All the last
16 round action will take place on the three all-glass show courts at
La
Parnasse Arena
For the first time in a world championship,
simultaneous live streaming from all three courts will be available on www.youtube.com/worldsquashtv
In tonight's
dramatic final of the WSF Women's World Team Championship in Nimes
which went to the wire, second seeds Egypt recovered from a match down to
upset favourites England to win the World Squash Federation event
being held in France for the first time.
Boasting a
record entry of 26 nations, the 2012 championship has been staged at both the
eight-court Club des Costières and La Parnasse Arena where, for
the first time ever, action has taken place simultaneously on three all-glass
show courts.
England got
off to a good start when Alison Waters beat Nour El Sherbini in
the first ever meeting between the two world top ten players. Londoner Waters,
ranked four in the world, took the first game - but the Egyptian underdog,
ranked four places lower, fought back to open a 2/1 lead.
Waters, 28,
used her experience to recover the deficit, eventually overcoming her
17-year-old opponent 11-5, 8-11, 9-11, 11-3, 11-5 to put England ahead.
The top string
duel which followed again saw England take the early lead when world No3
Laura Massaro won the opening game against Raneem El Weleily, the
world No2. Hoping to extend her 9/5 head to head record over the Egyptian,
Massaro then dropped the next two games - and failed to convert a game-ball in
the fourth as El Weleily powered through to win 3-11, 12-10, 11-4, 12-10 to
level the tie.
The pattern of
the first two matches was repeated in the decider when Jenny Duncalf
again put England ahead by winning the first game against long-time rival
Omneya Abdel Kawy (left) . But the 22-year-old from Cairo - who has played in every
championship since 1998 - moved ahead by taking the next two games.
Determined to
reduce the deficit of her career-long head-to head record of 2/12 down to the
Egyptian, Duncalf fought hard to draw level - and in the decider won five points
in a row to move 7-4 up.
But Abdel Kawy
confirmed that she is well and truly back to her best after a long period of
poor results when she won back the service at 6-8 down, then took the next five
points to clinch a remarkable 7-11, 11-8, 11-4, 6-11, 11-8 victory - and the
title for Egypt for the second time since 2008.
"I'm really,
really happy - I love my team," said El Weleily after joining her team-mates on
court to celebrate Abdel Kawy's triumph. "It's very, very, very big!"
Team coach
Amir Wagih was also overjoyed: "It's so good for Egypt and so good for
squash - it was a super final with three matches of unbelievable squash.
"Omneya is
back on form - she gave a really classy performance.
"My players
have now won all the world titles except one - and that is the women's World
Open title. So I am hoping that I can complete the set at the end of the year in
the Cayman Islands."
England
national coach Chris Robertson agreed that the final was a fitting climax
to the event. "It was a great final - in a great atmosphere. I am very proud of
my girls and their performances - they gave it everything. But, credit to the
Egyptians, they came up with the right shots at the right time.
"We always
thought it would be close - and hopefully we will learn a little from it."
In the match
on the centre court immediately preceding the final, France faced eighth
seeds Netherlands in the play-off for ninth place - a repeat of the pool
tie earlier in the week which the ninth-seeded hosts won to provide the event's
first upset.
Second string
Coline Aumard gave the large and vocal crowd what they wanted by beating
Milou van der Heijden 11-6, 11-5, 11-7 - making way for the team number
one Camille Serme, the world No14 from Paris, to take on Natalie
Grinham, the world No11 and former Australian who is making her first
appearance in the championship for the Netherlands.
Grinham was
after revenge after dropping her only match this week to Serme - and took the
opening game. But spurred on by the crowd, Serme fought back to clinch a 6-11,
11-8, 11-5, 11-8 victory - helping France to end the tournament on a high.
"It was a
fantastic way to finish - it's a very good feeling," said French coach
Philippe Signoret. "I wish we could play another match with this great crowd
- but for a higher position than ninth place!
"Coline played
well to put us in front, then Camille and Natalie contested a very high quality
match. Camille kept to the strategy that we planned - keeping Natalie away from
the front of the court - and it gave us the result we wanted."
Third seeds
Malaysia beat Australia in the play-off for third place to win the
bronze medal for the fourth time in a row. After going down to Alison Waters
in the semi-final decider against England last night, world No7 Low Wee Wern
played a crucial role by beating Aussie number two Donna Urquhart to put
Malaysia ahead.
In their 39th
meeting since 2000, Australia's former world No1 Rachael Grinham then
took on the reigning world number one Nicol David. Grinham was looking
for her first win since September 2007, but once again David was too strong -
winning 11-6, 11-6, 11-4 in 32 minutes to wrap up the Malaysia win.
Team manager
Linda Geh admitted: "It feels good - but we will come back stronger next
time. By then, we hope that Wee Wern will have established herself in the world
top five, and this will make us much stronger."
Wee Wern
reflected on the strain of the previous night's battle with Waters: "Last night
was big match for both of us. Alison is really back on form now. It was mentally
tough to come back after that - I was a bit up and down at the beginning, but I
got back into it so I was very pleased with today's win."
Australian
team coach Sarah Fitz-Gerald was not unhappy with the outcome: "We
exceeded our expectations. Our big day was beating Hong Kong - that was our
final. We were all on a high after that so the players have then had to pick
themselves up since.
"We really
needed Donna to win the first game. Rachael has played magnificently - and I
think she has learnt from this that she can get back into the world top 10 - it
has given her the opportunity to win big matches again. She's shown she can
raise her game when she's playing in Australian colours."
The
championship came to a magnificent conclusion for India when the tenth
seeds beat Ireland, the No7 seeds, to win fifth place. It was the teams'
second meeting in five days. Joshana Chinappa put India in the driving
seat by beating Aisling Blake - but 13-time Irish champion Madeline
Perry levelled matters by gaining a revenge win over Indian number one
Dipika Pallikal.
It was down to
teenager Anaka Alankamony to clinch victory for India when the
18-year-old from Chennai defeated experienced Laura Mylotte 11-8, 11-7,
11-8 in the decider.
"It's been an
amazing week - and this is so good for India," said Alankamony. "I played her
before on the club courts and beat her - but I like playing on glass so I was
confident of beating her again. I think this was a big advantage - but my team
is a big advantage too!"
India's
national coach Cyrus Poncha was almost speechless: "Fifth in the world -
it's unbelievable. A few months ago, Dipika said we should target to be in the
top four in the world, but I thought that was a very tall order. And here we are
just one place below.
"It was
unfortunate we had Egypt in the quarter-finals - anyone barring the top two
would have given us a better chance. We feel we now have the depth to create
upsets."
Fifth seeds
New Zealand took seventh place after beating Hong Kong, the No4
seeds, 2/1. An impressive effort by Amanda Landers-Murphy saw the NZ
debutante beat Liu Tsz-Ling 11-7, 10-12, 11-5, 11-6 in the decider.
"It's nowhere
near what we were aiming for but, after yesterday's loss, playing the fourth
seeds gave us the chance to prove ourselves," said NZ coach Paul Hornsby.
"An event like this is a real emotional strain - you're not only playing your
own matches but you're going through everybody else's too.
"I'm proud of
Amanda - it was a brilliant performance, her first time for New Zealand, and
she'll take a lot of confidence out it. It's nice to finish on a positive note."
A 2/0 win over
Canada saw 14th seeds South Africa take 11th place. "We wanted to
finish in the top ten, so we didn't quite make it," said the South African team
manager Vivienne Doeg. "We had two chances to beat Hong Kong and just
missed out. But our girls played outstanding squash."
Final:
[2] EGYPT bt [1] ENGLAND 2/1 Nour El Sherbini lost to Alison Waters 5-11, 11-8, 11-9, 3-11,
5-11 (62m) Raneem El Weleily bt Laura Massaro 3-11, 12-10, 11-4, 12-10 (48m) Omneya Abdel Kawy bt Jenny Duncalf 7-11, 11-8, 11-4, 6-11, 11-8
3rd place
play-off:
[3] MALAYSIA bt [6] AUSTRALIA 3/0 Low Wee Wern bt Donna Urquhart 13-11, 11-6, 11-7 (41m) Nicol David bt Rachael Grinham 11-6, 11-6, 11-4 (32m) Delia Arnold bt Melody Francis 11-6, 11-6
5th place
play-off:
[10] INDIA bt [7] IRELAND 2/1 Joshana Chinappa bt Aisling Blake 10-12, 11-8, 11-7, 11-9 (48m) Dipika Pallikal lost to Madeline Perry 7-11, 5-11, 13-15 (39m) Anaka Alankamony bt Laura Mylotte 11-8, 11-7, 11-8 (25m)
7th place
play-off:
[5] NEW ZEALAND bt [4] HONG KONG CHINA 2/1 Jaclyn Hawkes lost to Joey Chan 7-11, 9-11, 7-11 (32m) Joelle King bt Annie Au 13-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7 (44m) Amanda Landers-Murphy bt Liu Tsz-Ling 11-7, 10-12, 11-5, 11-6
(37m)
9th place
play-off:
[9] FRANCE bt [8] NETHERLANDS 3/0 Coline Aumard bt Milou van der Heijden 11-6, 11-5, 11-7 (34m) Camille Serme bt Natalie Grinham 6-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-8 (46m) Laura Pomportes bt Milja Dorenbos 11-0, 11-3
11th place
play-off:
[14] SOUTH AFRICA bt [11] CANADA 2/0 Diana Haynes bt Alexandra Norman 11-3, 11-7, 11-7 (22m) Siyoli Waters bt Samantha Cornett 18-16, 6-11, 11-8, 11-6 (40m)
13th place
play-off:
[12] USA bt [13] CZECH REPUBLIC 2/0 Sabrina Sobhy bt Anna Klimundova 11-7, 11-6, 11-6 Natalie Grainger bt Olga Ertlova 11-8, 11-6, 12-10
15th place
play-off:
[15] WALES bt [16] MEXICO 2/1 Deon Saffery bt Nayelly Hernandez 11-6, 11-3, 11-3 (27m) Tesni Evans lost to Samantha Teran 8-11, 11-9, 4-11, 9-11 (45m) Hannah Davies bye
17th - 19th
place play-offs:
[23] REPUBLIC OF KOREA bt [21] GERMANY 2/1 Park Eun Ok bt Franziska Hennes 11-5, 11-9, 11-5 Song Sun-Mi bt Pamela Hathway 11-7, 11-1, 11-7 Yang Yeon-Soo lost to Caroline Sayegh 9-11, 9-11, 9-11
Final positions: 1 Republic of Korea, 2 Japan, 3 Germany
20th - 22nd
place play-offs:
[20] COLOMBIA bt [19] CHINA 3/0 Catalina Pelaez bt Xiu Chen 11-8, 11-4, 11-9 Silvia Angulo Rugeles bt Gu Jinyue 11-8, 11-4, 15-13 Karol Gonzalez bye
Final positions: 1 Colombia, 2 Scotland, 3 China
23rd place
play-off:
[26] SPAIN bt [17] ARGENTINA 2/1 Xisela Aranda Nunez bt Cecilia Cerquetti 13-11, 11-8, 11-6 Marina de Juan lost to Antonella Falcione 8-11, 4-11, 11-5, 8-11 Cristina Gomez bt Fernanda Rocha 11-7, 11-3, 12-10
Londoner
Alison Waters (left) marked her comeback from career-threatening injury in
sensational style in the WSF Women's World Team Championship tonight in
Nimes when she beat Malaysian Low Wee Wern in a dramatic 56-minute
semi-final decider to take England into the final of the World Squash
Federation event being staged in France for the first time.
Boasting a
record entry of 26 nations, the 2012 championship is being staged at both the
eight-court Club des Costières and La Parnasse Arena where, for
the first time ever, action is taking place simultaneously on three all-glass
show courts.
Now in the
final for the tenth time in a row, favourites England will face second seeds
Egypt, the 2008 champions who beat Australia 3/0 to make the final
for third time since 2006.
Malaysia,
the third seeds who have been bronze medallists in the past three championships,
kicked off the tie in determined fashion - world number one Nicol David
notching up her 26th successive win in the event since 2004 by defeating
England's world number three Laura Massaro 11-5, 11-6, 11-8 in 41 minutes
Third string
Jenny Duncalf had her work cut out to bring England back into contention,
but the world No6 did so after a further 44 minutes, beating Delia Arnold
11-7, 11-9, 11-9.
Waters, a
former world number three, is fighting back to her best after a long layoff
resulting from an Achilles injury which denied her an England place in the 2010
championship. But the 28-year-old is now back at four in the world - and showed
her class by beating Low Wee Wern, the Malaysian second string who boasts
a career-high world number seven ranking, 11-6, 7-11, 11-9, 11-5 in 56 minutes.
"That was
pretty tough," admitted a beaming Waters straight afterwards. "It's so
different, playing a match like that when so much hangs on it.
"After coming
back from dropping the second, I relaxed in the fourth and I sensed that she got
a bit tight.
"That's
certainly one of the biggest matches I've ever played. But it's what we're here
for - we were seeded to get to the final, and we've done that now."
England
national coach Chris Robertson summed it up in a different way: "You know
what it would have meant if, as number one seeds, we'd lost in the semis -
winning tonight is what we were here for.
"Alison gets a
lot of credit for getting us through - but equally, she knows it would have been
the opposite if not.
"I'm really
pleased with the way she played - she was pro-active and pressing. She's made
tremendous improvement in the last few months - I'm really proud of her."
In the earlier
semi, second seeds Egypt lined up against Australia, the sixth seeds who secured
a place in the last four after upsetting fourth seeds Hong Kong. It was
also a battle between the reigning champions, Australia, and the 2008 champions
- with Egypt boasting two players in the world top 10.
In an opening
match of high quality between the countries' top two players, world No2
Raneem El Weleily beat Rachael Grinham, a former world number one,
11-7, 14-16, 11-9, 11-9. Fourth string Nour El Tayeb (right) put the tie out of
Australia's reach by beating Melody Francis 11-6, 11-2, 11-5.
"We were
delighted just to be in the semis - we had no pressure," said Australian team
coach Sarah Fitz-Gerald, the five-time world champion. "But we had our
chances - we knew we needed Rachael to notch up a win to give us a lifeline, and
she was so close. And it was a big ask for Melody over Nour, who's ranked more
than 20 places higher."
Egyptian coach
Amir Wagih, a veteran of numerous Egyptian world campaigns, was delighted
with his young team's performance. "Rachael is a legend - and spent six years
training with Raneem when she lived in Egypt. She put in a classy performance,
but Raneem was able to squeeze through and give us the lead.
"But we are
very happy to beat Australia - they are the legends of squash. We now look
forward to the final. Whoever we play, it will be very tough, but very special."
Hosts
France, the ninth seeds, returned to winning ways by beating Canada
3/0 in the play-offs for 9th-12th places. Camille Serme, the French
number one who has led the team in all ties so far, completed her sixth match in
five days with a 7-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-8 win over Samantha Cornett in 56
minutes.
Spurred on by
the highly vocal partisan crowd, fourth string Laura Pomportes then
courageously recovered from two games down to beat Canadian team debutante
Susannah King 10-12, 10-12, 11-5, 11-6, 11-8 in 52 minutes to take France
into the play-off for ninth place - where they will face Netherlands.
"They will be
looking for revenge," said French team coach Philippe Signoret as they
look forward to their second meeting this week with the eighth seeds - the team
France beat in the earlier pool section.
"We will
decide tomorrow, after consultation with the team physio and physical trainer,
who will play in this important final tie."
Tenth seeds
India also bounced back from their quarter-final defeat by Egypt to overcome
Asian rivals Hong Kong, the No4 seeds, 2/0 and earn themselves a play-off
for fifth place - their best finish.
Top string
Dipika Pallikal, ranked 13 in the world, scored a notable scalp by beating
Annie Au - but squandered a 2/0 lead before fighting back against the
world No9 to win 11-5, 11-8, 5-11, 9-11, 11-5 in 53 minutes.
Inspired by
her senior team-mate's success, India's 18-year-old Anaka Alankamony then
went on to defeat higher-ranked Hong Kong opponent Tong Tsz-Wing 11-5,
11-7, 11-9 to seal victory for her country.
"We play Hong
Kong so often in Asian championships, that when we saw we had to play them here,
we said 'oh no, not again'!" said team manager Major Maniam. "But getting
into the quarter-finals was a first-time for us, so now to be playing for fifth
place is icing on the cake.
"Dipika
started well in the first match, then lost her way a bit, but came back strongly
in the fifth to great effect. She's really improved significantly over the past
few months and has played well for us here.
"Then the baby
of the team came on: Anaka was very calm and collected. She stayed well and ran
well and put in an impressive performance in a rubber she had to win.
"It's been a
great year for Indian squash - but only as a result of a lot of hard work,"
Maniam concluded.
Another replay
of an earlier pool clash will take place when India face Ireland in the
fifth place play-off. In the longest tie of the competition so far, seventh
seeds Ireland edged out New Zealand 2/1 - with two matches going the full
distance.
Irish number
one Madeline Perry, the world No10, twice came from behind and saved
match balls from 7-10 in the fourth against Kiwi Joelle King before
beating the world No5 3-11, 11-7, 7-11, 14-12, 11-3 in 73 minutes.
After the
fifth seeds levelled when Amanda Landers-Murphy beat Laura Mylotte
in four games, it was Irish number two Aisling Blake who eventually
clinched victory, coming through 11-5, 11-9, 4-11, 8-11, 11-7 in 58 minutes
against New Zealander Jaclyn Hawkes.
"We're seeded
seven, so we're really pleased to be in the running for fifth place," said
Perry, the 13-time Irish champion. "We lost to India in the pools and are after
revenge.
"I also lost
so I'm definitely looking for a win - and I'm getting better every match here,
so I'm confident!"
Semi-finals:
[1] ENGLAND bt [3] MALAYSIA 2/1 Laura Massaro lost to Nicol David 5-11, 6-11, 8-11 (41m) Jenny Duncalf bt Delia Arnold 11-7, 11-9, 11-9 (44m) Alison Waters bt Low Wee Wern 11-6, 7-11, 11-9, 11-5 (56m)
[2] EGYPT bt
[6] AUSTRALIA 3/0 Raneem El Weleily bt Rachael Grinham 11-7, 14-16, 11-9, 11-9 (44m) Nour El Tayeb bt Melody Francis 11-6, 11-2, 11-5 (23m) Nour El Sherbini bt Donna Urquhart 12-10, 6-11, 11-8 (26m)
5th - 8th
place play-offs:
[7] IRELAND bt [5] NEW ZEALAND 2/1 Madeline Perry bt Joelle King 3-11, 11-7, 7-11, 14-12, 11-3 (73m) Laura Mylotte lost to Amanda Landers-Murphy 11-8, 10-12, 8-11,
10-12 (40m) Aisling Blake bt Jaclyn Hawkes 11-5, 11-9, 4-11, 8-11, 11-7 (58m)
[10] INDIA bt
[4] HONG KONG CHINA 2/0 Dipika Pallikal bt Annie Au 11-5, 11-8, 5-11, 9-11, 11-5 (53m) Anaka Alankamony bt Tong Tsz-Wing 11-5, 11-7, 11-9 (40m)
9th - 12th
place play-offs:
[9] FRANCE bt [11] CANADA 3/0 Camille Serme bt Samantha Cornett 7-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-8 (56m) Laura Pomportes bt Susannah King 10-12, 10-12, 11-5, 11-6, 11-8
(52m) Coline Aumard bt Alexandra Norman 11-6, 11-3 (17m)
[8]
NETHERLANDS bt [14] SOUTH AFRICA 2/1 Natalie Grinham bt Siyoli Waters 11-3, 11-7, 11-6 (23m) Milja Dorenbos lost to Milnay Louw 4-11, 4-11, 3-11 (19m) Orla Noom bt Diana Haynes 5-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-5 (30m)
13th - 16th
place play-offs:
[13] CZECH REPUBLIC bt [15] WALES 2/1 Lucie Fialova lost to Tesni Evans 6-11, 11-7, 9-11, 10-12 (54m) Anna Klimundova bt Hannah Davies 5-11, 11-4, 11-0, 11-9 (25m) Olga Ertlova bt Deon Saffery 11-5, 9-11, 11-8, 11-8 (47m)
[12] USA bt
[16] MEXICO 2/1 Natalie Grainger bt Samantha Teran 11-2, 11-8, 10-12, 9-11, 11-6 Maria Elena Ubina bt Monserrat Castellanos 11-4, 11-13, 8-11,
11-5, 11-8 Sabrina Sobhy lost to Nayelly Hernandez 6-11, 5-11
17th - 26th
place play-offs (Pool 2):
[19] CHINA bt [18] AUSTRIA 2/1 Li Dongjin lost to Birgit Coufal 5-11 ret. Gu Jinyue bt Judith Gradnitzer 11-8, 11-9, 11-9 Xiu Chen bt Ines Winkler 11-5, 11-5, 11-7
Final positions: 1 Republic of Korea, 2 China, 3 Austria
17th - 19th
place play-offs:
[22] JAPAN bt [21] GERMANY 2/1 Misaki Kobayashi bt Pamela Hathway 11-6, 11-1, 11-6 Risa Sugimoto lost to Annika Wiese 11-6, 11-8, 9-11, 5-11, 10-12 Chinatsu Matsui bt Franziska Hennes 11-3, 11-8, 11-9
[23] REPUBLIC
OF KOREA bt [22] JAPAN 2/1 Song Sun-Mi lost to Misaki Kobayashi 6-11, 4-11, 11-8, 9-11 Yang Yeon-Soo bt Risa Sugimoto 11-8, 11-8, 11-9 Park Eun Ok bt Chinatsu Matsui 11-8, 11-8, 11-8
20th - 22nd
place play-offs:
[20] COLOMBIA bt [24] SCOTLAND 2/1 Silvia Angulo Rugeles lost to Frania Gillen-Buchert 7-11, 11-7,
8-11, 8-11 Karol Gonzalez bt Rosie Allan 12-10, 12-10, 11-5 Catalina Pelaez bt Alex Clark 11-6, 8-11, 11-4, 11-7
[24] SCOTLAND
bt [19] CHINA 3/0 Frania Gillen-Buchert bt Gu Jinyue 11-3, 11-6, 11-4 Rosie Allanbye Alex Clark bt Xiu Chen 11-7, 12-10, 11-3
World number
one Nicol David marked her 25th successive win in the WSF Women's
World Team Championships in impressive style today in Nimes when she
beat Joelle King of New Zealand in straight games to lead third
seeds Malaysia into the semi-finals of the World Squash Federation
event being staged in France for the first time.
Boasting a
record entry of 26 nations, the 2012 championship is being staged at both the
eight-court Club des Costières and La Parnasse Arena where, for
the first time ever, action is taking place simultaneously on three all-glass
show courts.
Last defeated
in October 2004 by Australia's then world number one Rachael Grinham,
David went on to win successive matches in each of the biennial events through
to today - in the previous three championships taking Malaysia into the bronze
medal position.
In today's
quarter-finals, David was stretched for 36 minutes before overcoming King, the
new world number five, 11-5, 11-7, 11-4. Team-mate Low Wee Wern, the
world No7, also from Penang, then clinched victory for Malaysia after beating
Kiwi Jaclyn Hawkes 11-3, 11-5, 11-13, 11-9.
"I've been
playing this event for quite a while now and it's great to discover that this is
my 25th win in a row," said 29-year-old David. "But my aim in this event is just
to get points for my team.
"Today, Joelle
kept coming back at me - so I had to stay focussed for the team. And Wee Wern
did a great job after me."
Malaysia now
move on to play England - remarkably, for the first time in this event
since 2002!
"We're just
happy to be in the semi-finals," responded David when asked about the next clash
with the top seeds. "The pressure's off - everything now is a bonus."
Favourites
England faced seventh seeds Ireland - and dropped the first game of the
tournament when 13 times Irish champion Madeline Perry, ranked 10 in the
world, went ahead against England top string Laura Massaro.
But world No3
Massaro regained the upper hand and went on to close out the match 7-11, 11-2,
11-8, 11-9.
Second string
Alison Waters clinched victory for England by beating Aisling Blake
11-7, 11-3, 11-3.
"It was
another strong performance from the team," said coach David Campion
afterwards. "Laura's got a good record against Madeline so we were confident
there - and Alison closed it out for us.
Australia
pulled off a sensational upset in today's first quarter-final of the WSF
Women's World Team Championship in Nimes when former world number one
Rachael Grinham and world No17 Donna Urquhart led the team to a
2/1 win over fourth seeds Hong Kong which takes the sixth seeds into the
semi-finals and guarantees future funding for elite squash in the country.
The World
Squash Federation event, being staged in France for the first time, boasts a
record entry of 26 nations and is being staged simultaneously at both the
eight-court Club des Costières and La Parnasse Arena where, for
the first time ever, action is taking place simultaneously on three all-glass
show courts.
Australian
number one Grinham, currently ranked 16 in the world, opened up a crucial 1/0
lead after recovering from the loss of the third game to beat world No9 Annie
Au 11-3, 11-8, 4-11, 11-8 in 45 minutes.
Urquhart then
took to the court against Joey Chan, the Hong Kong number two ranked just
a single place below the left-hander from New South Wales. Less than 24 hours
earlier Chan had recovered from 5-9 in the decider against underdogs South
Africa to take the fancied fourth seeds into the last eight.
But Urquhart
played one of the most focussed game of her life to overcome Chan 11-5, 11-6,
11-8 and assure her country an unexpected - but all-important - place in the
elite world's top four.
The
Brisbane-based 25-year-old was immediately engulfed by the Aussie camp on court
as they celebrated their surprise triumph.
"I just can't
believe it," said Urquhart, close to tears. "I have been extremely nervous over
the last couple of days - my hand was literally shaking in the knock up before
my first match against Canada. I was a nervous wreck. Playing for your team is
so different from playing for yourself.
"But today I
had to forget about all that - I knew I had to stay calm. Joey is a tough
opponent. I just concentrated on the simple stuff, like taking time over my
service - everything else came easily after that.
"I couldn't
watch Rachael's game - I had to go away from the court and put my headphones on.
That helped keep me calm.
"We didn't
expect to get this far - but I didn't want to let everybody down."
How did the
match rate alongside others she has played? "It's definitely right up there. To
play a match like that and not let it get to me - I'm proud of that!"
After giving
Australia the lead, Grinham said: "I guess I'm struggling with my motivation on
the Tour right now - but I feel I have that back again now, playing for the
team. You've got a lot of people counting on you.
"It's a great
feeling playing for your team - but, stressful though it is, I really did enjoy
it!"
Australia's
team manager Vicki Cardwell was overjoyed with the result: "It's
magnificent," said the illustrious former world number one whose daughter
Sarah Cardwell, the third string, was saved playing a potential decider.
"It was bad
enough watching from the side-lines during the first two matches - but it would
have been brutal if Sarah had had to play a vital decider!
"Rachael
played the best I've ever seen her and Donna the most disciplined I've ever
seen. They both knew at the beginning of the week that we would be expecting
them to play in all our ties. That's a huge responsibility and they've stepped
up to it.
"We've had a
wonderful team spirit here - with support also from team coach Sarah
Fitz-Gerald and our physio Patrick Hermanns, who's been invaluable.
"You can't
overstate the importance of that win," Cardwell continued. "We're in the
rebuilding stage - and to have come here with two of our younger players is
important as we can't expect to be able to rely on the likes of Rachael for much
longer.
"We came her
to make our seeding - so to be in the semis is just amazing. It's heartening for
our kids back home," Cardwell concluded.
In the other
quarter-final played in the afternoon session, second seeds Egypt ended
India's run, beating the surprise quarter-finalists, seeded ten, 3/0
Egypt national
coach Amir Wagih was pleased with his team's showing: "We alway enjoy
playing India and now look forward to our semi-final tomorrow."
Picture
shows the jubilant Aussie squad (L to R) Rachael Grinham, Sarah
Cardwell, Melody Francis, Sarah Fitz-Gerald, Patrick Hermanns,
Vicki Cardwell and Donna Urquhart
Quarter-finals:
[6] AUSTRALIA
bt [4] HONG KONG CHINA 2/1 Rachael Grinham bt Annie Au 11-3, 11-8, 4-11, 11-8 (45m) Donna Urquhart bt Joey Chan 11-5, 11-6, 11-8 (27m) Sarah Cardwell lost to Liu Tsz-Ling 9-11, 11-6, 7-11 (22m)
[2] EGYPT bt
[10] INDIA 3/0 Raneem El Weleily bt Dipika Pallikal 16-14, 11-4, 11-7 (31m) Nour El Sherbini bt Joshana Chinappa 11-7, 11-6, 11-9 (26m) Nour El Tayeb bt Anaka Alankamony 11-6, 11-3 (12m)
9th - 16th
place play-offs:
[14] SOUTH
AFRICA bt [12] USA 2/1 Siyoli Waters lost to Natalie Grainger 3-11, 7-11, 5-11 (25m) Diana Haynes bt Olivia Fiechter 8-11, 11-7, 18-16, 11-9 (36m) Milnay Louw bt Maria Elena Ubina 11-6, 11-13, 11-5, 11-7 (27m)
[21] GERMANY
bt [17] ARGENTINA 2/1 Pamela Hathway lost to Antonella Falcione 11-3, 14-16, 7-11, 11-1,
7-11 (48m) Franziska Hennes bt Cecilia Cerquetti 11-8, 11-4, 11-5 (17m) Caroline Sayegh bt Fernanda Rocha 11-8, 11-6, 6-11, 11-9 (34m)
Final
positions: 1 Germany, 2 Colombia, 3 Argentina, 4 Spain
India
Break Into World Top Eight In Nimes
In
only their third appearance in the event, India ensured themselves a top
eight finish in the WSF Women's World Team Championship for the first
time in Nimes after beating Netherlands today in a dramatic last
16 round tie in the World Squash Federation event being staged in France
for the first time.
The event boasts a record entry of 26 nations and is being staged simultaneously
at both the eight-court Club des Costières and La Parnasse Arena
where, for the first time ever, action is taking place simultaneously on three
all-glass show courts.
It was after defeating Argentina and upsetting Ireland in the pool
stages that tenth seeds India today defeated Netherlands, the No8 seeds, 2/1.
Anaka Alankamony went on first against Milou van der Heijden. The
18-year-old Indian number three showed great maturity and resilience to play a
simple medium paced basic game to overcome her opponent 11-8, 11-6, 11-5.
Dipika Pallikal went on next against former world No2 Natalie Grinham.
From the outset, the Dutch champion was firing from all cylinders. Grinham
used her drops and lobs to great effect to win 11-8, 11-4, 11-3 to level the
tie.
In
the decider, second string Joshana Chinappa (Left) dropped the first
against a determined Dutch assault from Orla Noom. At 2/1 down, Chinappa
returned to the court with renewed confidence and dropped just five further
points to clinch a historic 5-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-2, 11-3 win after 51 minutes to
take India into the world's top eight for the first time.
"I had a game-plan, but I was a bit slow in the first two games, I was
struggling to get used to the court," admitted the jubilant 26-year-old from
Chennai afterwards. "I've played Orla lots of times, but haven't beaten her for
six years - and that was definitely on my mind.
"Once I got my confidence, I felt much more comfortable. I didn't think about
the significance of the match from the team's point of view, I just wanted to
win.
"It's awesome to be part of the team which has got into the world's top eight
for the first time - but I'm looking forward to taking it one step forward,"
added the world No32.
India national coach Cyrus Poncha was overjoyed with the achievement:
"It's been a brilliant year for Indian squash - which started with reaching the
U21 World Cup final, then third place in the world junior boys, and now in the
women's top eight for the first time."
There was disappointment later for the hosts when France, bidding to make
the last eight for the second time in a row, went down 3/0 to Ireland.
Laura Mylotte, a 37-year-old who made her world championship debut in
1994, survived a five-game marathon against Maud Duplomb to beat the
French number three 7-11, 11-8, 13-15, 11-8, 11-4. Another dramatic five-game
tussle followed - one which had the partisan crowd on the edges of their seats
before the hall went silent when 13 times Irish champion Madeline Perry
beat four-time French champion Camille Serme 11-8, 12-10, 8-11, 9-11,
11-5 to put the result beyond France's reach.
"I just had to put my head down and focus," said a delighted Perry afterwards.
"It was a bit weird with the crowd really - they were just more of a
distraction than anything else.
"It's always a bit difficult when you're playing for a team - I find myself
thinking of so many things that I wouldn't normally do when I'm just playing for
myself."
Perry has had a chequered history in the world team championships: "I haven't
had much luck with the event. I went to Malaysia in '96 and I got sick the
night before. I went to Sheffield four years later and got injured in the
second match. I went to Edmonton in Canada in 2006 and got food poisoning the
night before. I went to New Zealand two years ago and got a shoulder injury the
week before.
"In today's match I did something to my foot towards the end of the fourth game,
and that was a bit of a distraction - but soon put it out of my mind. When it
happened, I thought, 'oh no, not again!'.
"I didn't play well against India, so it was good to get my form back again."
New Zealand came from a match down to beat Canada 2/1. Unranked
English-born Canadian Susannah King, making her championship debut,
recovered from a game down - and saved two match-balls - to beat world No34
Kylie Lindsay 8-11, 11-7, 12-10, 7-11, 14-12 to put Canada into an
unexpected lead.
But squad number one Joelle King beat Samantha Cornett 8-11, 11-6,
11-2, 11-3 and Jaclyn Hawkes defeated Alexandra Norman 11-5,
13-11, 11-9 to clinch victory for the fifth seeds.
"It was quite nerve-wracking, particularly when Joelle went one down," said NZ
National Coach Paul Hornsby. "If you go by world rankings, it was
heavily in our favour - but we got off to a nervy start. Fair play to Susannah,
she played enough winners - but after the first game Joelle looked pretty
comfortable."
Hawkes added: "For me, the big difference between playing for yourself and for
your national team like this is that I got really nervous before my game,
watching the others - and had to go off and refocus. But I didn't think I was
ever going to lose that match."
Defending champions Australia booked their place in the quarter-finals
with a 3/0 win over USA. Australian team coach Sarah Fitz-Gerald,
the former five-time world champion, said: "I'm very pleased with our
performance. We knew on paper we were looking good.
"We were a bit surprised that they dropped Grainger - but that worked in our
favour. And now we're expecting to meet Hong Kong - and we feel pretty good
about that."
[5] NEW ZEALAND bt [11] CANADA 2/1 Kylie Lindsay lost to Susannah King 11-8, 7-11, 10-12, 11-7, 12-14
(54m) Joelle King bt Samantha Cornett 8-11, 11-6, 11-2, 11-3 (35m) Jaclyn Hawkes bt Alexandra Norman 11-5, 13-11, 11-9 (33m)
[6] AUSTRALIA bt [12] USA 3/0 Melody Francis bt Maria Elena Ubina 11-4, 9-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-2
(35m) Rachael Grinham bt Sabrina Sobhy 11-2, 13-11, 11-3 (27m) Donna Urquhart bt Olivia Fiechter 11-6, 10-12, 11-8 (25m)
[10] INDIA bt [8] NETHERLANDS 2/1 Anaka Alankamony bt Milou van der Heijden 11-8, 11-6, 11-5 (30m) Dipika Pallikal lost to Natalie Grinham 8-11, 4-11, 3-11 (20m) Joshana Chinappa bt Orla Noom 5-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-2, 11-3 (51m)
more results to follow .....
France Finish On Top In Nimes World
Championship Pool
While
Canada and Czech Republic secured places in the last 16 round of the
2012 WSF Women's World Team Championship in Nimes tonight, it was
hosts France who attracted the biggest crowd and rounded off the
qualifying stages of the World Squash Federation event in the greatest
style by beating Germany 3/0 to finish at the top of Pool H against
expectations.
The ninth
seeds made their breakthrough 24 hours earlier by overcoming significant rivals
Netherlands, the No8 seeds.
And after
Maud Duplomb and Coline Aumard gave the home team an insurmountable
lead, the country's number one and four-time French champion Camille Serme
beat the top German Pamela Hathway 11-5, 11-6, 11-4 in 26 minutes to send
the crowd home happy.
"It's
incredible," said Serme, the world No14 from Paris. "I play all over the world
so it's great to play here in front of a home crowd for once. My parents are
here, for instance, and that's great.
"There's a
great spirit in the squad, and that's why I think we're doing well and can go
far.
"It's good to
be in the last 16 of course - but our main aim is to finish in the last eight."
French
national coach Philippe Signoret added: "Our success is also very good
for the crowd and for the event.
"Beating the
eighth seeds yesterday and then Germany 3/0 tonight is very good preparation for
tomorrow - the girls are very confident.
"I was
especially pleased with the way Coline played tonight, after her disappointing
result yesterday," added Signoret. "She has improved a lot recently - and has
done extremely well considering that she had an appendix operation about a month
ago. She's extremely fit."
Canada
brushed aside Austria 3/0 following impressive straight games wins by
Stephanie Edmison, Alexandra Norman and number one Samantha
Cornett.
Event
debutantes Czech Republic, seeded 13, were the last side to make sure of
qualifying after a hard-fought 3/0 win over Colombia. Second string
Olga Ertlova had to fight back from 2/1 down to beat Colombian Catalina
Pelaez to put victory beyond the reach of the 20th seeds.
In the draw
for the last 16 round, favourites England will face neighbours Wales,
and 2008 champions Egypt, the No2 seeds, will take on Mexico.
Third seeds
Malaysia were drawn in England's half of the draw, and will line up against
Czech Republic, while fourth seeds Hong Kong will face South
Africa.
All the last
16 round action will take place on the three all-glass show courts at La
Parnasse Arena - and, for the first time in a world championship,
simultaneous live streaming from all three courts will be available on
www.youtube.com/worldsquashtv
Final
qualifying round (final session):
Pool D:
[13] CZECH REPUBLIC bt [20] COLOMBIA 3/0 Anna Klimundova bt Karol Gonzalez 12-14, 11-8, 11-3, 11-6 (38m) Olga Ertlova bt Catalina Pelaez 11-6, 5-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-5 (35m) Lucie Fialova bt Silvia Angulo Rugeles 8-11, 13-11, 11-4, 11-6
(35m)
Final positions: 1 Hong Kong China, 2 Czech Republic, 3 Colombia, 4 Namibia
Pool F:
[11] CANADA bt [18] AUSTRIA 3/0 Stephanie Edmison bt Jacqueline Peychar 11-1, 11-6, 11-4 (16m) Alexandra Norman bt Judith Gradnitzer 11-3, 11-3, 11-3 (19m) Samantha Cornett bt Birgit Coufal 11-8, 11-2, 11-2 (22m)
Final positions: 1 Australia, 2 Canada, 3 Austria
Pool H:
[9] FRANCE bt [21] GERMANY 3/0 Maud Duplomb bt Caroline Sayegh 11-3, 10-12, 11-7, 11-4 (34m) Coline Aumard bt Franziska Hennes 11-6, 11-1, 11-1 (26m) Camille Serme bt Pamela Hathway 11-5, 11-6, 11-4 (26m)
Final positions: 1 France, 2 Netherlands, 3 Germany
Full last 16
draw:
[1] ENGLAND v [15] WALES
[9] FRANCE v [7] IRELAND
[3] MALAYSIA v [13] CZECH REPUBLIC
[5] NEW ZEALAND v [11] CANADA
[6] AUSTRALIA v [12] USA
[4] HONG KONG CHINA v [14] SOUTH AFRICA
[10] INDIA v [8] NETHERLANDS
[2] EGYPT v [16] MEXICO
India Mark 'Huge' Success In Nimes World Championship
After
upsetting seventh background: Ireland in the first qualifying round of the 2012
WSF Women's World Team Championship in Nimes, tenth background: India
clinched pole position in Pool G after despatching Argentina 3/0 in
today's final qualifying round of the biennial World Squash Federation
event taking place in France for the first time.
The event
boasts a record entry of 26 nations and is being staged simultaneously at both
the eight-court Club des Costières and La Parnasse Arena where,
for the first time ever, action is taking place on three all-glass show courts.
Teams have
been fighting for the top two places in the eight pools to ensure themselves a
place in the last 16 knockout stage.
Squad number
three Anaka Alankamony led the way for India, beating Maria Eugenia
Bonilla 11-4, 11-4, 11-7 - before second string Joshana Chinappa
(right) took
just 19 minutes to overcome Cecilia Cerquetti 11-6, 11-3, 11-4.
In the final
match, top-ranked Argentinean Antonella Falcione battled hard against
India's star Dipika Pallikal - but world No13 Pallikal had the edge,
defeating her opponent ranked more than 100 places below 11-8, 11-7, 11-8.
"It's huge,"
said Indian National Coach Cyrus Poncha when asked the significance of
the success in the event so far. "Our aim was to top the pool - and making the
quarter-finals is our goal.
"Beating
Ireland definitely gave us a lot of confidence and we hope to have a great
performance against the Dutch tomorrow."
Incredibly,
this is only India's third appearance in the women's world championship, with an
18th place finish in their debut in 2002 and 11th last year.
"Last year it
was a first for us to finish in the top eight in the men's world team
championship - so if we can make the top eight here this year it will be a huge
achievement and another significant step forward for Indian Squash," concluded
Poncha.
USA
bounced back from the disappointment of a 3/0 loss to New Zealand
yesterday to beat Japan today to finish in second place in Pool E.
Teenager
Olivia Fiechter put the 12th background: into the lead with an 11-3, 11-3, 11-3
win over Japan's third string Mayu Yamazaki. But it was an impressive
performance from senior squad newcomer Sabrina Sobhy that ensured victory
when the 15-year-old beat experienced Chinatsu Matsui, aged 35, 9-11,
11-5, 11-5, 6-11, 11-8 in 46 minutes.
Japan gained a
consolation point when world No38 Misaki Kobayashi beat retired
35-year-old former world No1 Natalie Grainger 8-11, 13-11, 11-8, 12-10 in
the final match.
Team coach
Chris Walker, a former England captain, was pleased with his largely
inexperienced squad's performance. "We knew it was going to be tough, but Olivia
was clinical and sound, playing the best she's been all week to put us ahead.
"This took
some of the pressure off Sabrina who played a fine game to see us through.
"The beauty of
having this young squad is that they are gaining important experience and
learning all the time."
Final
qualifying round
(afternoon session):
Pool A:
[16] MEXICO bt [23] REPUBLIC OF KOREA 2/1 Nayelly Hernandez bt Kim Ga-Hye 11-6, 11-6, 6-11, 6-11, 11-9 (48m) Karla Urrutia lost to Park Eun Ok 4-11, 5-11, 5-11 (26m) Samantha Teran bt Song Sun-Mi 11-1, 11-7, 10-12, 12-10 (40m)
Final
positions: 1 England, 2 Mexico, 3 Republic of Korea
Pool B:
[15] WALES bt [24] SCOTLAND 3/0 Hannah Davies bt Rosie Allan 11-8, 11-5, 11-7 Deon Saffery bt Alex Clark 11-8, 11-6, 11-5 Tesni Evans bt Frania Gillen-Buchert 11-3, 11-7, 11-5
Final
positions: 1 Egypt, 2 Wales, 3 Scotland
Pool C:
[3] MALAYSIA bt [26] SPAIN 3/0 Delia Arnold bt Chantal Moros-Pitarch 11-3, 11-3, 11-2 (25m) Low Wee Wern bt Cristina Gomez 11-3, 11-3, 11-3 (30m) Nicol David bt Xisela Aranda Nunez 11-2, 11-3, 11-7
[14] SOUTH
AFRICA bt [19] CHINA 3/0 Milnay Louw bt Xiu Chen 11-9, 9-11, 11-3, 11-2 Diana Haynes bt Gu Jinyue 11-1, 11-6, 11-3 Siyoli Waters bt Li Dongjin 11-2, 4-11, 13-11, 13-11
Final
positions: 1 Malaysia, 2 South Africa, 3 China, 4 Spain
Pool D:
[4] HONG KONG CHINA bt [25] NAMIBIA 3/0 Tong Tsz-Wing bt Lucinda Rodrigues 11-2, 11-0, 11-2 Liu Tsz-Ling bt Adri Lambert 11-6, 11-2, 11-7 Joey Chan bt Isabell Schnoor 11-3, 11-5, 11-4
[13] CZECH
REPUBLIC v [20] COLOMBIA ….. result to follow
Pool E:
[12] USA bt [22] JAPAN 2/1 Olivia Fiechter bt Mayu Yamazaki 11-3, 11-3, 11-3 (16m) Sabrina Sobhy bt Chinatsu Matsui 9-11, 11-5, 11-5, 6-11, 11-8
(46m) Natalie Grainger lost to Misaki Kobayashi 11-8, 11-13, 8-11, 10-12
Final
positions: 1 New Zealand, 2 USA, 3 Japan
Pool F:
[11] CANADA v [18] AUSTRIA ….. result to follow
Pool G:
[10] INDIA bt [17] ARGENTINA 3/0 Anaka Alankamony bt Maria Eugenia Bonilla 11-4, 11-4, 11-7 Joshana Chinappa bt Cecilia Cerquetti 11-6, 11-3, 11-4 (19m) Dipika Pallikal bt Antonella Falcione 11-8, 11-7, 11-8
Final
positions: 1 India, 2 Ireland, 3 Argentina
Pool H:
[9] FRANCE v [21] GERMANY ….. result to follow
The first
upset in the 2012 WSF Women's World Team Championship came before the
biggest crowd surrounding one of the three all-glass courts at La Parnasse
Arena in Nimes where hosts France beat Netherlands in a
dramatic tie which went to the wire.
The historic
World Squash Federation event, boasting a record entry of 26 nations, is
the first ever to be staged in France, and the first to feature three all-glass
show courts.
The tie
promised maximum drama, with Netherlands seeded eight, and France one place
below - yet coming into the event after a best-ever sixth place finish in the
previous championship.
French number
one Camille Serme, the world No14, opened proceedings for the hosts
against Natalie Grinham, the Dutch champion ranked three places higher.
They shared three wins apiece in their six earlier meetings - but tonight the
packed crowd was entirely with the hosts.
Serme led by
example, and fought back from 2/1 down to beat Grinham 11-8, 11-13, 8-11, 11-4,
11-7 in 54 minutes. Coline Aumard looked to be taking France to a
decisive victory when leading 2/0 and 7/0 against Orla Noom. But the
Dutch number two staged a remarkable recovery to win the match 4-11, 1-11, 11-9,
11-4, 11-4 in 45 minutes to force a decider.
The nervous
crowd were willing the team's fourth string all the way - and Laura Pomportes
did not disappoint, beating Milou van der Heijden 11-5, 11-5, 9-11, 11-2
in 40 minutes to give France a strong chance of topping Pool H.
"It was a good
win, but it would have been better if we'd won the second match," said French
national coach Philippe Signoret. "It was certainly good for our
confidence and Camille's win was especially good as she has had some
disappointing results over the past three months.
"Now we must
beat Germany tomorrow to top the pool, then we will probably have a very tough
match with either Ireland or India - so there's still a lot of work to do,"
added Signoret.
China
made history in Pool C by marking their first ever world championship win. In
only their second ever appearance in the event, the 19th background: face Spain,
a more 'traditional' squash-playing nation which has competed in the
championships since 1989.
Li Dongjin
put the novices ahead with a straight games win over Marina de Juan
before Xisela Aranda Nunez restored order for the former 13th placed
Spain by beating Gu Jinyue in four games.
But Xiu
Chen, a 24-year-old from Shanghai, played the game of her life to defeat
25-year-old Chantal Moros-Pitarch 8-11, 12-10, 11-2, 6-11, 11-8 to notch
up China's historic victory.
"Competing in
this tournament gives our players a very precious opportunity to gain experience
against the top players in the world," said Wang Tao, Secretary General
of the Chinese Squash Association.
"Squash is
getting more and more popular in our country - especially amongst students - and
all our team are studying and playing squash at Shanghai University.
"We really
hope that the sport's bid to get into the Olympic programme will be successful
as it will then enable us to get more funding from the government," added Ms
Wang Tao. "We are confident that squash will then get much bigger in China."
A major upset
took place late in the day in Pool G when tenth background: India beat
Ireland, the No7 background:, 2/1 - reversing the result of the same poll clash
two years ago. Rising star Dipika Pallikal paved the way with a four-game
victory over experienced Irish champion Madeline Perry - but the squad
number two Joshana Chinappa let slip a 2/1 lead to allow Aisling Blake,
and Ireland, back into the tie.
But teenager
Anaka Alankamony held her nerve to see off Laura Mylotte 12-10,
11-3, 11-7 to give India a sensational victory.
The top four
background: England, Egypt, Malaysia and Hong Kong all earned their
second 3/0 wins of the day - but only favourites England did so in three
straight games match wins.
"It was an
excellent start to our campaign today," said England team coach David Campion.
"The girls were in confident mood against a spirited team from Mexico and are
excited about the week ahead. The three glass courts under one roof is quite
impressive."
2nd qualifying
rounds (evening session, 1st day):
Pool A:
[1] ENGLAND bt [16] MEXICO 3/0 Laura Massaro bt Samantha Teran 11-3, 11-8, 13-11 Alison Waters bt Karla Urrutia 11-6, 11-3, 11-2 Jenny Duncalf bt Nayelly Hernandez 11-5, 11-1, 11-0
Pool B:
[2] EGYPT bt [15] WALES 3/0 Raneem El Weleily bt Tesni Evans 11-4, 11-7, 11-3 (21m) Omneya Abdel Kawy bt Deon Saffery 11-8, 7-11, 11-4, 11-8 (30m) Nour El Tayeb bt Hannah Davies 11-1, 11-3, 11-9 (16m)
Pool C:
[3] MALAYSIA bt [14] SOUTH AFRICA 3/0 Nicol David bt Siyoli Waters 11-5, 7-11, 11-2, 11-2 Low Wee Wern bt Diana Haynes 11-9, 11-5, 11-3 Delia Arnold bt Milnay Louw 11-8, 8-11, 11-6, 11-6
[19] CHINA bt
[26] SPAIN 2/1 Li Dongjin bt Marina de Juan 11-2, 12-10, 11-9 Gu Jinyue lost to Xisela Aranda Nunez 5-11, 12-10, 7-11, 10-12 Xiu Chen bt Chantal Moros-Pitarch 8-11, 12-10, 11-2, 6-11, 11-8
Pool D:
[4] HONG KONG CHINA bt [13] CZECH REPUBLIC 3/0 Annie Au bt Lucie Fialova 11-4, 11-5, 11-8 (25m) Joey Chan bt Olga Ertlova 8-11, 14-12, 10-12, 11-7, 11-6 (61m) Liu Tsz-Ling bt Anna Klimundova 10-12, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-2
(43m)
Pool E:
[5] NEW ZEALAND bt [12] USA 3/0 Joelle King bt Natalie Grainger 11-9, 11-8, 11-5 (26m) Jaclyn Hawkes bt Sabrina Sobhy 12-10, 11-9, 11-4 (23m) Kylie Lindsay bt Olivia Fiechter 9-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-9 (34m)
Pool F:
[6] AUSTRALIA bt [11] CANADA 3/0 Rachael Grinham bt Samantha Cornett 10-12, 11-8, 11-3, 11-3 (38m) Donna Urquhart bt Alexandra Norman 9-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-8 (36m) Melody Francis bt Susannah King 4-11, 11-6, 12-10, 11-5 (28m)
Pool G:
[10] INDIA bt [7] IRELAND 2/1 Dipika Pallikal bt Madeline Perry 11-9, 11-8, 7-11, 11-8 Joshana Chinappa lost to Aisling Blake 9-11, 11-7, 11-6, 8-11,
9-11 Anaka Alankamony bt Laura Mylotte 12-10, 11-3, 11-7
Pool H:
[9] FRANCE bt [8] NETHERLANDS 2/1 Camille Serme bt Natalie Grinham 11-8, 11-13, 8-11, 11-4, 11-7
(54m) Coline Aumard lost to Orla Noom 11-4, 11-1, 9-11, 4-11, 4-11 (45m) Laura Pomportes bt Milou van der Heijden 11-5, 11-5, 9-11, 11-2
(40m)
Official event
website:
World Women SquashWSF World
Team Championship,
Nimes, FranceTop background: Successful In Opening Exchanges In Nimes
The top eight background: showed their strength in the opening
encounters of the WSF Women's World Team Championship in Nimes
with 3/0 victories in the afternoon session of the first day's play in the
biennial World Squash Federation event which is being held in France
for the first time in its 33-year history.
The eight nations continue their qualifying action with
further ties in today's evening session - with hosts France making
their debut against Netherlands on the 'centre' court of the three
all-glass courts at La Parnasse Arena, and additional action also
taking place at the nearby eight-court Club des Costières.
Favourites England - bidding to win the title for a
seventh time, but for the first time since 2006 - beat championship
debutants Republic Of Korea 3/0. England's powerful line-up featured
Alison Waters, Jenny Duncalf and Sarah Kippax - all in
the world's top 25 - while only one of the Koreans is world-ranked.
"We are really focussed and wanted to get a strong start from
the outset," said England team coach David Campion. "But, credit to
Korea, their players were not overawed by the occasion and showed great
technique and athleticism."
Second background: Egypt saw off Scotland 3/0. Pushed
down to 24th background: after the last-minute withdrawal of number one Lisa
Aitken, Scotland's hopes were lifted when, on the eve of her 31st
birthday, new top string Frania Gillen-Buchert took the opening game
against Nour El Sherbini. But the Egyptian teenager restored order by
winning 9-11, 11-3, 13-11, 11-8 in 35 minutes.
1st qualifying rounds (afternoon session, 1st day):
Pool A:
[1] ENGLAND bt [23] REPUBLIC OF KOREA 3/0 Alison Waters bt Song Sun-Mi 11-7, 11-4, 11-6 (23m) Jenny Duncalf bt Park Eun Ok 11-6, 11-3, 11-2 (21m) Sarah Kippax bt Yang Yeon-Soo 11-7, 11-5, 11-9 (24m)
Pool B:
[2] EGYPT bt [24] SCOTLAND 3/0 Nour El Sherbini bt Frania Gillen-Buchert 9-11, 11-3, 13-11,
11-8 (35m) Omneya Abdel Kawy bt Alex Clark 11-2, 11-6, 11-4 (19m) Nour El Tayeb bt Rosie Allan 11-3, 11-3, 11-6 (16m)
Pool C:
[3] MALAYSIA bt [19] CHINA 3/0 Nicol David bt Li Dongjin 11-3, 11-8, 11-5 (24m) Low Wee Wern bt Gu Jinyue 11-3, 11-3, 11-3 (19m) Delia Arnold bt Xiu Chen 11-4, 11-0, 11-8 (16m)
[14] SOUTH AFRICA bt [26] SPAIN 3/0 Siyoli Waters bt Marina de Juan 11-6, 11-5, 11-3 Milnay Louw bt Xisela Aranda Nunez 4-11, 11-6, 12-10, 14-12 Senada Haupt bt Cristina Gomez 11-6, 12-10, 11-8
Pool D:
[4] HONG KONG CHINA bt [20] COLOMBIA 3/0 Annie Au bt Silvia Angulo Rugeles 11-3, 11-2, 11-4 Liu Tsz-Ling bt Karol Gonzalez 11-3, 11-8, 12-14, 11-3 Tong Tsz-Wing bt Ana Gabriela Porras 11-5, 11-9, 11-8
[13] CZECH REPUBLIC bt [25] NAMIBIA 3/0 Lucie Fialova bt Isabell Schnoor 11-6, 12-10, 11-8 Olga Ertlova bt Adri Lambert 11-3, 11-2, 11-5 Anna Klimundova bt Lucinda Rodrigues 11-0, 11-4, 11-4
Pool E:
[5] NEW ZEALAND bt [22] JAPAN 3/0 Joelle King bt Misaki Kobayashi 11-8, 11-7, 11-1 Jaclyn Hawkes bt Chinatsu Matsui 11-6, 8-11, 6-11, 11-6, 11-6 Amanda Landers-Murphy bt Mayu Yamazaki 10-12, 11-2, 11-7, 11-5
Pool F:
[6] AUSTRALIA bt [18] AUSTRIA 3/0 Rachael Grinham bt Birgit Coufal 11-3, 11-3, 11-2 Donna Urquhart bt Judith Gradnitzer 11-4, 11-3, 11-1 Sarah Cardwell bt Ines Winkler 11-1, 11-1, 11-1
Pool G:
[7] IRELAND bt [17] ARGENTINA 3/0 Madeline Perry bt Antonella Falcione 11-5, 11-4, 11-4 (21m) Aisling Blake bt Cecilia Cerquetti 11-4, 11-4, 11-6 (22m) Laura Mylotte bt Fernanda Rocha 11-6, 11-5, 9-11, 11-4 (24m)
Pool H:
[8] NETHERLANDS bt [21] GERMANY 3/0 Natalie Grinham bt Pamela Hathway 11-4, 11-6, 11-5 Orla Noom bt Franziska Hennes 11-7, 12-14, 11-5, 11-1 Milou van der Heijden bt Annika Wiese 11-7, 11-3, 11-4
Hosts
France Aim To Shine In Nimes World Team Championship
Hosts
France, who recorded a best-ever sixth place in the previous championship
yet are seeded ninth in the 2012 WSF Women's World Team Championship, are
bidding to reach the last eight again next week in the 18th staging of the
biennial World Squash Federation event in the historic city of Nimes.
A record 26
nations will take part in the 2012 championship which is being hosted by
Fédération Française de Squash from 12-17 November, and staged in France for
the first time in its 33-year history.
The
championship in Nimes will be held at the eight-court Club des Costières,
and at La Parnasse Arena - where history will be made with action taking
place simultaneously on three new state-of-the-art ASB all-glass show courts (pictured
below, under construction).
France will be
led by Camille Serme, the 23-year-old world No14 from Paris who will be
making her fourth successive appearance in the event since making her debut in
the 2006 championship in Canada. The former world No7 will be joined in the
squad by world No41 Coline Aumard and championship debutantes Maud
Duplomb and Laura Pomportes, ranked 71 & 63, respectively.
French team
coach Philippe Signoret is looking forward to the championship: "Two
years ago, in New Zealand, France achieved its best ranking with sixth place.
The fact that the competition is organized in France adds an additional pressure
for the team.
"It will be a
pleasure to watch the girls progress in front of a French audience, which is
rare for internationals events."
France will
begin their campaign in Pool H, where they will line up against Germany
and Netherlands, the No8 background:. Netherlands are led by world No11
Natalie Grinham. The former Australian is making her fourth appearance in
the championship - but has not competed since 2004, and
is unbeaten in the event since making her debut in 2000!
England
have been named as top background:, with 2008 champions Egypt as second background:
and Malaysia expected to finish third for the fourth time in a row..
Signoret
admits that France will face some stiff opposition: "England will have a great
team with players ranked in the top 10. Malaysia will also be strong, with
Nicol David, the world number one and her compatriot Low Wee Wern
(the world No11)," said Signoret.
"Egypt also
has a strong potential. However, there are other teams that could surprise us, I
am thinking about Ireland, who beat us in the European Championship.
"Our first
goal is to achieve the quarter-finals and, only at this moment, we could think
about the podium."
Pool
line-ups
(with seeding in brackets):
Pool A: [1] England, [16] Scotland, [23] Republic of Korea
Pool B: [2] Egypt, [15] Wales, [24] Mexico
Pool C: [3] Malaysia, [14] South Africa, [19] China, [26] Spain
Pool D: [4] Hong Kong China, [13] Czech Republic, [20] Colombia, [25] Namibia
Pool E: [5] New Zealand, [12] USA, [22] Japan
Pool F: [6] Australia, [11] Canada, [18] Austria
Pool G: [7] Ireland, [10] India, [17] Argentina
Pool H: [8] Netherlands, [9] France, [21] Germany
