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Second World Doubles Championships

Chennai, India, 13-17 December

 
17 Dec:
Australia Celebrates
Triple Gold In Chennai

Australia swept to triple gold success in the World Doubles Squash Championships in Chennai, India, today (Friday), while Rachael Grinham, the world No1 from Queensland, became the first player to claim two gold medals in the history of the championships.

Grinham arrived in the former city of Madras as favourite for two of the titles - the Women's Doubles with her younger sister Natalie Grinham, ranked five in the world, and in the Mixed Doubles with fellow British Open champion David Palmer, the world No4 from Lithgow in New South Wales.

The 27-year-old from Toowoomba did not disappoint.  In the first final of the day with Palmer, the pair was fully extended by the second-seeded New Zealand duo Shelley Kitchen and Glen Wilson before winning 11-8 9-8 9-8 in 45 minutes.  The Australians' joy was contrasted by the disappointment of the Kiwi pair, whose Glen Wilson was a gold medallist (with the now-retired Leilani Rorani) in the same event in the 2002 Commonwealth Games in England.

Rachael, based in Cairo, next took to the court with her Netherlands-based sister to face surprise opponents Louise Crome and Lara Petera, the 5/8 seeds, also from New Zealand, in the Women's final.  It took just 29 minutes for Rachael to taste gold for the second time in the day when she and Natalie triumphed 9-7 9-4 9-2 - maintaining a 'clean sheet' of no games lost throughout the tournament.

A surprise was inevitable in the Men's Doubles final where 5/8 seed Byron Davis and Cameron White, the unfancied Australian pair who yesterday shocked top-seeded compatriots David Palmer and Anthony Ricketts, took on fellow 5/8 seeds Ritwik Bhattacharya and Saurav Ghosal, the pair who raised local hopes by becoming the first Indians ever to reach a world squash final.

The final befitted the climax to the five-day festival of squash at the new ICL-TNSRA centre in Chennai.  The battle lasted 73 minutes - the longest of the day - but much to the dismay of the packed and partisan crowd, there was no fairytale ending as Davis and White, from Adelaide and Melbourne respectively, clinched a 9-4 9-3 8-9 9-7 victory to secure an Australian hat-trick.

17 Dec:
India & New Zealand In Surprise
Gold Medal Bids In Chennai

New Zealand and hosts India pulled off significant upsets in today's semi-finals of the World Doubles Squash Championships in Chennai, India, to challenge Australia for the gold medals in the Women's and Men's finals, respectively, on Friday.

Louise Crome and Lara Petera, seeded in the 5/8 group, took 66 minutes to outwit higher-seeded fellow New Zealanders Shelley Kitchen and Tamsyn Leevey 11-10 11-8 7-9 9-7 in the first day of knockout action in the women's event.  Crome and Petera, both from Auckland, will now face the top-seeded Australian pairing of Natalie and Rachael Grinham, the Queensland sisters from Toowoomba, who quickly despatched Malaysia's second seeds Tricia Chuah and Nicol David 9-4 9-5 9-4 in the other semi-final in just 21 minutes.

It was the battle between the two unexpected Men's semi-finalists, however, which was gripping the local crowds at the ICL-TNSRA courts in Chennai.  India's Ritwik Bhattacharya and Saurav Ghosal, who upset the higher-seeded Australians Dan Jenson and Cameron Pilley in the quarter-finals, were facing fellow 5/8 seeds Jamie Crombie and Preston Quick, an experienced doubles pairing from the USA.

It was a close-fought affair which lasted 65 minutes - but it was Bhattacharya and Ghosal, the country's senior and junior national champions, respectively, who emerged victorious in a 9-5 10-11 11-9 9-4 scoreline.

"Saurav was fantastic, out of his mind," Bhattacharya told www.squashsite.co.uk afterwards.  "I wasn't on fire, and eventually they realised that and started playing on the forehand, so Saurav had to compensate for me, which he did brilliantly."

Ghosal, 18, the reigning British Junior Open champion from Chennai, conceded:  "That was one of my best performances ever!"

The final match of the day saw the first demise of a top-seeded pairing in the event when David Palmer and Anthony Ricketts, ranked 4 and 14 respectively in the world, crashed out to fellow Australians Byron Davis and Cameron White.  After losing the first two games, the favourites reduced the deficit in the third after demanding that the ball be changed.  

The advantage swung from one pair to the other in the fourth game - in which Palmer received a conduct warning for racket abuse - until Davis and White celebrated victory after 99 minutes with the score standing at 9-4 9-6 4-9 11-10.

Fortunes were reversed earlier when Palmer and White faced each other in the Mixed Doubles semi-finals.  Palmer and Rachael Grinham, the top seeds, beat White and Dianne Desira, 5/8 seeds, 9-5 9-3 9-8 in 43 minutes to set up the predicted meeting with New Zealand's No2 seeds Shelley Kitchen and Glen Wilson.  However, their opponents Natalie Grinham and Dan Jenson, the 3/4 seeds from Australia, led 2/1 and were a single point away from victory before the New Zealanders took their place in the final with a 9-6 7-9 3-9 9-7 11-10 victory in 72 minutes.


15-Dec:
Australia & New Zealand Shine
In Chennai World Doubles

Australia and New Zealand pairings led the way to success on the final day of qualifying action in the World Doubles Squash Championships in Chennai, India.

Australian British Open champions David Palmer and Rachael Grinham, ranked four and one in the world, respectively, partnered each other in the Mixed Doubles - winning Pool A - then joined up with Anthony Ricketts and Natalie Grinham, respectively, to top their pools in the Men's and Women's Doubles events, without conceding any games along the way.

Palmer and Ricketts, favourites in the Men's event, are joined by two other Australian double acts in the knockout stages - 3/4 seeds Dan Jenson and Cameron Pilley comfortably came through to win Pool D, while 5/8 seeds Byron Davis and Cameron White, upset Pakistan's 3/4 seeds Mansoor Zaman and Shahid Zaman in the final match to unexpectedly clinch top spot in Pool C.

The failure of second-seeded Malaysian pairing Mohd Azlan Iskandar and Ong Beng Hee to win any of their qualifying matches has led USA's 5/8 seeds Jamie Crombie and Preston Quick to succeed in Pool B.

While the Grinham sisters topped Pool A in the Women's event, the other pool was won by New Zealand's 5/8 seeds Louise Crome and Lara Petera, who added to their first round upset over second seeds Tricia Chuah and Nicol David, of Malaysia, by winning both their remaining matches today.

As in the Men's event, Australians were successful in three of the four pools in the Mixed tournament. Top seeds Grinham and Palmer are joined by 3/4 seeds Natalie Grinham and Dan Jenson, and 5/8 seeds Dianne Desira and Cameron White - while the fourth winners' place is taken by the second-seeded New Zealand duo Shelley Kitchen and Glen Wilson.

  

 

 

World Doubles 2004

13-17 December, Chennai, India

FINALS:
MEN'S:
[5/8] Byron Davis & Cameron White (AUS) bt [5/8] Ritwik Bhattacharya & Saurav Ghosal (IND)  9-4, 9-3, 8-9, 9-7 (73m)

WOMEN'S

[1] Natalie Grinham & Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt [5/8] Louise Crome & Lara Petera (NZL)  9-7, 9-4, 9-2 (29m)

MIXED:

[1] Rachael Grinham & David Palmer (AUS) bt [2] Shelley Kitchen & Glen Wilson (NZL) 11-8, 9-8, 9-8 (45m)

FINAL ROUND:
MEN':  
    3rd place play-off:
[1] David Palmer & Anthony Ricketts (AUS) bt [5/8] Jamie Crombie & Preston Quick (USA)  11-9, 7-9, 9-4, 9-5 (40m)

    5th place play-off:
[3/4] Dan Jenson & Cameron Pilley (AUS) bt [5/8] Safeerullah Khan & Farrukh Zaman (PAK)  9-6, 7-9, 9-11, 9-7, 9-2 (62m)

    7th place play-off:

[3/4] Mansoor Zaman & Shahid Zaman (PAK) bt Wai Hang Wong & Roger Ngan (HKG)
  9-3, 7-9, 9-7, 9-3 (32m)

    9th place play-off:
Vikas Jangra & Harinder Pal Singh (IND) bt Bala Murugan & A Parthiban (IND)
  9-7, 9-3, 9-2 (30m)

    11th place play-off:
Paul Atkinson & Michael Tootill (RSA) bt Gaurav Nandrajog & Niraj Shirgaokar (IND)
  w/o

    13th place play-off:
Raymond Arnold & S Maniam (MAS) bt Naishadh Lalwani & Rushabh Vora (IND)
  w/o

    15th place play-off:
[2] Mohd Azlan Iskandar & Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt Vivian Rhamanan & Mohd Rizal (SIN)  w/o

WOMEN'S
    3rd place play-off:
[3/4] Shelley Kitchen & Tamsyn Leevey (NZL) bt [2] Tricia Chuah & Nicol David (MAS)  9-7, 9-5, 9-6 (25m)

    5th place play-off:
[3/4] Heidi Mather & Amelia Pittock (AUS) bt [5/8] Louisa Hall & Latasha Khan (USA)
  9-2, 11-9, 9-1 (18m)

    7th place play-off:
[5/8] Diana Argyll & Angelique Clifton-Parks (RSA) bt [5/8] Kasey Brown & Melissa Martin (AUS)  9-3, 6-9, 9-4, 9-4 (20m)

MIXED:
   3rd place play-off:
[3/4] Natalie Grinham & Dan Jenson (AUS) bt [5/8] Dianne Desira & Cameron White (AUS)  9-3, 9-3, 9-2 (35m)
    
5th place play-off:

Rebecca Chiu & Faheem Khan (HKG) bt Lara Petera & Callum O'Brien (NZL)
  11-10, 9-1, 7-9, 9-7 (57m)
    
7th place play-off
:
Joshna Chinappa & Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt [5/8] Tricia Chuah & Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS)  w/o
   
 9th place play-off:
Angelique Clifton-Parks & Michael Tootill
(RSA) bt Diana Argyll & Paul Atkinson (RSA)
  9-4, 9-2, 9-3 (15m)
 
   11th place play-off:
[5/8] Latasha Khan & Jamie Crombie (USA) bt Nicol David & Ong Beng Hee (MAS)
  w/o

SEMI-FINALS:

Men's:
  [5/8] Byron Davis / Cameron White (Aus) bt  [1] David Palmer / Anthony Ricketts (Aus)  9/4, 9/6, 4/9, 11/10

  [5/8] Ritwik Bhattacharya/Saurav Ghosal (Ind) bt  [5/8] Preston Quick/Jamie Crombie (Usa)  
           9/5, 10/11, 11/9, 9/4 (65m)

Women's:

  [1] Natalie Grinham / Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt  [2] Nicol David / Triciah Chuah (Mas) 
         9-4, 9-5, 9-4 (21m)

 [5/8] Louise Crome / Lara Petera (Nzl) bt [3/4] Shelley Kitchen / Tamsyn Leevey (Nzl)
         11/10, 11/8, 7/9, 9/7 (66m)

Mixed:
  [1] David Palmer / Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt  [5/8] Diane Desira / Cameron White (Aus) 
          9/5, 9/3, 9/8 (43m)

  [2] Shelley Kitchen/Glen Wilson (Nzl) bt  [3/4] Natalie Grinham/Dan Jenson (Aus)
           9/6, 7/9, 3/9, 9/7, 11/10 (72m)


 

MEN'S DOUBLES QUARTER-FINALS:   

[1] David Palmer & Anthony Ricketts (AUS) bt [5/8] Safeer Ullah Khan & Farrukh Zaman (PAK)
  9-3, 9-7, 9-7 (25m)
[5/8] Byron Davis & Cameron White (AUS) bt Wai Hang Wong & Roger Ngan (HKG)
  9-5, 9-6, 9-5 (44m)
[5/8] Ritwik Bhattacharya & Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt [3/4] Dan Jenson & Cameron Pilley (AUS)  9-3, 11-8, 4-9, 8-9, 9-6 (71m)
[5/8] Jamie Crombie & Preston Quick (USA) bt [3/4] Mansoor Zaman & Shahid Zaman (PAK)
  8-9, 11-10, 9-7, 9-6 (57m)


9TH-16TH PLACE PLAY-OFFS:

Paul Atkinson & Michael Tootill (RSA) bt Raymond Arnold & S Maniam (MAS)
  9-1, 11-9, 9-6 (31m)
Vikas Jangra & Harinder Pal Singh (IND) bt [2] Mohd Azlan Iskandar & Ong Beng Hee (MAS)
  w/o
Gaurav Nandrajog & Niraj Shirgaokar (IND) bt Vivian Rhamanan & Mohd Rizal (SIN)
  w/o
Bala Murugan & A Parthiban (IND) bt Naishadh Lalwani & Rushabh Vora (IND)
  9-5, 11-8, 7-9, 4-9, 9-6 (47m)

MIXED DOUBLES QUATER-FINALS:

{1] Rachael Grinham & David Palmer (AUS) bt Rebecca Chiu & Faheem Khan (HKG)
  9-4, 9-2, 9-3 (16m)
[5/8] Dianne Desira & Cameron White (AUS) bt Joshna Chinappa & Saurav Ghosal (IND)
  10-11, 11-9, 9-3, 9-5 (46m)
[3/4] Natalie Grinham & Dan Jenson (AUS) bt Lara Petera & Callum O'Brien (NZL)
  9-6, 11-9, 6-9, 7-9, 9-4 (69m)
[2] Shelley Kitchen & Glen Wilson (NZL) bt [5/8] Tricia Chuah & Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS)
  9-3, 9-2, 9-6 (17m)
    9th-16th place play-offs:
[5/8] Latasha Khan & Jamie Crombie (USA) bt Louisa Hall & Preston Quick (USA)
  9-7, 9-8, 9-3 (35m)