Pan
American Games Squash Championships,
Guadalajara, Mexico
Hosts
Mexico Ride High In Pan Am Games
Hosts
Mexico celebrated a magnificent four Squash gold medals in
the fifth staging of the sport in the 2011 Pan American Games in
Guadalajara.
Despite fears that hurricane 'Jova' would interrupt the opening
ceremony, the sun shone brightly on the day that the XVI PanAm Games got
underway. Squash action saw medals contested in Singles and Team
competitions and - for the first time - in Doubles championships for
both men and women.
A
bronze medallist in both the 2003 and 2007 Games, world No14 Samantha
Teran won the first gold medal for Mexico after storming to victory
in the women's singles. Teran, the top-ranked Mexican woman of all-time,
romped through to the final without dropping a game, then beat Canada's
Games newcomer Samantha Cornett 11-6, 11-4, 11-6 to become the
first Mexican to win singles gold.
Teran
went on to win double gold, partnering Nayelly Hernandez to
surprise success in the Women's Doubles. After upsetting second seeds
USA in the semi-finals, the Mexican pair progressed to overcome
favourites Colombia (Catalina Pelaez & Silvia Angulo
Rugeles) 11-8, 11-5 in the final.
And
the hosts made it a double in the inaugural Doubles when top seeds
Arturo Salazar & Eric Galvez survived a 93-minute marathon
final against USA, ultimately beating Christopher Gordon &
Julian Illingworth 11-7, 11-9.
Arturo Salazar
had earlier suffered a surprise defeat to his lower-ranked twin brother
Cesar Salazar in the Men's Singles semi-finals. A 5/8 seed, Cesar
made his breakthrough in the quarter-finals, upsetting Canada's top seed
Shahier Razik, the 2003 gold medallist.
But
the 23-year-old Mexican from San Luis Potosi met his match in the final,
as Miguel Angel Rodriguez despatched Salazar 11-7, 11-9, 11-4 in
55 minutes to become the first Colombian to win the gold medal.
It was
the latest success in Rodriguez's distinguished career after the
25-year-old from Bogota won his 17th PSA World Tour title in Brazil this
month by extending his remarkable unbeaten record in Tour finals to 12
titles since 2007.
Mexico's fourth gold medal came when the men's team beat former
champions Canada 2/1 in the Team final, where stalwart Eric
Galvez - the 2007 singles gold medallist - clinched victory (and his
second Guadalajara gold) after beating Canadian newcomer Andrew
Schnell 11-5, 11-1, 11-3.
After
disappointment in two earlier finals, Canada finally tasted gold
in the Women's Team event where Samantha Cornett beat Catalina
Pelaez 9-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-2 before Miranda Ranieri overcame
Silvia Angulo Rugeles 10-12, 11-8, 11-8, 11-7 as the second seeds
beat Colombia 2/0 to successfully retain the title they have now
won four times since 1995.
Before
the opening Squash matches, the Federacion Panamericana de Squash
(FPS) honoured former president Sergio Rodriguez with a
minute's silence in his memory. It was an emotional moment for the many
who knew the popular figurehead - in particular for his widow Marta Luz
who was participating in the tournament as a referee director.
Event
spokesman Gerardo Porras highlighted a notable performance in the
event by Paraguay: "In the bottom of the doubles draw was
Paraguay pair Esteban Casarino & Nicolas Caballero against
Colombians Andres Vargas & Javier Castilla. This was a special
match because it was the last PanAmerican tournament for Paraguay star
Esteban Casarino and the beginning for Paraguay's rising star
Nicolas Caballero, who is just 16 years old.
"The
match was full of tension and emotions, which Paraguay won 11-9, 4-11,
11-10 to secure bronze medal - their first medal in the games and the
sixth medal in their history. They are already heroes in their country,"
concluded Porras.
Andrew Shelley
has hailed the 2011 Pan American Games as the sport's 'best ever'.
"The
growing strength of squash across the region is powerfully demonstrated
by the fact that medals were shared across eight nations - Mexico,
Colombia, Canada, Guyana, USA, Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil," said the
World Squash Federation CEO.
"But
Mexico deserve massive credit - not for only winning four gold medals
but also for securing medals in all six events," added Shelley.
Men's Singles
semi-finals:
[5/8] Cesar Salazar (MEX) bt [3/4] Arturo Salazar (MEX)
11-2, 11-8, 11-2
[2] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) bt [3/4] Shawn Delierre
(CAN) 11-7, 11-3, 11-7
Final:
[2] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) bt [5/8] Cesar Salazar (MEX)
11-7, 11-9, 11-4 (55m)
Women's Singles
semi-finals:
[1] Samantha Teran (MEX) bt [3] Nicolette Fernandes (GUY)
11-3, 11-5, 11-3 (38m)
[4] Samantha Cornett (CAN) bt Miranda Ranieri (CAN) 11-9,
11-5, 5-11, 11-8 (24m)
Final:
[1] Samantha Teran (MEX) bt [4] Samantha Cornett (CAN)
11-6, 11-4, 11-6 (33m)
Men's Doubles
semi-finals:
[1] MEXICO (Arturo Salazar & Eric Galvez) bt [3/4]
ARGENTINA (Hernan D'Arcangelo & Roberto Pezzota)
11-4, 11-6 (52m)
[5/8] USA (Christopher Gordon & Julian Illingworth)
bt [5/8] PARAGUAY (Esteban Casarino & Nicolas Caballero)
11-8, 11-10 (37m)
Final:
MEXICO bt USA 11-7, 11-9 (93m)
Women's Doubles
semi-finals:
[1] COLOMBIA (Catalina Pelaez & Silvia Angulo Rugeles)
bt CANADA (Miranda Ranieri & Stephanie Edmison)
11-7, 8-11, 11-7 (35m)
MEXICO (Nayelly Hernandez & Samantha Teran) bt [2]
USA (Maria Elena Ubina & Olivia Blatchford) 11-4,
11-5 (19m)
Final:
MEXICO bt COLOMBIA 11-8, 11-5 (26m)
Men's Team
semi-finals:
[1] MEXICO bt [3/4] BRAZIL 2/1
Arturo Salazar lost to Rafael Alarcon 6-11, 7-11, 8-11
(26m)
Cesar Salazar bt Vinicius Rodrigues 11-4, 11-8, 11-6 (28m)
Eric Galvez bt Vinicius Costa 11-6, 11-5, 11-5 (38m)
[2] CANADA bt [3/4] USA
2/0
Shahier Razik bt Julian Illingworth 8-0 ret.
Shawn Delierre bt Christopher Gordon 11-8, 7-11, 11-6,
6-11, 11-8 (54m)
Final:
[1] MEXICO bt [2] CANADA 2/1
Cesar Salazar bt Shawn Delierre 9-11, 11-6, 11-6, 14-12
(76m)
Arturo Salazar lost to Shahier Razik 8-11, 11-9, 8-11,
3-11 (60m)
Eric Galvez bt Andrew Schnell 11-5, 11-1, 11-3 (33m)
Women's Team
semi-finals:
[3/4] COLOMBIA bt [1] USA 2/1
Silvia Angulo Rugeles lost to Olivia Blatchford 3-11,
6-11, 6-11 (21m)
Catalina Pelaez bt Maria Elena Ubina 8-11, 11-6, 11-0,
11-6 (22m)
Ana Gabriela Porras bt Lily Lorentzen 2-11, 4-11 ret.
[2] CANADA bt [3/4] MEXICO
2/1
Miranda Ranieri lost to Samantha Teran 5-11, 4-11, 2-11
(21m)
Samantha Cornett bt Imelda Salazar Martinez 11-6, 11-8,
13-11 (30m)
Stephanie Edmison bt Nayelly Hernandez 11-8, 11-2, 11-2
(28m)
Final:
[2] CANADA bt [3/4] COLOMBIA 2/0
Samantha Cornett bt Catalina Pelaez 9-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-2
(29m)
Miranda Ranieri bt Silvia Angulo Rugeles 10-12, 11-8,
11-8, 11-7 (37m)
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