstrop.
Ghosal played a brilliant game and constantly
nullified Willstrop’s threat with combinations of
drops and then accurate lobs over the 1.9 metre tall
Englishman.
This plan worked well and the Indian took the first
game 11-6, before seeing out the match with 11-1 and
11-4 wins.
“Today is the hardest match I’ve ever played.
Mentally, it was so hard. I’ve learnt so much from
him,” Ghosal said.
In the women’s final, England’s Sarah-Jane Perry
avenged her defeat in the 2018 Gold Coast final with
a brilliant comeback to beat New Zealand’s 2018
champion Joelle King.
Birmingham-born Perry was in a desperate situation
at two games down and trailing 8-4 in the third. The
32-year-old, though, showed remarkable mental
strength to come back and take the game 12-10,
before levelling the match with an 11-6 win in the
fourth.
In an absorbing fifth game, Perry saved two bronze
medal balls and then had one of her own saved,
before eventually taking the match with a 14-12
victory to the roars of the crowd.
“I’ve had some comebacks in my time but that’s right
up there. Thanks to everyone for believing and
everyone who puts that confidence in me,” Perry
said.
Hollie Naughton became the first Canadian woman to
reach a Commonwealth Games final after the 5/8 seed
stunned New Zealand’s top seed and defending
champion Joelle King at the University of Birmingham
Hockey and Squash Centre.
Naughton, 27, had never taken a game, let alone
beaten King, in four previous meetings and even
after her surprise win over 3/4 seed Joshna Chinappa
in the quarter-final, there were doubts as to
whether she out consistently threaten the Kiwi.
Naughton soon answered those questions. The
Barnsley-born star looked quietly threatening in an
11-7 defeat in the first game and came out flying in
the second, where she moved higher up the court and
looked to volley whenever possible. This proved
effective, with Naughton taking the second game 11-3
as King looked rattled.
The third game was an even one and at 8-8 could have
gone either way. Naughton, however, who looked
increasingly assured as the match went on, was able
to pull away to take a 2-1 lead into the fourth
game.
The efforts of the third game, and perhaps the
brutal 85-minuter against Turmel yesterday, seemed
to drain King and there was a growing sense of
inevitability in the fourth game as Naughton rapidly
rattled off points.
The onslaught from Naughton continued against an
increasingly dejected King, and the World No.20 was
able to record a historic victory with a comfortable
11-1 win.
“I don’t really know what happened there!” a stunned
Naughton said afterwards.
“This is my first Commonwealth Games and I’m super
happy with how I’ve dealt with the emotions and the
atmosphere.
“I hope I’m doing [my family and supporters] proud.
I want to try and inspire that next generation to
follow in my footsteps. Hopefully that’s possible.”
Georgina Kennedy
Naughton’s opponent tomorrow will be England’s
after the 3/4 seed beat No.2 seed and 2018 silver
medallist Sarah-Jane Perry in an all-English
semi-final.
Kennedy, who has climbed 162 places to World No.8 in
the past year, has shown few nerves in her debut
Commonwealth Games and played her classic harrying
squash from the beginning as she took the first game
11-6.
Perry responded by slowing the ball down in the
second and took the first five points on the way to
an 11-8 win.
Kennedy, though, had ended that second game strongly
and took that momentum into the third game, which
she took 11-5 to restore her advantage.
In a thrilling final game, Kennedy earned three
match balls when she went 10-7 up. The resilient
Perry, though, played courageously and continued to
attack, brilliantly saving all three to force a tie
break.
Perry came close to forcing Kennedy into a fifth
game when she took a 12-11 lead, only for Kennedy to
recover before finally making the breakthrough to
seal a memorable match with a 14-12 victory.
“It’s the best feeling I’ve had, ever,” an emotional
Kennedy said afterwards.
“Sport is all about role models, SJ’s sportsmanship
and her graciousness are amazing and everyone is
inspired by her on court and off it.
“I just did not want it to go to a fifth [game]
because her mental strength is her biggest asset. I
think that if it had gone to a fifth I really would
have struggled.”
Joel Makin (Left)
In the men’s draw, England’s defending champion and
5/8 seed James Willstrop fell to an impressive
performance from No.2 seed Joel Makin, who became
the first Welshman to reach the final courtesy of a
3-0 win.
Willstrop, 38, battled past Scotland’s Rory Stewart
in a tough quarter-final match yesterday and seemed
to be feeling the effects, with his movement not at
its best.
Makin, meanwhile, is renowned for his movement and
covered every inch of the court as he took a
deserved lead with an 11-5 win. A second 11-5
followed for the 27-year-old, leading to an exciting
shootout in the third game.
Willstrop threw the kitchen sink at Makin in the
third game and eked out narrow leads at 4-3 and 5-4.
The Englishman, however, made too many errors and
Makin capitalised to force his way into the final
with an 11-9 victory.
Afterwards, Makin said: “I knew he was hurting
physically, but he actually came on stronger in the
third game than he did in the first.
“The support has been unbelievable. Everyone has
booked so much time off and my family has travelled
from all over.
Paul Coll
“The Games bring in people who wouldn’t normally
watch the sport. When it gets coverage on the BBC,
that is where we reach a wider audience and people
realise what it’s about. It’s exciting. It’s
fast-paced. It’s so intense.”
Makin will meet top seed and 2018 runner up Paul
Coll in the men’s final, after the Kiwi brushed
aside 3/4 Saurav Ghosal in three games.
Ghosal gave a good account of himself in the first
game, as the 35-year-old fell to a narrow 11-9
defeat after going 10-6 down.
After this, though, Coll was at his brilliant best
and the World No.2 reached his second successive
final with comfortable 11-4 and 11-1 wins.
“There’s no feeling to describe it. I’ve really
found my groove the past two matches. I’ve trained
for four years to bring a medal back to New Zealand
and obviously I really want it to be gold,” Coll
said.
Yesterday also saw the plate event, played between
players knocked out earlier in the tournament, reach
the final stage. Sunayna Sara Kuruvilla and Mary
Fung-A-Fat will contest the women’s final, while
Kundanji Kalengo and Muqtadir Sadruddin Numji will
meet in the men’s final.
The bronze medal matches of squash at the Birmingham
2022 Commonwealth Games begin tomorrow (03/08) at
16:00 (GMT+1). The gold medal matches will begin at
18:00 with the women’s final, followed by the men’s
final at 19:00.
Click here for a list of
broadcasters by country
After a day of epic performances, featuring
comebacks, upsets and history being made, the
Commonwealth Games semi-finalists have been
confirmed.
Play began with one of the most entertaining matches
of the tournament so far, as defending champion and
top seed Joelle King was put through the ringer by
English 5/8 seed Lucy Turmel as the Kiwi edged a
nail-biting 85-minute encounter 3-1.
Despite her inexperience and a 4-0 losing record
against King, it was the 22-year-old Turmel who
looked the more confident player in the opening
game. While King played too many loose shots, Turmel
was tenacious, and the Englishwoman took a surprise
first game lead with an 11-9 win.
King looked like she'd found an instant response as
she went 10-2 up in the second, only to be shocked
by an extraordinary burst from Turmel, who saved
every game ball. What followed was a nail-biting
contest, with both players having game balls, before
King finally ended things when she converted her
11th game ball to take the epic 29-minute second
game 18-16.
In a stop-start third game, King was able to get her
nose in front with a tight 11-9 win and then looked
well set to take the match when she had two match
balls at 10-8.
Once again, Turmel battled doggedly and was able to
save both match balls and force yet another tie
break, before King finally made the decisive
breakthrough to win the match with a 14-12 victory.
Afterwards, King said: “Lucy played an unbelievable
match today, all credit has to go to her. She came
here on a big occasion, came from upstairs
[traditional] court and gave everything. I was
thinking it was going to be a long walk back to camp
if I lose and just had to find a way to win and I’m
happy to be in the semis.”
King’s opponent tomorrow will be 5/8 seed Hollie
Naughton, after the 27-year-old upset India’s 3/4
seed Joshna Chinappa to become the first ever
Canadian woman to reach the Commonwealth Games
semi-finals.
Naughton, who was born in Barnsley, Yorkshire, was
roared on by the crowd as she took a fast-paced
opening game, fighting back from 6-2 down to win
11-9.
The Canadian seemed to draw confidence from this as
Chinappa wilted. From 6-5 up in game two, Naughton
then accelerated away and took a commanding 2-0 lead
with an 11-5 win.
The decisive final game was a much more even affair,
with neither player able to pull clear. Chinappa had
opportunities to find a foothold in the match with
game balls at 10-9, 11-10, 12-11, and 13-12, but was
frustrated each time by Naughton, who finally put
the match to bed to make history with a 15-13 win.
Afterwards, Naughton said: “It's unbelievable, a
dream come true really. I knew I had to keep the
nerves at bay. Playing in front of an atmosphere
like this is something you don't do too often!
Thanks everyone for coming out.”
In the men’s draw, defending singles champion James
Willstrop rolled back the years to overcome
Scotland’s Rory Stewart in a thrilling contest and
set up a British battle in the semi-finals against
Wales’ No.2 seed Joel Makin.
James Willstrop
Having watched World No.65 Stewart send teammate
Patrick Rooney out yesterday, Willstrop was composed
as he took the first game 11-5.
Stewart, however, came back hard and went 2-1 up
after 11-9 and 11-7 wins, before Willstrop took the
match into a fifth game with an 11-6 win.
At 7-3 down in the fifth game, Willstrop looked in
trouble. The 38-year-old, however, then found
another level, with the former World No.1 finding
space behind the Scot to reach his fourth successive
Commonwealth Games semi-final with an 11-8 victory.
After the match, Willstrop paid tribute to Turmel,
saying her performance against King had inspired him
to dig in for the victory.
Willstrop will be joined in the semi-finals by two
of his compatriots, albeit in the women’s draw,
after No.2 seed Sarah-Jane Perry recorded a 12th
successive victory over Welsh 5/8 seed Emily
Whitlock and 3/4 seed Georgina Kennedy brutally
dispatched Malaysia’s 9/16 Rachel Arnold.
Georgina Kennedy
Kennedy’s 3-0 victory was the quickest match of the
day by some margin. In fact, so short was it that it
could have been five times alongside the King-Turmel
clash with Kennedy, who smothered the Malaysian with
relentless harrying, needing just 17 minutes to
reach the semi-final in her first Commonwealth
Games.
Even Kennedy herself seemed somewhat surprised by
the quality of her performance, with the 26-year-old
saying afterwards: “I don’t know what came over me.
I’ve been training a couple of years for this event
and that’s the best squash I’ve played this season.
All day I’ve had a lot of energy and it all came
together.
The other home player involved, Adrian Waller, lost
out 3-0 to New Zealand's top seed Paul Coll, with
Coll speeding away after a tight 12-10 win in the
first game.
Elsewhere, India’s 3/4 seed Saurav Ghosal beat
Scottish 5/8 seed Greg Lobban 3-1 in a match defined
by rapid rallies, while Joel Makin ended the day’s
play with a 3-1 win over Malaysian 5/8 seed Eain Yow
Ng in a match interrupted for 15 minutes by an
injury to the Malaysian’s eye.
The semi-finals of squash at the Birmingham 2022
Commonwealth Games begin tomorrow (02/08) at 16:00
(GMT+1). Click here for a list of broadcasters by
country.
Scotland’s World No.66 and 9/16 seed Rory Stewart
delivered the shock of the tournament so far as he
produced a stunning comeback to knock out England’s
3/4 seed Patrick Rooney 3-2 and set up a
quarter-final against defending champion James
Willstrop.
World No.24 Rooney went into the match with a 3-0
head-to-head record over Stewart, with their most
recent match a straight-games victory for the
Englishman in the PSL Cup in May.
Today, though, Stewart was imperious. The Scotsman
deservedly took the first game 12-10, with the World
No.66 overpowering an out-of-sorts Rooney, who
struggled for width.
Rooney improved in the second game, levelling with
an 11-7 win, before edging in front with a fiercely
contested 12-10 of his own.
With his tail up, Rooney made a confident start to
the fourth game and must have thought he had one
foot in the quarter-final when he raced into a 7-0
lead.
Incredibly, though, Stewart not only reeled Rooney
in but, after saving four match balls, forced the
match into a fifth game with a nerve-shredding 13-11
win.
Both players looked evenly matched at the beginning
of the fifth game, which was as much about mental
ability as physical and technical.
Stewart, however, then put together another
spectacular scoring blitz race from 4-3 down to an
11-4 winner after a brief wait for a video review to
confirm his win.
“I’m delighted,” Stewart said afterwards. “To be
honest I’d have said to myself I was probably
getting beaten and to do anything more than that,
I’d be happy to accept as a bonus.
“I definitely felt the tension. I think [my Scotland
teammates] probably all thought I was losing [when
7-0 down].
“My ranking is lower than Patrick, but on a glass
court I can pull off wins like this. There are a lot
of Scots here and I’m glad they got to see this!”
Despite Rooney’s woes, the England team may reflect
on the day as being a positive one overall after the
other five members of their contingent recorded wins
to reach the quarter-finals.
Georgina Kennedy
3/4 seed Georgina Kennedy’s demolition of Canada’s
Nicole Bunyan was perhaps the pick of the bunch,
while Willstrop capped his 200th England appearance
with a comfortable win over Pakistan’s Nasir Iqbal.
Reacting after her 11-3, 11-1, 11-3 win, Kennedy
said: “It’s crazy, I've said a few times that it’s
been a dream since I was a girl to compete with Team
England and just to be here is a life goal achieved.
“But now, after the successful year I’ve had, my
perspective has changed. I don’t want to just show
up. I want to reach the podium.
“I’m so lucky to play on this glass in front of an
amazing crowd."
World No.2 Paul Coll
Earlier in the day, top seed and World No.2 Paul
Coll avoided suffering a similar fate to Rooney when
he fought back from a game down against spirited
Welshman Emyr Evans.
Evans deservedly took the first game 11-8, but was
met with a brutal response from the Kiwi, who
restored parity with an 11-0 win in game two and
then took the lead with an 11-5 victory in game
three.
Evans, though, was not beaten yet. The Welshman
battled well, impressing numerous times with a
powerful backhand and had a chance to take Coll into
a fifth game when he took a 10-9 lead in game four.
Coll, however, was able to rescue the situation,
drawing level and then taking the match with a 12-10
win to set up a quarter-final match against
England’s Adrian Waller, who brushed aside Jamaica’s
Christopher Binnie 3-0.
“I think he did really well. He put in a great
performance and should be proud of himself today, he
really made me work for it,” Coll said.
Elsewhere, India, Malaysia and Wales sent two
players each into the quarter-finals.
Joshna Chinappa
For India, men’s 3/4 seed Saurav Ghosal and women’s
3/4 seed Joshna Chinappa put in assured performances
to put away Canada’s 9/16 seed David Baillargeon and
New Zealand’s 9/6 seed Kaitlyn Watts, while
Malaysia’s 9/16 seed Rachel Arnold upset Wales’ 5/8
seed Tesni Evans to join compatriot and 5/8 seed
Eain Yow Ng in the quarters after he beat Canada’s
Nick Sachvie.
There was consolation for both Wales and Canada,
though, after Welsh No.2 seed Joel Makin and 5/8
seed Emily Whitlock progressed through to the
quarter-finals, while Canada’s 5/8 seed Hollie
Naughton beat Malaysia’s 9/16 seed Aifa Azman for a
second-successive 3-0 win.
Completing the draw is women’s top seed and
defending champion Joelle King, who will play
England’s 5/8 seed Lucy Turmel after beating
Scotland’s 9/16 seed Georgia Adderley, and
Scotland’s 5/8 seed Greg Lobban, who beat Malaysia’s
9/16 seed Ivan Yuen in a see-saw encounter.
Birmingham 2022 hosts England enjoyed a dream start
in their bid to capture Commonwealth Games medals on
home court after every member of the England Squash
team picked up victories in straight games in round
two at the University of Birmingham Hockey and
Squash Centre.
Former World No.1 James Willstrop was one of the
stories of the 2018 Games when won a singles gold at
the fourth attempt and the 38-year-old made the
ideal start to his title defence today.
After receiving a first round bye alongside his
England teammates yesterday, Willstrop was at his
crowd-pleasing best against Gibraltar’s Christian
Navas, putting on a typically smooth display to put
away the 44-year-old.
Willstrop pinned Navas at back a number of times
throughout the match, with the crowd showing
particular appreciation for the trademark ‘windmill’
as Willstrop went 2-0 up with 11-1 and 11-2 wins.
To his delight and rapturous applause, Navas took a
1-0 lead in game three. While he was unable to hold
on for an unlikely win, he left the court with
plenty of credit after a hard-fought 11-6 defeat
that sent Willstrop through to the last 16.
Willstrop – who will play Nasir Iqbal tomorrow after
the Pakistani’s compatriot 9/16 seed Tayyab Aslam
was forced to withdraw through injury during their
match – will be joined by all of his teammates
tomorrow after No.2 seed Sarah-Jane Perry beat Jade
Pitcairn, 3/4 seed Georgina Kennedy eased past
Yemeni Kuruppu, and 5/8 seed Lucy Turmel beat Amity
Alarcos in the women’s draw, while 3/4 seed Patrick
Rooney and 5/8 seed Adrian Waller beat Julian Jervis
and Jake Kelly, respectively.
Paul Coll (L)
Paul Coll, Willstrop’s opponent in the 2018 final,
was also involved for the first time today as the
top seed and World No.2 breezed past Niall Engerer
of Malta.
Although Engerer, who has Maltese family but was
born in England, was unable to get the better of
Coll, he won plenty of fans with an entertaining
attacking display that caught the Kiwi out a number
of times, particularly in the third game.
Speaking after his 11-4, 11-2, 11-4 win, Coll said:
“It was good fun. I’ve never played him before and
it’s nice to play someone new. It was a great and
clean match and he’s got great skills.
“It’s amazing seeing the New Zealand supporters.
It’s my favourite time of year playing for New
Zealand.”
Engerer said: “I’m English born and bred so I had a
lot of friends and family up today which was really
special and I felt the love on there!”
Joelle King, Coll’s compatriot and top seed
counterpart in the women’s draw, also went into her
match, which was the first of the day on the show
court, against Botswana’s Leungo Katse as the
overwhelming favourite.
Any fans hoping for an opening match miracle were
quickly brought back down by King, who put away the
17-year-old 11-1, 11-4, 11-3 in brutally efficient
fashion.
Rachael Grinham (R)
Today also saw Rachael Grinham became the first
Australian woman to compete in six Commonwealth
Games as she went down to compatriot and 9/16 seed
Donna Lobban.
The 45-year-old, who has won eight Commonwealth
Games medals since she appeared at squash’s
Commonwealth Games debut in Kuala Lumpur 1998, went
into today’s match with a 5-5 head-to-head record
versus Lobban, though Lobban had won the last three
encounters.
It initially appeared that Grinham was going to
write a fairytale and reverse this trend as she took
a hard-fought first game 11-6 to the delight of the
crowd.
Lobban, however, never looked flustered and levelled
with an 11-4 win in the second game before taking
the match with two 11-7s.
Afterwards, Lobban said: “It’s definitely
bittersweet. We were gutted we had to play each
other because we wanted to beat someone else! I have
so much respect for Rachael as a teammate and a
friend.
“She’s been World No.1 and World Champ and I was
lucky enough to grow up looking up to her and with
her inspiring me.”
Elsewhere, Indian 14-year-old Anahat Singh’s
Commonwealth Games campaign came to an end at the
hands of Wales’ 5/8 seed Emily Whitlock, Canada’s
Nick Sachvie fought from 2-1 down to beat New
Zealand’s 9/16 seed Lwamba Chileshe and Wales’ Emyr
Evans downed Malaysian 9/16 seed Mohammad Syafiq
Kamal 3-1.
Round three of squash at the Birmingham 2022
Commonwealth Games begins tomorrow (31/07) at 12:00
(GMT+1).