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Men’s World Team Championship
2019
Men's Draw
04 - 09 Dec
Washington, USA |
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DAY 7 Final:
[1] EGYPT bt [2] ENGLAND 2-0
Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bt Declan James (USA) 3-2: 9-11, 11-4, 8-11,
11-9, 12-10 (107m)
Ali Farag (EGY) bt Adrian Waller (ENG) 3-1: 11-6, 11-6, 12-14, 11-4
(57m)
3rd place: [3] FRANCE & [11] WALES
5th place play-off:
[4] NEW ZEALAND bt [5] GERMANY 2-0
Evan Williams (NZL) bt Valentin Rapp (GER) 3-0: 11-1, 11-7, 11-8 (42m)
Paul Coll (NZL) bt Simon Rösner (GER)3-2: 11-6, 5-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-3
(62m)
7th place play-off:
[9] SCOTLAND bt [8] SPAIN 2-1
Carlos Cornes (ESP) bt Rory Stewart (SCO) 3-2: 8-11, 11-3, 2-11, 11-2,
8-11 (70m)
Greg Lobban (SCO) bt Borja Golan (ESP) 3-1: 12-10, 10-12, 11-9, 11-8
(72m)
Alan Clyne (SCO) bt Iker Pajares (ESP) 3-0: 11-0, 6-2 ret. (19m)
13th place play-off:
[12] USA bt [14] CANADA 2-0
Christopher Gordon (USA) bt David Baillargeon (CAN) 3-1: 7-11, 11-4,
12-10, 11-1 (40m)
Todd Harrity (USA) bt Shawn Delierre (CAN) 3-0: 11-5, 15-13, 11-8 (39m)
15th place play-off:
[21] KUWAIT bt [16] ARGENTINA 2-0
Ali Alramezi (KUW) bt Jeremías Azaña (ARG) 3-1: 11-5, 11-6, 4-11, 11-5
(39m)
Ammar Altamimi (KUW) bt Robertino Pezzota (ARG) 3-0: 11-2, 11-2, 11-2
(22m)
17th place play-off:
[18] IRELAND bt [17] JAMAICA 2-0
Oisin Logan (IRL) bt Tahjia Lumley (JAM) 3-0: 11-3, 11-4, 11-5 (25m)
Sean Conroy (IRL) bt Lewis Walters (JAM) 3-2: 12-10, 5-11, 11-7, 6-11,
11-6 (54m)
19th place play-off:
[19] SOUTH AFRICA bt [13] COLOMBIA 2-1
Gary Wheadon (RSA) bt Erick Herrera (COL) 3-1: 9-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-5
(48m)
Juan Camilo Vargas (COL) bt Jean-Pierre Brits (RSA) 3-0: 7-11, 11-13,
4-11 (41m)
Christo Potgieter (RSA) bt Ronald Palomino (COL) 3-1: 8-11, 11-8, 11-9,
11-3 (43m)
21st - 23rd place play-offs:
[22] REPUBLIC OF KOREA bt [20] SINGAPORE 2-1
Joong-Won Hwang (KOR) bt Brandon Tan (SGP) 3-1: 11-6, 11-6, 6-11, 13-11
(42m)
Samuel Kang (SGP) bt Se Hyun Lee (KOR) 3-0: 6-11, 8-11, 0-11 (24m)
Chang-Wook Woo (KOR) bt Chua Man Tong (SGP) 3-1: 11-3, 11-9, 7-11, 11-5
(42m)
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DAY 6
Results:
Semi-finals:
[1] EGYPT bt [11] WALES 2-1
Joel Makin (WAL) bt Tarek Momen (EGY) 3-2: 11-9, 13-15, 11-2, 4-11, 11-9
(76m)
Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bt Peter Creed (WAL) 3-0: 12-10, 11-3, 11-7
(32m)
Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) bt Emyr Evans (WAL) 3-1: 11-7, 11-7, 8-11, 11-7
(51m)
[2] ENGLAND bt [3] FRANCE 2-1
Adrian Waller (ENG) bt Gregoire Marche (FRA) 3-2: 11-9, 11-5, 8-11,
4-11, 11-6 (75m)
Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt James Willstrop (ENG) 3-0: 11-8, 11-5, 11-5
(43m)
Declan James (ENG) bt Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) 3-0: 11-6, 11-6, 11-7
(48m)
5th - 8th place play-offs:
[5] GERMANY bt [9] SCOTLAND 2-0
Simon Rösner (GER) bt Greg Lobban (SCO) 3-0: 11-6, 11-9, 11-5 (40m)
Raphael Kandra (GER) bt Alan Clyne (SCO) 3-1: 8-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-9
(49m)
[4] NEW ZEALAND bt [8] SPAIN 2-0
Paul Coll (NZL) bt Borja Golan (ESP) 3-1: 9-11, 11-9, 11-3, 11-6 (60m)
Campbell Grayson (NZL) bt Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP) 3-1: 11-5, 11-6,
5-11, 11-9 (55m)
9th place play-off:
[10] MALAYSIA bt [7] AUSTRALIA 2-0
Eain Yow Ng (MAS) bt Cameron Pilley (AUS): 3-2: 12-14, 11-6, 11-6, 9-11,
11-4 (49m)
Ivan Yuen (MAS) bt Rex Hedrick (AUS) 3-0: 13-11, 11-4, 11-8 (53m)
11th place play-off:
[6] HONG KONG CHINA bt [15] SWITZERLAND 3-10
Leo Au (MAS) bt Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) 3-0: 11-4, 11-9, 11-8 (37m)
Max Lee (MAS) bt Reiko Peter (SUI) 3-2: 7-11, 11-5, 5-11, 11-5, 11-9
(47m)
Tsz Fung Yip (MAS) bt Cédric Kuchen (SUI) 2-0: 11-8, 11-6 (15m)
13th - 16th place play-offs:
[12] USA bt [16] ARGENTINA 2-1
Todd Harrity (USA) bt Robertino Pezzota (ARG) 3-1: 11-5, 8-11, 11-6,
11-7 (48m)
Leandro Romiglio (ARG) bt Andrew Douglas (USA) 3-1: 11-6, 7-11, 14-12,
11-4 (63m)
Christopher Gordon (USA) bt Gonzalo Miranda (ARG) 3-0: 11-9, 11-4, 11-3
(33m)
[14] CANADA bt [21] KUWAIT 2-1
Shawn Delierre (CAN) bt Ammar Altamimi (KUW) 3-1: 5-11, 11-7, 12-10,
11-9 (50m)
Abdullah Al Muzayen (KUW) bt Michael McCue (CAN) 3-0: 11-5, 11-8, 11-8
(34m)
David Baillargeon (CAN) bt Ali Alramezi (KUW) 3-0: 11-5, 11-4, 11-2
(27m)
17th - 20th place play-offs:
[17] JAMAICA bt [13] COLOMBIA 2-1
Christopher Binnie (JAM) bt Juan Camilo Vargas (COL) 3-0: 11-7, 11-9,
11-6 (34m)
Lewis Walters (JAM) bt Ronald Palomino (COL) 3-1: 7-11, 11-9, 12-10,
11-5 (49m)
Erick Herrera (COL) bt Bruce Burrowes (JAM) 2-0: 11-2, 11-6 (11m)
[18] IRELAND bt [19] SOUTH AFRICA 2-0
Sean Conroy (IRL) bt Jean-Pierre Brits (RSA) 3-2: 11-7, 14-12, 9-11,
3-11, 11-4 (54m)
Arthur Gaski (IRL) bt Christo Potgieter (RSA) 3-0: 13-11, 11-8, 11-0
(30m)
21st - 23rd place play-offs:
[23] NIGERIA bt [20] SINGAPORE 2-1
Babatunde Ajagbe (NGR) bt Samuel Kang (SGP) 3-1: 11-9, 12-10, 0-11, 11-5
(37m)
Sodiq Taiwo (NGR) bt Chua Man Tong (SGP) 3-0: 11-6, 12-10, 11-3 (28m)
Brandon Tan (SGP) bt Ehimen Ehalen (NGR) 3-0: 11-4, 11-9, 11-6 (22m)
Final:
[1] EGYPT v [2] ENGLAND
3rd place:
[3] FRANCE & [11] WALES
5th place play-off:
[5] GERMANY v [4] NEW ZEALAND
7th place play-off:
[9] SCOTLAND v [8] SPAIN
13th place play-off:
[12] USA v [14] CANADA
15th place play-off:
[16] ARGENTINA v [21] KUWAIT
17th place play-off:
[17] JAMAICA v [18] IRELAND
19th place play-off:
[13] COLOMBIA v [19] SOUTH AFRICA |
Day 5
Quarter-finals:
[1] EGYPT bt [5] GERMANY 2/1
Karim Abdel Gawad bt Raphael Kandra 11-8, 11-5, 9-11, 8-11, 11-4 (58m)
Ali Farag lost to Simon Rösner 6-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-5, 8-11 (73m)
Mohamed Abouelghar bt Valentin Rapp 11-3, 11-7, 11-7 (27m)
[11] WALES bt [9] SCOTLAND 2/0
Peter Creed bt Alan Clyne 11-9, 11-4, 11-8 (47m)
Joel Makin bt Greg Lobban 15-13, 11-8, 11-5 (57m)
[3] FRANCE bt [8] SPAIN 2/1
Gregory Gaultier lost to Iker Pajares Bernabeu 11-13, 7-11, 14-12, 10-12
(84m)
Gregoire Marche bt Borja Golan 11-4, 11-7, 11-5 (37m)
Mathieu Castagnet bt Carlos Cornes 11-2, 11-4, 11-3 (31m)
[2] ENGLAND bt [4] NEW ZEALAND 2/1
James Willstrop bt Campbell Grayson 12-10, 11-6, 11-5 (48m)
Adrian Waller lost to Paul Coll 4-11, 9-11, 5-11 (37m)
Daryl Selby bt Evan Williams 8-11, 14-12, 11-9, 11-8 (56m)
13th - 20th place play-offs:
[12] USA bt [17] JAMAICA 3/0
Andrew Douglas bt Lewis Walters 11-8, 11-4, 11-8 (29m)
Todd Harrity bt Christopher Binnie 11-4, 11-7, 11-2 (20m)
Christopher Gordon bt Tahjia Lumley 11-2, 11-5 (12m)
[16] ARGENTINA bt [13] COLOMBIA 2/0
Leandro Romiglio bt Ronald Palomino 11-5, 11-8, 11-4 (37m)
Robertino Pezzota bt Juan Camilo Vargas 3-11, 11-4, 13-11, 7-11, 11-8
(59m)
[21] KUWAIT bt [18] IRELAND 3/0
Abdullah Al Muzayen bt Arthur Gaskin 11-2, 11-7, 12-10 (30m)
Ammar Altamimi bt Sean Conroy 7-11, 11-7, 11-3, 5-11, 11-4 (47m)
Ali Alramezi bt Oisin Logan 11-4, 11-5 (20m)
[14] CANADA bt [19] SOUTH AFRICA 2/1
Nick Sachvie bt Christo Potgieter 11-4, 3-11, 11-3, 11-3 (42m)
Michael McCue lost to Jean-Pierre Brits 4-11, 5-11, 3-11 (34m)
David Baillargeon bt Gary Wheadon 11-4, 11-4, 11-4 (29m)
9th - 12th place play-offs:
[10] MALAYSIA bt [6] HONG KONG CHINA 3/0
Ivan Yuen bt Yip Tsz Fung 12-14, 11-2, 11-8, 11-3 (42m)
Eain Yow Ng bt Leo Au 11-2, 9-11, 11-6, 11-7 (41m)
Mohd Syafiq Kamal bt Henry Leung 14-12, 11-8 (21m)
[7] AUSTRALIA bt [15] SWITZERLAND 2/1
Rex Hedrick lost to Reiko Peter 9-11, 9-11, 9-11 (54m)
Cameron Pilley bt Dimitri Steinmann 9-11, 11-9, 11-4, 8-11, 11-4 (65m)
Zac Alexander bt Cédric Kuchen 11-7, 11-3, 11-6 (29m)
21st - 23rd place play-offs:
[23] NIGERIA bt [22] REPUBLIC OF KOREA 2/1
Sodiq Taiwo bt Se Hyun Lee 11-3, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7 (37m)
Babatunde Ajagbe bt Ko Youngjo 6-11, 8-11, 11-4, 12-10, 11-8 (52m)
Ehimen Ehalen lost to Chang-Wook Woo 8-11, 12-14, 10-12 (31m)
Semi-final line-up:
[1] EGYPT v [11] WALES
[2] ENGLAND v [3] FRANCE
5th - 8th place play-offs:
[5] GERMANY v [9] SCOTLAND
[4] NEW ZEALAND v [8] SPAIN
13th - 16th place play-offs:
[12] USA v [16] ARGENTINA
[21] KUWAIT v [14] CANADA
17th - 20th place play-offs:
[17] JAMAICA v [13] COLOMBIA
[18] IRELAND v [19] SOUTH AFRICA
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DAY 4
1st - 12th place play-offs:
[1] EGYPT bye
[5] GERMANY bt [10] MALAYSIA 2/0
Valentin Rapp bt Mohd Syafiq Kamal 11-7, 11-9, 12-10 (49m)
Simon Rösner bt Eain Yow Ng 11-7, 11-6, 11-5 (40m)
[9] SCOTLAND bye
[11] WALES bt [6] HONG KONG CHINA 2/0
Emyr Evans bt Henry Leung 11-8, 11-13, 12-14, 11-7, 11-7 (87m)
Joel Makin bt Leo Au 13-11, 11-4, 11-8 (46m)
[8] SPAIN bt [15] SWITZERLAND 2/0
Carlos Cornes bt Cédric Kuchen 11-6, 9-11, 11-8, 11-2 (53m)
Borja Golan bt Dimitri Steinmann 7-11, 11-6, 10-12, 11-6, 11-2 (70m)
[3] FRANCE bye
[4] NEW ZEALAND bt [7] AUSTRALIA 2/1
Evan Williams lost to Rex Hedrick 14-16, 6-11, 2-11 (49m)
Paul Coll bt Ryan Cuskelly 11-2, 11-5, 11-2 (24m)
Campbell Grayson bt Cameron Pilley 11-9, 11-6, 7-11, 11-9 (60m)
[2] ENGLAND bye
13th – 23rd place play-offs:
[12] USA bye
[17] JAMAICA bt [20] SINGAPORE 2/1
Tahjia Lumley lost to Brandon Tan 8-11, 6-11, 8-11 (34m)
Christopher Binnie bt Samuel Kang 11-9, 11-8, 12-10 (41m)
Lewis Walters bt Chua Man Tong 12-10, 12-10, 11-3 (30m)
[13] COLOMBIA bye
[16] ARGENTINA bt [23] NIGERIA 2/0
Gonzalo Miranda bt Adewale Amao 8-11, 11-7, 11-7, 12-10 (50m)
Robertino Pezzota bt Babatunde Ajagbe 6-11, 5-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-6 (44m)
[21] KUWAIT bye
[18] IRELAND bye
[19] SOUTH AFRICA bt [22] REPUBLIC OF KOREA 2/0
Gary Wheadon bt Joong-Won Hwang 12-10, 11-8, 12-10 (43m)
Jean-Pierre Brits bt Ko Youngjo 11-4, 8-11, 8-11, 14-12, 11-6 (62m)
[14] CANADA bye
Quarter-final line-up:
[1] EGYPT v [5] GERMANY
[9] SCOTLAND v [11] WALES
[3] FRANCE v [8] SPAIN
[2] ENGLAND v [4] NEW ZEALAND
13th - 20th place play-offs:
[12] USA v [17] JAMAICA
[13] COLOMBIA v [16] ARGENTINA
[18] IRELAND v [21] KUWAIT
[14] CANADA v [19] SOUTH AFRICA
9th - 12th place play-offs:
[10] MALAYSIA v [6] HONG KONG CHINA
[7] AUSTRALIA v [15] SWITZERLAND
-ends- |
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DAY 3 Results
3rd & final qualifying round - Pool A:
[15] SWITZERLAND bt [12] USA 2/1
Dimitri Steinmann bt Todd Harrity 11-5, 5-11, 11-5, 11-5
(47m)
Robin Gadola lost to Andrew Douglas 8-11, 11-5, 6-11, 6-11
(42m)
Reiko Peter bt Chris Hanson 15-13, 11-9, 11-8 (36m)
Final
positions: 1 Egypt, 2 Switzerland, 3 USA
Pool B:
[2] ENGLAND bt [23] NIGERIA 3/0
Adrian Waller bt Babatunde Ajagbe 11-7, 11-5, 12-10 (31m)
Declan James bt Adewale Amao 11-2, 11-3, 11-1 (24m)
James Willstrop bt Sodiq Taiwo 14-12, 11-7, 11-5 (26m)
[11] WALES bt [14] CANADA 2/1
Joel Makin bt Shawn Delierre 11-9, 11-1, 11-6 (28m)
Emyr Evans bt Nick Sachvie 11-7, 17-15, 11-4 (51m)
Peter Creed lost to Michael McCue 5-11, 5-11, 10-12 (33m)
Final
positions: 1 England, 2 Wales, 3 Canada, 4 Nigeria
Pool C:
[3] FRANCE bt [22] REPUBLIC OF KOREA 3/0
Gregoire Marche bt Ko Youngjo 12-10, 11-1, 11-7 (28m)
Baptiste Masotti bt Joong-Won Hwang 11-4, 11-9, 11-5 (26m)
Mathieu Castagnet bt Chang-Wook Woo 11-3, 11-4, 11-9 (25m)
[10] MALAYSIA bt [13] COLOMBIA 2/1
Eain Yow Ng bt Miguel Rodriguez 11-9, 13-11, 13-15, 11-8
(61m)
Mohd Syafiq Kamal bt Ronald Palomino 11-6, 13-15, 11-8,
11-9 (55m)
Ivan Yuen lost to Juan Camilo Vargas 9-11, 11-7, 8-11,
11-4, 10-12 (57m)
Final
positions: 1 France, 2 Malaysia, 3 Colombia, 4 Republic of Korea
Pool D:
[4] NEW ZEALAND bt [20] SINGAPORE 3/0
Paul Coll bt Samuel Kang 11-6, 11-5, 11-2 (31m)
Lwamba Chileshe bt Brandon Tan 11-7, 11-6, 11-0 (23m)
Campbell Grayson bt Chua Man Tong 11-3, 11-2, 11-6 (26m)
[9] SCOTLAND bt [18] IRELAND 3/0
Greg Lobban bt Sean Conroy 11-7, 11-5, 11-6 (31m)
Rory Stewart bt Steve Richardson 11-8, 11-4, 8-11, 11-2
(41m)
Alan Clyne bt Oisin Logan 11-5, 11-5, 11-3 (36m)
Final
positions: 1 Scotland, 2 New Zealand, 3 Ireland, 4 Singapore
Pool E:
[5] GERMANY bt [19] SOUTH AFRICA 3/0
Simon Rösner bt Jean-Pierre Brits 11-1, 11-1, 11-4 (25m)
Valentin Rapp bt Dylan Groenewald 11-6, 11-5, 11-6 (31m)
Raphael Kandra bt Gary Wheadon 11-3, 13-11, 11-6 (32m)
[8] SPAIN bt [16] ARGENTINA 3/0
Borja Golan bt Robertino Pezzota 11-3, 9-11, 11-4, 11-5
(42m)
Carlos Cornes bt Jeremías Azaña 11-8, 11-8, 11-7 (30m)
Iker Pajares Bernabeu bt Gonzalo Miranda 11-3, 11-5, 11-7
(23m)
Final
positions: 1 Spain, 2 Germany, 3 Argentina, 4 South Africa
Pool F:
[7] AUSTRALIA bt [17] JAMAICA 3/0
Cameron Pilley bt Lewis Walters 11-6, 11-4, 11-8 (27m)
Zac Alexander bt Tahjia Lumley 11-4, 11-7, 11-3 (25m)
Rex Hedrick bt Bruce Burrowes 11-3, 11-5, 11-3 (17m)
[6] HONG KONG CHINA bt [21] KUWAIT 3/0
Leo Au bt Ammar Altamimi 9-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-7 (44m)
Henry Leung bt Ali Alramezi 11-3, 9-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-7
(54m)
Yip Tsz Fung bt Abdullah Al Muzayen 9-11, 11-6, 11-9, 1-5
ret. (25m)
Final
positions: 1 Hong Kong China, 2 Australia, 3 Kuwait, 4 Jamaica
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DAY 2 Results
2nd qualifying round - Pool A:
[1] EGYPT bt [15] SWITZERLAND 3/0
Mohamed Abouelghar bt Cédric Kuchen 11-8, 11-0, 11-4 (22m)
Tarek Momen bt Robin Gadola 11-6, 11-7, 11-3 (24m)
Ali Farag bt Dimitri Steinmann 9-11, 11-8, 11-7, 13-11
(43m)
Pool B:
[2] ENGLAND bt [11] WALES 3/0
Daryl Selby bt Owain Taylor 11-6, 11-7, 13-11 (37m)
James Willstrop bt Peter Creed 11-5, 11-7, 9-11, 9-11,
11-4 (54m)
Adrian Waller bt Joel Makin 11-9, 11-9, 9-11, 11-8 (56m)
[14] CANADA bt [23] NIGERIA 3/0
David Baillargeon bt Adewale Amao 11-9, 12-10, 11-3 (38m)
Nick Sachvie bt Sodiq Taiwo 11-7, 11-2, 11-7 (27m)
Shawn Delierre bt Babatunde Ajagbe 14-12, 6-11, 8-11,
11-5, 11-9 (59m)
Pool C:
[3] FRANCE bt [10] MALAYSIA 3/0
Mathieu Castagnet bt Addeen Idrakie 11-4, 11-2, 11-4 (26m)
Gregory Gaultier bt Ivan Yuen 11-8, 11-7, 11-6 (38m)
Gregoire Marche bt Eain Yow Ng 11-8, 6-11, 11-1, 11-7
(46m)
[13] COLOMBIA bt [22] REPUBLIC OF KOREA 3/0
Erick Herrera bt Joong-Won Hwang 7-11, 11-3, 9-11, 11-8,
11-6 (59m)
Ronald Palomino bt Se Hyun Lee 7-11, 5-11, 11-7, 14-12,
12-10 (58m)
Juan Camilo Vargas bt Ko Youngjo 7-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-7
(40m)
Pool D:
[9] SCOTLAND bt [4] NEW ZEALAND 2/1
Rory Stewart bt Evan Williams 11-3, 10-12, 12-10, 11-1
(61m)
Alan Clyne bt Campbell Grayson 11-8, 11-4, 7-11, 10-12,
11-4 (84m)
Greg Lobban lost to Paul Coll 5-11, 4-11, 6-11 (28m)
[18] IRELAND bt [20] SINGAPORE 3/0
Oisin Logan bt Chua Man Tong 11-3, 11-4, 11-2 (25m)
Arthur Gaskin bt Chua Man Chin 11-2, 15-13, 11-4 (34m)
Sean Conroy bt Samuel Kang 11-8, 10-12, 11-5, 11-4 (39m)
Pool E:
[8] SPAIN bt [5] GERMANY 2/1
Carlos Cornes bt Rudi Rohrmuller 7-11, 11-5, 11-4, 4-2
ret. (53m)
Iker Pajares Bernabeu bt Raphael Kandra 11-8, 9-11, 11-8,
11-7 (64m)
Borja Golan lost to Simon Rösner 3-11, 6-11, 9-11 (31m)
[16] ARGENTINA bt [19] SOUTH AFRICA 2/1
Gonzalo Miranda bt Gary Wheadon 12-10, 7-11, 11-4, 11-9
(53m)
Leandro Romiglio bt Christo Potgieter 11-4, 11-8, 11-7
(40m)
Robertino Pezzota lost to Jean-Pierre Brits 11-13, 10-12,
11-2, 11-5, 9-11 (73m)
Pool F:
[6] HONG KONG CHINA bt [7] AUSTRALIA 2/1
Yip Tsz Fung bt Rex Hedrick 11-7, 12-10, 14-12 (42m)
Max Lee lost to Cameron Pilley 3-11, 4-11, 3-11 (20m)
Leo Au bt Ryan Cuskelly 10-12, 11-9, 1-1 ret. (29m)
[21] KUWAIT bt [17] JAMAICA 2/1
Ali Alramezi bt Bruce Burrowes 11-4, 11-0, 11-2 (20m)
Abdullah Al Muzayen bt Lewis Walters 11-3, 11-7, 11-8
(27m)
Ammar Altamimi lost to Christopher Binnie 16-18, 8-11,
3-11 (37m)
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DAY 1 Results
1st qualifying round - Pool A:
[1] EGYPT bt [12] USA 3/0
Tarek Momen bt Chris Hanson 11-2, 11-9, 11-8 (27m)
Ali Farag bt Todd Harrity 11-6, 11-7, 10-12, 11-4 (37m)
Karim Abdel Gawad bt Andrew Douglas 8-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-6
(41m)Pool B:
[2] ENGLAND bt [14] CANADA 3/0
Daryl Selby bt Nick Sachvie 11-3, 11-8, 11-4 (35m)
James Willstrop bt Michael McCue 11-8, 11-5, 2-11, 11-7
(37m)
Declan James bt David Baillargeon 11-8, 10-12, 11-6, 11-6
(52m)
[11] WALES bt [23] NIGERIA 3/0
Peter Creed bt Sodiq Taiwo 11-5, 11-3, 11-5 (24m)
Joel Makin bt Babatunde Ajagbe 11-5, 11-8, 11-2 (31m)
Emyr Evans bt Adewale Amao 11-13, 11-6, 11-9, 11-2 (41m)
Pool C:
[3] FRANCE bt [13] COLOMBIA 3/0
Gregory Gaultier bt Ronald Palomino 11-1, 11-5, 11-2 (23m)
Gregoire Marche bt Juan Camilo Vargas 11-6, 11-2, 11-7
(36m)
Baptiste Masotti bt Erick Herrera 11-5, 11-6, 11-3 (24m)
[10] MALAYSIA bt [22] REPUBLIC OF KOREA 3/0
Ivan Yuen bt Chang-Wook Woo 11-3, 11-2, 11-7 (25m)
Eain Yow Ng bt Ko Youngjo 11-9, 11-2, 11-5 (28m)
Mohd Syafiq Kamal bt Joong-Won Hwang 11-9, 11-7, 11-6
(34m)
Pool D:
[4] NEW ZEALAND bt [18] IRELAND 3/0
Campbell Grayson bt Oisin Logan 11-8, 11-5, 11-5 (32m)
Paul Coll bt Arthur Gaskin 11-7, 11-7, 11-6 (33m)
Evan Williams bt Steve Richardson 11-7, 11-7, 11-5 (33m)
[9] SCOTLAND bt [20] SINGAPORE 3/0
Alan Clyne bt Chua Man Chin 11-5, 11-2, 11-1 (25m)
Greg Lobban bt Samuel Kang 11-6, 11-8, 11-6 (30m)
Rory Stewart bt Brandon Tan 11-1, 11-4, 11-6 (22m)
Pool E:
[5] GERMANY bt [16] ARGENTINA 2/1
Valentin Rapp lost to Leandro Romiglio 11-4, 4-11, 5-11,
9-11 (70m)
Raphael Kandra bt Robertino Pezzota 11-7, 11-7, 11-3 (25m)
Rudi Rohrmuller bt Gonzalo Miranda 11-3, 11-5, 11-9 (30m)
[8] SPAIN bt [19] SOUTH AFRICA 3/0
Iker Pajares Bernabeu bt Christo Potgieter 11-5, 11-5,
11-5 (28m)
Borja Golan bt Jean-Pierre Brits 11-3, 11-9, 11-6 (31m)
Carlos Cornes bt Gary Wheadon 11-5, 11-3, 13-11 (30m)
Pool F:
[6] HONG KONG CHINA bt [17] JAMAICA 3/0
Max Lee bt Lewis Walters 10-12, 11-5, 11-2, 11-5 (39m)
Leo Au bt Christopher Binnie 11-7, 11-3, 11-7 (20m)
Yip Tsz Fung bt Bruce Burrowes 11-4, 11-5, 11-5 (16m)
[7] AUSTRALIA bt [21] KUWAIT 2/1
Cameron Pilley lost to Abdullah Al Muzayen 7-11, 6-11,
5-11 (29m)
Ryan Cuskelly bt Ammar Altamimi 11-7, 11-7, 11-4 (31m)
Rex Hedrick bt Yousif Nizar Saleh 11-2, 11-4, 11-3 (32m) |
|
Revised pool line-ups, including team seedings in
brackets, are:
POOL A: [1] Egypt, [12] USA, [15] Switzerland
POOL B: [2] England, [11] Wales, [14] Canada, [23] Nigeria
POOL C: [3] France, [10] Malaysia, [13] Colombia, [22] Republic of Korea
POOL D: [4] New Zealand, [9] Scotland, [18] Ireland, [20] Singapore
POOL E: [5] Germany, [8] Spain, [16] Argentina, [19] South Africa
POOL F: [6] Hong Kong China, [7] Australia, [17] Jamaica, [21] Kuwait
The full new Pool schedule
is as follows:
SUNDAY 15 December:
12:00 Egypt v USA, New Zealand v Ireland, Scotland v Singapore
15:00 France v Colombia, Spain v South Africa, Germany v Argentina,
Malaysia v Republic of Korea
18:30 England v Canada, Hong Kong v Jamaica, Wales v Nigeria, Australia
v Kuwait
MONDAY 16 December
12:00 Germany v Spain, Egypt v Switzerland, New Zealand v Scotland,
Ireland v Singapore
15:00 France v Malaysia, Colombia v Republic of Korea, Jamaica v Kuwait
18:30 Hong Kong v Australia, England v Wales, Argentina v South Africa,
Canada v Nigeria
TUESDAY 17 December
12:00 New Zealand v Singapore, Scotland v Ireland, France v Republic
of Korea, Malaysia v Colombia
15:00 USA v Switzerland, England v Nigeria, Australia v Jamaica
18:30 Wales v Canada, Hong Kong v Kuwait, Germany v South Africa, Spain
v Argentina
|
|
DAY 7
Egypt Crowned Men's World Team Champions After Defeating
England in Final |
Karim Abdel Gawad |
Champions Egypt |
Ali Farag |
The Prestigious Squash Tournament Will Take Place This December 15-21 in
Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 21, 2019) -- Egypt have retained the WSF
Men's World Team Squash Championship title in the USA, fulfilling their
top seeding by beating second seeds England in the final at Squash on
Fire in Washington DC.
It was the fifth final between the two powerhouse nations in world
squash since 2005 - and the 2-0 victory brings the number of titles won
by Egypt to five, equalling the success of their final opponents.
23 nations have been competing in the 26th edition of the championships,
hosted by US Squash and held in the USA for the first time in the
event's 52-year history.
It was the final the seeding committee predicted and one the crowd
almost certainly wanted to see. It was the fifth meeting between the two
nations in the final since 2005 - and Egypt, with four players in the
world top eight, were heavily favoured to win the trophy for a fifth
time.
Some 18 hours after leading England into the final with a sensational
win in the semi-final decider against France, Declan James opened
proceedings for the team by facing Egypt's Karim Abdel Gawad. The
Englishman, ranked 29 in the world, took the opening game against Gawad
- the World No.3 whom he had never before beaten. Gawad fought back to
draw level - then had to take time out to recover from a nose bleed.
On returning to the court, James took the lead for a second time - and,
after patiently building up an advantage in the fourth reached 9-7, just
two points away from taking the match. But the Egyptian was in no mood
to concede easily, and clawed back the deficit before moving ahead to
draw level and force a fifth game decider.
The concluding game delivered an awesome display of squash from both
players - the capacity crowd unable to believe the mesmerising quality
of play on the all-glass showcourt. It was neck and neck throughout the
game, the lead changing hands several time before Gawad clinched victory
after a video review of let request by James was judged to be 'no let'.
The 107-minute match - which included a 26-minute break for the nose
bleed - had the scoreline 9-11, 11-4, 8-11, 11-9, 12-10.
After the drama of the opener, the second match was a more measured
affair - Egypt's World No.1 Ali Farag looking to extend his unbeaten
record over World No.19 Adrian Waller by beating the English number one.
Farag took the first two games and soon reached championship-ball in the
third. But Waller had more - and saved 3 match balls before taking the
game to reduce the deficit.
The world's number one player regrouped and, after 57 minutes, clinched
the 11-6, 11-6, 12-14, 11-4 triumph which saw Egypt as 2019 champions.
"It feels amazing," said Farag. "We came here as favourites on paper,
but from the beginning it was tough and we were dropping games and
matches, which shows the level of squash. Especially today, you saw the
match between Dec and Karim, it was world class and I'm glad to have
been part of it.
"I was lucky enough to play the last point, but it was a team event and
I'm very proud to have been a part of it."
Assem Khalifa, the Egyptian Federation President, added: "Every year
this event becomes more difficult for us. Other teams are preparing
themselves better and better each year. I don't expect anything.
"You cannot guarantee anything in this event: look at Karim, who had a
nose bleed - this was completely unexpected. You have to prepare
yourself for the unexpected.
"It's not enough to come here with No1, No2 and No3 players in the world
- because the team event is completely different from the individual
event.
"The spirit of the team increases performance by maybe 50%. A lot of
players here have been doing unbelievable things because they are
playing for their country. You are not playing as an individual, you are
playing for your flag, for your country - it is totally different.
"All these players are professional players, they play for the PSA and
they play for prize money. But they come here and give for their
country, and we appreciate all of them, and this is the beauty of a team
event.
"This event is very important for Egypt - you see here our Ambassador
has come to support us today - and he would not come to an individual
event.
"Squash is the number one game in Egypt, after football. Everybody back
home is waiting for us to bring home the trophy.”
Hosts USA took centre stage early in the day to face arch rivals Canada
in the play-off for 13th place. It was the two neighbouring nations'
eighth meeting in the event since 1976, but the first with USA able to
capitalise upon home advantage.
Second string Christopher Gordon put the 12th seeds ahead, recovering
from a game down to beat Canadian David Baillargeon 7-11, 11-4, 12-10,
11-1. The USA top string Todd Harrity was looking for a first victory
over experienced opponent Shawn Delierre - and earned it in style before
a partisan crowd, winning 11-5, 15-13, 11-8 in 39 minutes to level his
country's 'head-to-head' record with Canada, the No.14 seeds, to
four-all.
"It's great to end well," said Harrity. "I've known Shawn for a long
time and we've had a lot of battles and it's always a good, fun and
intense battle. I think as a team we got momentum throughout the week
and I'm happy to have come out on top today.
"It's such a pleasure to be a part of this team and we get on really
well and have really good chemistry and team dynamic. It's been great
getting up and getting on court while having your team behind you. It
wasn't necessarily the finish that we wanted but I'm proud to have been
a part of this team and we ended strong."
New Zealand, the fourth seeds who suffered a hiccup in the pool round by
losing to ninth seeds Scotland, recovered to fight for fifth place with
a battle against Germany.
It was a seesaw battle, World No.5 Coll leading, then World No.6 Rösner
levelling. But after 62 minutes it was the New Zealander who clinched
victory 11-6, 5-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-3 in the second match to claim for
his country a fifth place finish - and extend his unbeaten record in the
event since 2013.
Meanwhile, Scotland progressed to a 2-1 victory over Spain in the
play-off for 7th place - Scotland delighting themselves by exceeding
their seeding and Spain also having much to smile about following the
country's best ever finish in 14 appearances in the championships since
1985.
Ireland created a good deal of interest at the beginning of the event,
mainly based on the age of the fourth member of the team. Steve
Richardson, a 47-year-old who has never been a full-time professional
and therefore never had a world ranking, was making his sixth appearance
in the championships since making his debut 24 years ago in 1995 -
earlier than anyone else in the event.
With only one ranked player in the squad, Ireland made a notable impact
on the event - the 18th seeds ultimately beating Jamaica in today's
play-off to finish in 17th place, their best placing since 2007. It was
Sean Conroy who clinched victory, beating Jamaican Lewis Walters 12-10,
5-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-6.
|
|
DAY 6
Egypt and England to Contest Men's World Team
Championship Final in Washington DC |
Gregory Gaultier (France) |
Mohamed Abouelghar (Egypt) |
Joel Makin (Wales) |
The Prestigious Squash Tournament Will Take Place This December 15-21 in
Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 20, 2019) -- After two riveting semi-finals
which went to the wire, the top two seeds Egypt, the defending
champions, and England, the second seeds, will contest the 2019 final of
the WSF Men's World Team Squash Championship in Washington DC - It will
be the two powerhouse nations' fourth successive final clash.
23 nations have been competing in the 26th edition of the championships,
hosted by US Squash, at Squash on Fire, the new state-of-the-art
eight-court facility in the US capital.
Truly the dark horses of the 2019 championship, 11th seeds Wales
startled a number of higher-seeded teams to earn their place in the last
four for the first time for two decades - and would have been expected
to meet their match in top seeds Egypt, the defending champions with a
squad made up of four players in the world’s top ten.
But, to claim their anticipated place in the semis, Egypt were taken to
a decider by Germany in the quarter finals after the fifth seeds won the
top string clash when Simon Rösner beat World No.1 Ali Farag.
Mere words will do little justice in describing the opening top string
match between Egypt's World No.4 Tarek Momen, the recently-crowned World
Champion, and Welshman Joel Makin, the World No.12 and top-ranked
Briton.
Pre-match, Momen led the head-to-head record between the two, 2-1 - but
it was Makin who was the most recent victor, at the CIB Egyptian Squash
Open in November.
The Welshman took the opening game and had two game-balls from 10-9 to
open a two-game lead. But the Cairo conqueror drew level after
converting his third game-ball, but then claimed just two points in the
third game as Makin regained the lead.
It was short-lived however as Momen drew level for the second time
before the pair demonstrated squash of the very highest quality in the
decider, cheered on by a packed and appreciative crowd inside Squash on
Fire.
But, remarkably, from a position of three points behind, underdog Makin
slowly climbed closer and closer to the winning line until his jubilant
Welsh team-mates erupted with joy when he sealed the match 11-9, 13-15,
11-2, 4-11, 11-9 after 76 minutes.
Makin said afterwards: "In the fifth I just had to get back to that
solid base that I had at the start of the match. I let him go way too
easily in that fourth game and he got a really quick lead. I needed to
get back to basics and get the middle back off him and then take it in
when I wanted to and not be so reactive."
Some semblance of normality followed when Egypt's World No.3 Karim Abdel
Gawad took the next match, beating Peter Creed 12-10, 11-3, 11-7 before
Mohamed Abouelghar, the World No.8 ranked more than 100 place above his
opponent, defeated Emyr Evans 11-7, 11-7, 8-11, 11-7 in 51 minutes to
put Egypt through to the final for the fifth time in a row.
"I'm feeling great," said the victorious Abouelghar. “It was an
incredible first match from both Tarek and Joel, so I thought I have to
get ready and I knew they were going to be on fire today with nothing to
lose. I had a lot of pressure on my shoulders, but I'm very happy with
how I dealt with it and very happy to get us through to the final.
"After the third game I thought I would have to get back to basics and
not rush. He was going for everything and it was all paying off, I just
had to be accurate and stay with him."
England and France have been battling each other for supremacy in the
championships since 1985 and this year are marking their fifth
semi-final clash in 16 years.
A packed crowd at Squash on Fire saw new top string Adrian Waller put
second seeds England ahead after a tight straight games victory over
Frenchman Gregoire Marche.
The next match saw event giants James Willstrop and Gregory Gaultier
lock horns in what was their 44th international confrontation between
the former World No.1s since first meeting in the British Junior U16
Open semi-finals 21 years ago.
Former World Champion Gaultier was making a return to the international
stage after a 14-month injury lay-off - and had only had the benefit of
two weeks on-court action before arriving in Washington.
To the sheer delight of his French team-mates, Gaultier ground out an
11-8, 11-5, 11-5 victory - his career 28th against the Englishman - to
level the tie for France.
Then, in a remarkable turnaround, squad No.4 Declan James produced the
goods for England, reversing the result of just a month ago to beat
Mathieu Castagnet 11-6, 11-6, 11-7 to put England into the final for the
fourth time in a row.
An ecstatic James said afterwards: "I'm lost for words, it's one of
those moments that you maybe get a couple of times a season. My mindset
was what helped me to win, before I went onto the court I didn't put
pressure on myself - the team didn't put pressure on me, they just told
me to go out there and put a performance in.
"Tomorrow is a new day and this tournament has shown you that it's never
straightforward in a team event with three people playing. We're going
to enjoy this tonight and we'll worry about tomorrow in the morning."
England coach David Campion added: "That was a world-class performance
at any level.
"We showed faith in him. Daryl (Selby) is the captain and we had a chat
this morning. It was a 50/50 thing between Daryl and Declan - and we
decided to go with Declan. He's going to be around in two years time and
we wanted to give him this experience, win or lose. It was a tough
situation for him, a one-all situation, playing in the world teams and
he produced an unbelievable level. By any standards, that was absolutely
world class. It was testament to his character - we showed faith in him
and he repaid that just now. We are absolutely delighted, for him and
the team.”
Earlier in the day, hosts and 12th seeds USA earned themselves the
chance to fight for 13th place after beating Argentina 2-1 in the two
nations first ever meeting in the championships.
The team's third string Christopher Gordon, who clinched the tie after
beating Gonzalo Miranda in the decider said: "I was really excited to
play today. I'm feeling really fresh and I've been making sure that I'm
prepared all week for these moments. I love playing for the US and being
able to play a deciding match, I was really happy to get out there and
play today.”
15th seeds Switzerland grabbed the headlines earlier in the week after
securing a place in the top 12 for the first time in the event's history
following an upset win over higher-seeded USA. Today the team went down
3-0 to Hong Kong in the battle for 11th place, thus confirming an
historic 12th place finish.
After losing a place in the top eight for the first time in their
history in the event, record eight-time champions Australia today went
down 2-0 to Malaysia in the play-off for ninth place - a far cry from
the podium finish two years ago.
Long-time Australian number one Cameron Pilley, a three-time
Commonwealth Games gold medallist competing in his sixth and last world
team champion, was not unhappy with his team's outcome in the event.
"It's been tough - I haven't been playing as much high level squash as
usual," said the 37-year-old former World No.11 who lost in five games
to young Malaysian Eain Yow Ng. "We had our second child almost three
weeks ago, I've been pretty busy at home with the family and I've just
started a new coaching job in New York.
“It's been a good event though, it's been fun. It's exactly what you
know it's going to be - a hard week of tough squash.”
After claiming ninth place, Malaysian team coach Andrew Cross was upbeat
about his team's future in the event: "Germany were a bit too good for
us but we were pleased with our win yesterday, a local one over Hong
Kong. We've got the Asian Championships in four months, in KL, so that
was a good one to win, it gives us a bit more confidence going forward.”
All matches shown live on the official Facebook page,
Facebook
Twitter
twitter.com/wsfmensteams
www.facebook.com/mensworldsquash/, Instagram
www.instagram.com/mensworldsquash/, or visit
wsfworldteams.com/ or
www.worldteamsquashdc.com
|
|
Day 5
Wales Gatecrash World Team Championship Semis In
Washington
|
Welshman Peter Creed |
England's Daryl Selby |
Germany's Gregoire Marche |
The Prestigious Squash Tournament Will Take Place This December 15-21 in
Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 19, 2019) -- While Egypt, England and France
secured semi-final slots as predicted by the seedings, it was 11th seeds
Wales who created the headlines on day five of the WSF Men's World Team
Squash Championship in Washington DC after beating British rivals
Scotland to earn a place in the last four for the first time for 20
years.
23 nations are competing in the 26th edition of the championships,
hosted by US Squash, at Squash On Fire, the new state-of-the-art
eight-court facility in the US capital.
Boasting three players in the world top four, Egypt are surely the
strongest favourites the event has ever seen. Yet the title-holders were
taken the full distance by Germany, the fifth seeds who suffered a
surprise defeat to lower-seeded Spain in the qualifying rounds.
Egypt's world No.3 Karim Abdel Gawad was first on court to face Raphael
Kandra, the Germany No.2 whom he had never before faced. As expected,
Gawad romped to a 2/0 lead against the world No.28 and looked set to
open a one-game lead for the top seeds.
But underdog Kandra was far from overawed by the former world champion
and hauled back the deficit, taking the next two games to force a
decider. Gawad, a recognised five-game expert, soon regained the
initiative, however, and after 58 minutes closed out the match 11-8,
11-5, 9-11, 8-11, 11-4.
It was the number ones who were then on court - Egypt's world No.1 Ali
Farag boasting a 7/5 head-to-record over Simon Rösner and four recent
wins in succession. But it was the German who was control in the early
stages, building up a two-game lead.
Farag fought back to level the match - but the tall and imposing German,
ranked 6 in the world, regained the momentum to reach match-ball at
10-3. With crowd on the edges of their seats, Farag clawed back point
after point before Rösner finally celebrated his 6-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-5,
8-11 upset after 73 minutes.
It was left to the Egyptian number four Mohamed Abouelghar, ranked 8 in
the world, to clinch his country's predicted victory when he beat
Valentin Rapp 11-3, 11-7, 11-7 to put Egypt into the semis for the 12th
time in a row.
"Before the match started, I was talking to Ali - we made sure that none
of us relaxed, no matter what happened and I think that helped a lot,"
said Abouelghar after the match. "Before Ali's match, I knew that if he
won that mine would be a dead rubber, but I didn't go with that
mentality and I warmed up and was ready for the match and I'm very happy
to help the team get the win.
"On the squash court there are no favourites, on paper we're the
strongest but in a team event when things get tight the nerves are very
high and I'm very happy to have held my nerves today.
"It's a tough match with Wales and Scotland both of their No.1s are
really strong, we will just watch and see what happens."
Later, it was Wales who claimed the right to face Egypt - beating
British rivals Scotland 2/0 to claim a semi-final berth for the first
time since 1999.
Incredibly, the tie marked the first time the two countries had met in
the championships since 1995 - when coach David Evans led them to a 3/0
win.
It was a 2/0 win over sixth seeds Hong Kong that propelled Wales, the
11th seeds, into the quarter-final clash with 9th seeds Scotland.
Second string Peter Creed, the world No.75, put Wales into the driving
seat with an impressive 11-9, 11-4, 11-8 upset win over Alan Clyne,
ranked 36 places higher. With the Welsh bench in vociferous support, the
team number one Joel Makin, ranked 12 in the world, despatched Greg
Lobban 15-13, 11-8, 11-5 to take his team back into the world semis
after 20 years.
"Creedy played a joke there, he didn't make many errors and was
attacking," said the jubilant Makin afterwards. "When he's moving well
like that he's really hard to break down, so I knew I had to play well
and wrap it up.
"I knew I just had to be solid and he was so broken up and it's not the
way you want to play but that's what you have to do in these kind of
situations is just get through them.
"Emyr (Evans) closed out a big win yesterday and Creedy did the same
today. We back ourselves, we are a good team and we did well today."
Welsh coach David Evans, a former British Open champion, was equally
upbeat: "I'm very, very pleased. Coming here, we were looking for a top
eight finish, for our funding, but when the draw opened up it was a
massive opportunity for the boys - and they've taken it with both
hands."
On the fact that it is 24 years since the nations last met in the event,
Evans said: "We play Scotland a lot in the Europeans - but on a
three-man team, there's a different dynamic. But they were probably
thinking the same today, that there was a massive opportunity to get
through to the semi-finals. And, luckily, now we're here.
"We're playing Egypt now, the number one seeds - but as you can see,
Germany took them very close today - and with only three players in the
team, anything's possible.
"Joel, our number one is capable of beating anyone in the world at the
moment. I know our boys will give it everything."
Two crucial quarter finals took place in the evening session of the
fifth day of action - and both went the full distance. Former champions
England took on fourth seeds New Zealand, while third seeds France faced
surprise opponents Spain, the No.8 seeds.
Seasoned campaigner James Willstrop, a 36-year-old veteran of seven
previous campaigns, put England into the lead after seeing off
lower-ranked Kiwi Campbell Grayson - but 'Superman' Paul Coll, the world
No.5, restored the balance for New Zealand after a straight games
dismissal of the English number one Adrian Waller.
On paper, the decider would be expected to go England's way - but world
No.21 Daryl Selby was given a scare as Kiwi Evan Williams, ranked over
70 places lower, took the opening game.
Williams moved ahead to game-ball for a 2/0 lead - but the gritty Selby
recovered the initiative to draw level and after 56 minutes celebrated a
mighty 8-11, 14-12, 11-9, 11-8 victory.
England have now extended their remarkable record of never having
finished outside the world top four.
"Obviously I'm feeling good after getting the win but also a little
emotional," said Selby later. "It's tough because I know this is
probably my last Worlds, so playing in a team environment again is
always very special and different - you can see that in the way players
play.
"Nothing is done until it's played, on paper I probably should win
without it being as tough as that but Evan showed what a good player he
is. He played great squash, put me under a lot of pressure and I was
probably a bit lucky to get it done in four.
"I always fancy myself to come back from two games down anyway, so that
is a little safety net in the back of your head, but I've got a lot of
experience and I need to use that at crucial times. I didn't play great
today, but that was probably a lot down to him because he nullified my
game, but a win's a win."
Former world No.1 and World Champion Gregory Gaultier opened proceedings
for France - but soon found the going tough as Spaniard Iker Pajares
Bernabeu survived the marathon 84-minute encounter to win in four games
and put the underdogs ahead.
But team-mate Gregoire Marche steadied the ship for France after beating
Spanish legend Borja Golan 3/0.
It was left to experienced Frenchman Mathieu Castagnet to seal the win,
beating Spain's Carlos Cornes 3/0 to put France back into the last four
after a shock 2017 fifth place finish in 2017 on home soil.
There was a notable achievement on one of the side courts at Squash on
Fire when Nigeria, the 23rd seeds competing in the event for the first
time for 20 years, beat higher-seeded Republic of Korea 2/0 to claim
their first win of the tournament.
The four-man Nigerian squad had planned to be in Washington for two
weeks to acclimatise and prepare - but at the eleventh hour were denied
visas for two of their players, and were forced to replace them with two
coaches based in the USA.
Despite not winning a match in the previous rounds, the Nigerians have
impressed - on several occasions taking considerably higher-ranked
opponents the full distance.
"I am pleased with way the guys have been playing - most of the matches
have been close," said Nigerian federation President Boye Oyerinde. "In
our first match, our number one played Joel Makin, who is 12 in the
world - and it was so close. And our No.3 played well in several
matches, but still lost.
"I'm so happy that, despite everything, we now have something to smile
about!
"Our number one is based in the States, he plays out of New Jersey and
plays on the Tour. Our number two came in the day before the match,
arriving in the evening after a 14-hour flight, so it wasn't the best
preparation. Despite that, he put in a good show.
"And the last two came in at the last moment when we couldn't get the
other two players in because of visa problems - and they are also based
in the States, but are not really playing actively as they are coaches.
We have two young players back home who we really wanted to be here to
get the experience."
Action from the WSF Men’s World Team Squash Championship continues
tomorrow (December 20) at 11:00 local time (GMT-5) with all matches
shown live on the official Facebook page,
Facebook
Twitter
twitter.com/wsfmensteams
www.facebook.com/mensworldsquash/, Instagram
www.instagram.com/mensworldsquash/, or visit
wsfworldteams.com/ or
www.worldteamsquashdc.com
|
DAY 4
Wales, Germany & Spain Ensure European Domination At
World Teams
|
_small.JPG)
Germany's Simon Rösner |
_small.jpg)
Welshman Emyr Evans |
_small.JPG)
Spaniard Borja Golan |
The Prestigious Squash Tournament Will Take Place This December 15-21 in
Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 18, 2019) -- Notable triumphs by Wales,
Germany and Spain in today’s knockout stage of the WSF Men's World Team
Squash Championship in Washington DC have ensured that six European
teams will line up in the quarter-finals of the biennial World Squash
Federation event for the first time in its 52-year history.
23 nations are competing in the 26th edition of the championships,
hosted by US Squash, at Squash On Fire, the new state-of-the-art
eight-court facility in the US capital.
Wales, the 11th seeds led by British No.1 Joel Makin, stormed into the
last eight for the first time since 2005, after upsetting Hong Kong, the
sixth seeds who were semi-finalists in 2017.
Third string Emyr Evans was first on court to face Hong Kong’s Henry
Leung, a 24-year-old ranked more than 30 places higher. After taking the
opening game, Evans squandered game balls in the second to let Leung
draw level, before the Hong Kong player took the third to move ahead.
But, with vociferous support from the Welsh camp surrounding the
all-glass showcourt, Evans fought back to draw level before again coming
from behind in the decider to win 11-8, 11-13, 12-14, 11-7, 11-7 after
87 minutes.
Evans punched the air with delight after putting underdogs Wales ahead.
Top string Joel Makin needed 46 minutes to seal the top eight finish for
Wales, beating Hong Kong’s Leo Au 13-11, 11-4, 11-8 to close out the tie
and earn a clash with British rivals Scotland.
“That was massive for us,” said Makin later. “Emyr put in a massive
shift for us in the first match, he was 7-3 down in the fifth and he
really put a big effort in, that was needed and I felt a lot better
today. Leo mixes the height so well and he’s so tricky around the front,
so I had to be disciplined and get on top of him quickly, so I’m glad to
win that.
“Emyr is good at winning those kind of matches, I warmed up a few times
but we’re just really glad to get through.
“Scotland had a rest day today, so they’re going to be fresher, but we
have played against each other a lot of times and it has been tight, so
I think we have a good chance.”
Welsh coach David Evans added: “Getting into the top eight is huge for
us. They’re a young team as well and Joel is doing really well on PSA.
“Emyr had a game ball to go two-love up and that could have been it –
but before long he was 2/1 down. To be honest, how he won it, I don’t
know – it was nothing to do with any coaching, just his grit and
determination. He was 6-3 down in the fifth as well - then won it 11-7!
“They’re all passionate boys.
“Joel’s had a great season – and to be British number one rounds it all
off.”
Germany were the first nation to claim a place in the last eight from
the play-offs. Originally the event’s fourth seeds, Germany were
relegated to the fifth position on the eve of the event – then suffered
a shock Pool E defeat to eighth seeds Spain which resulted in a less
favourable position in the play-off stage.
The team, led by world No.6 Simon Rösner and eager to improve on their
ninth place finish two years ago, faced Malaysia, the 10th seeds who
were runners-up in Pool C.
Third string Valentin Rapp put Germany firmly into the lead with an
11-7, 11-9, 12-10 victory over higher-ranked Malaysian Mohd Syafiq Kamal.
The top string clash that followed was the first meeting between the
experienced Rösner and rapidly-improving young Malaysian Eain Yow Ng.
Yow came into the match with several notable scalps to his name over the
previous three days – but met his match in the German No.1 who marched
through to an 11-7, 11-6, 11-5 win in 40 minutes which put his country
back into the top world eight.
“I’m feeling great,” said Rösner as he came off court. “After losing to
Spain, I think we had to change something so I’m glad that the team did
well today. Raphi didn’t have to play today and I’m really glad we won.
“It’s big to take that first match and a completely different story if
you’re up 1/0. I tried to relax, even though it was a bit edgy at times
and he (Eain) has had some amazing results recently. It worked out in
the end and we are through to the quarters.
“We are up against Egypt next which is going to be quite tough. It’s
promising and maybe we can do some damage to Egypt.”
German coach Oliver Pettke added: “As you say, we didn’t have the best
start – we had a couple of things that didn’t go well for us but now I
am absolutely happy.
“Valentin and Simon were really on fire today. We knew this was going to
be a tough one, but from the beginning we were ready, we were confident
enough.
“The last time (in 2017) we were aiming to get to the quarters, but
after the first match, Rafael (Kandra) was ill for the whole week – so
that was the problem last time, and this time we had the problem with
Rudi (an ankle injury) in the second game against Spain. This wasn’t
good for the team spirit, but we managed to turn it round. And Simon
wasn’t well the day we arrived and this lasted for two days.”
On the upcoming tie with event favourites and defending champions Egypt,
Pettke said: “It’s a quarter-final and we will try our best. You can’t
get to the quarter-final and give it away! Of course, the pressure is
not on us, it will be on them - though I’m sure they will be able to
handle it!”
Spain became the sixth European team to make the last eight after
beating 15th seeds Switzerland 2/0. Despite being seeded eighth, Spain
had never before finished higher than 11th.
But after Carlos Cornes put the team ahead with an 11-6, 9-11, 11-8,
11-2 win over Swiss No.3 Cédric Kuchen, long-time Spanish number one
Borja Golan twice came from behind to defeat Dimitri Steinmann 7-11,
11-6, 10-12, 11-6, 11-2 to lead the team into the quarter-finals for the
first time.
“It’s really good to lead this group because they are really
professional,” said Golan. “They are young but I learn a lot from them.
The main thing is that we are a good group and support each other and
when you get to play events like this in squash it is really special. We
are in a good club and we are all enjoying the squash.
“We need to rest a little bit now and focus on our recovery, mentally
these matches are tough and it’s a long tournament, so we just need to
enjoy this victory and then focus on tomorrow where we will give
everything.”
Spain progress to face France for a place in the semi-finals. Coach
Jonas Gornerup was thrilled with his team’s performance: “I am extremely
happy.
“Last night we went through all the finishing positions we’ve achieved
for the last 20 years and the only decent one was 11.
“Obviously, France won’t be an easy one but tomorrow we have no
pressure. We’re going to go flat out and they’d better play their normal
standard or otherwise we’ll take them!”
On an adjacent court, a mighty battle took place between Trans Tasman
rivals New Zealand and Australia for the final slot in the last eight.
The tie went the full distance before New Zealand emerged triumphant,
consigning Australia to a finish outside the top eight for the first
time in the history of the championships.
After Kiwi Evan Williams lost to Aussie Rex Hedrick, the team’s No.1
Paul Coll fought back to beat Ryan Cuskelly 3/0. The decider went to
four games, New Zealander Campbell Grayson finally prevailing 11-9,
11-6, 7-11, 11-9 over seasoned Australian campaigner Cameron Pilley.
“It was unfortunate we lost to Scotland in the Pool and had to come up
against Australia in the playoffs for the quarter-finals,” explained NZ
coach Glen Wilson. “It was always going to be a battle - it was another
typical Australian/New Zealand battle.
“I was expecting it to be on the showcourt but an Australia/New Zealand
match clearly doesn’t mean much in Washington DC!
“At 37, Cameron was playing great squash and making Campbell work hard
for every point. I thought Cameron was getting on top of him but
Campbell stuck to his game-plan. I was just happy to get the win.”
In the play-offs for the lower places, 16th seeds Argentina beat Nigeria
2/0 to set up a clash with Colombia, while 19th seeds South Africa will
take on Ireland after beating Republic of Korea 2/0.
But pride of place went to Jamaica, the 17th seeds who fought back from
a match down to beat Singapore, the 20th seeds, to guarantee themselves
a top 20 finish for the first time.
Brandon Tan put Singapore ahead with a straight games win over Tahjia
Lumley before team number one Christopher Binnie, the record nine-time
Jamaican champion, beat Samuel Kang to level the tie. After two
tie-break games in the decider, it was second string Lewis Walters who
clinched victory for Jamaica by beating Chua Man Tong 12-10, 12-10,
11-3.
“For Jamaica this is very significant,” said team manager Douglas
Beckford. “We made our first attempt in Marseille two years ago and
ended up outside the top 20.
“This win today guarantees us a top 20 finish which will be an extremely
good achievement for a small nation like Jamaica. In squash circles in
Jamaica this will be very well received. The effort we put in to get
here has been worth it.
“Jamaica only has maybe 250 to 300 squash players in total, so to come
to a prestigious tournament like this and achieve a top 20 finish is
excellent.
“We continue to be very proud of Chris – at the moment he’s the only
world-ranked player we have. Lewis used to be a ranked player but is not
full-time now. Those two players are a cut above the rest of us in
Jamaica. We’re very happy with the way Chris and Lewis have played and
we hope they perform again tomorrow and Friday – it’s not over yet!”
Action from the WSF Men's World Team Squash Championship continues
tomorrow (December 17) at 12:00 local time (GMT-5) with all matches
shown live on the official Facebook page of the Men's World Team
Championship. For more information on the tournament, follow the event
on Twitter
twitter.com/wsfmensteams,
Facebook
www.facebook.com/mensworldsquash/, Instagram
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|
|
DAY 3
After being demoted to 15th seeds on the eve of the
event, Switzerland stunned hosts USA in today's final
qualifying round of the WSF Men's World Team Squash Championship
in Washington DC to guarantee themselves a top 12 finish for the
first time.
The team then dedicated their success to Nicolas
Müller, the country's long-time number one who was forced to return
home the day before the event started following the sudden death of his
mother.
23 nations are competing in the 26th edition of the
biennial World Squash Federation championships, hosted by US
Squash, at Squash On Fire, the new state-of-the-art
eight-court facility in the US capital.
Underdogs Switzerland took on USA on the all-glass
showcourt at Squash on Fire. The home side, promoted to 12th seeds on
the eve of the event, were eager to justify their new seeding and claim
their place in the knockout stage of the championship featuring the top
12 nations.
The two countries last faced each other in 2011 when
USA emerged triumphant by a 2/1 margin.
Team number one Dimitri Steinmann put the
Swiss ahead after beating US champion Todd Harrity 11-5, 5-11,
11-5, 11-5 - before New Yorker Andrew Douglas levelled the tie
for the hosts by overcoming Robin Gadola in four games.
Swiss No.2 Reiko Peter, eager to make up for
his defeat to USA in the 2011 championship, battled for 36 minutes
against Chris Hanson (both pictured below) to secure the 15-13,
11-9, 11-8 victory which earned his country its best ever finish - and
denied USA their anticipated place in the top 12.
When it was pointed out to Pascal Bruhin that
the success would lead to their best ever finish, the Switzerland team
manager and coach said: "We were talking about this before we got here -
getting to the knockout stages and the top 12 would be the best we have
ever done. We are really happy.
"This really belongs to Nici and Bettina his Mum. We
wanted to do it for him: he was in our team for 13 years. He's our
number one. He's a great guy and his family is so wonderful and it was
really important for us to show him that we can stand up for him.
"I really want to dedicate this to the family Mueller
- they are so important to us. Nici has been our front-runner for us for
almost a decade. He is a role model for all our juniors.
"I couldn't be more proud of the boys tonight - what
they have achieved is fantastic."
The battle between Malaysia and Colombia
would decide second place in Pool C, behind France, and a last 12
finish. Malaysian No.1 Eain Yow Ng, the 21-year-old world No.31,
faced experienced Colombian Miguel Rodriguez, the former world
No.4, for the first time. It was a blistering encounter in which the
young Malaysian established a two-game lead before squandering three
match-balls in the third to allow the 'Colombian Cannonball' to extend
the match into a fourth game.
But Yow (pictured above, foreground) held his nerve
to close out the match 11-9, 13-11, 13-15, 11-8 after 61 minutes, then
sat back while his team-mate Mohd Syafiq Kamal clinched victory
with an 11-6, 13-15, 11-8, 11-9 win over Colombian No.3 Ronald
Palomino.
"I know Yow can raise his level when he puts on the
Malaysian shirt - it's something he did for us last year at the Asian
Games last year, when he beat Leo (Au) in the decider," said Malaysian
coach Andrew Cross. "He can put in those kind of performances. To
beat a guy who's been up at the top of the world rankings is impressive.
It was great that he got us off to a great start.
"I thought he'd won it when he was 10-7 up in the
third - and there were three pretty easy drop shots that he missed. But
he really got back into it - it really was the performance of the day!
"Syafiq could then play with a little but less
pressure than if we'd been one down. There are no easy matches in this
team event. I thought he handled it OK. It was nice to have it wrapped
up two love.
"That was what we wanted to do - make sure of a
finish in the top 12. Originally, of course we had USA in our pool and
that would have been tough - and Colombia represented a different
challenge. We knew Colombia was going to be our match."
Fourth seeds New Zealand came back from a
shock earlier defeat by Scotland to despatch Singapore 3/0
in Pool D - event newcomer Lwamba Chileshe ensuring the win they
needed to make the top 12 by beating the Singapore No.3 Brandon Tan
11-7, 11-6, 11-0.
"I was really excited coming into the match," said
African-born 20-year-old Chileshe (pictured in action above) afterwards.
"I just really wanted to play my best performance, I was a bit nervous
at the start but I just tried to concentrate on my game and I'm really
happy with my performance. It feels great to wear the fern for the first
time at senior level.
"Everyone has been looking after me really well and
has been giving me advice on what to do and what not to do. I'm a pretty
consistent guy."
When reminded of his team's surprise defeat 24 hours
earlier, NZ coach Glen Wilson said: "We shrugged that one off
pretty quickly and focussed on the next one. The way the draw is set up
means that you do get a second chance - it just means that we're having
to play a last 16 match tomorrow.
"We'll have a good chat tonight about tomorrow's
matches - but we won't know who we get until after the managers' meeting
tonight at 10pm. We'll be looking forward to a good performance tomorrow
- hopefully the boys can perform well for New Zealand and get the win."
After earlier wins over Canada and Wales,
former champions England clinched their position at the top of
Pool B with a comfortable 3/0 victory against Nigeria - team top
string Adrian Waller beating Babatunde Ajagbe 11-7, 11-5,
12-10 (both pictured below) before number three Declan James also
defeated Adewale Amao in straight games.
"The first job was to top the group - which helps in
the draw for later on in the knockout stage - and we get a rest day
now," said England national coach David Campion. "We can relax
for now and look at the draw later on, then start to plan and prepare
for Thursday.
"There's a different dynamic in the team now - we've
got Adrian who's our No.1 player and Declan who only a couple of months
ago was our top player. We're here with four very good players and it
helps having players like James (Willstrop) and Daryl (Selby) who have
had that experience of being in these key situations before and are very
good at raising their level when the big matches are on.
"And Adrian had a fantastic result yesterday against
Joel (Makin) and it's good to have him here in good form.
"Most teams have got at least two players who are
highly-ranked and any of those teams are a danger."
Play-offs for the top 12 places begin tomorrow
(Wednesday), the draw as follows:
1st - 12th place play-offs:
[1] EGYPT bye
[10] MALAYSIA v [5] GERMANY
[9] SCOTLAND bye
[6] HONG KONG CHINA v [11] WALES
[15] SWITZERLAND v [8] SPAIN
[3] FRANCE bye
[7] AUSTRALIA v [4] NEW ZEALAND
[2] ENGLAND bye
Action from the WSF Men's World Team Squash Championship continues
tomorrow (December 17) at 12:00 local time (GMT-5) with all matches
shown live on the official Facebook page of the Men's World Team
Championship. For more information on the tournament, follow the event
on Twitter
twitter.com/wsfmensteams,
Facebook
www.facebook.com/mensworldsquash/, Instagram
www.instagram.com/mensworldsquash/, or visit
wsfworldteams.com/ or
www.worldteamsquashdc.com
|
|
DAY 2
It was a day of upsets in the WSF Men's World Team
Squash Championship in Washington DC where Spain, Kuwait
and Scotland outplayed higher-seeded opposition to boost their
chances of better-than-predicted finishes in the biennial World
Squash Federation event taking place in the USA for the first time.
23 nations are competing in the 26th edition of the
championships, hosted by US Squash, at Squash On Fire, the
new state-of-the-art eight-court facility in the US capital.
Scotland claimed the
biggest scalp when the ninth seeds overcame former runners-up New
Zealand, the event's original fifth seeds who earlier had lodged a
successful appeal to upgrade their seeding to four.
Competing in the championships for the 19th time in a
row since 1981, Scotland took an early lead when Edinburgh-based world
No.124 Rory Stewart beat Kiwi Evan Williams, ranked 31
places higher, 11-3, 10-12, 12-10, 11-1 in 61 minutes. Stewart had only
faced his opponent once before - exactly three years ago - and lost in
straight games.
"I bet he doesn't even remember that match,"
said the jubilant Scot afterwards. "But I do, as it was the very
first match I played on the PSA Tour, and I was determined to get my
revenge!"
It was a similar story in the second match when the
second-ranked Scot Alan Clyne took on Campbell Grayson, a
33-year-old from Auckland whose recent run of form earned him a
career-high world No.25 ranking this month.
Clyne, the world No.39, was looking for his first win
over Grayson after three defeats and opened up a 2/0 lead. But Grayson
soon drew level as the Scottish momentum seemed to have waned. Clyne
(seen diving below) was far from done, however, and dropped just four
points in the decider to claim the 11-8, 11-4, 7-11, 10-12, 11-4 victory
after 84 minutes which gave Scotland the shock
outcome.
There was consolation for New Zealand in the third
match when Paul Coll beat Scottish number one Greg Lobban
3/0.
"We know that the guys perform well when they play
for Scotland," said coach Paul Bell
afterwards. "When we saw the draw, we were very happy with it. We
knew we had a chance. We should be confident - and we are confident
playing most of the teams here. The three-man team format is really good
- it works well for us.
"We knew that if we could get off to a good start
with Rory, which we were confident about, that might turn it in our
favour with Cliney going on next. He's been with us for a month of
training in Edinburgh. It's not often you get the chance for something
like that, we took advantage of it - and it seems to have paid off!"
It was on the all-glass showcourt at Squash on Fire
that eighth seeds Spain produced their breakthrough result -
beating Germany, the fifth seeds, for the first time since 1989.
The opening match came to an unfortunate conclusion
midway through the fourth game when an ankle injury forced German
Rudi Rohrmuller to concede the match - handing a 7-11, 11-5, 11-4,
4-2 (ret.) win to Spaniard Carlos Cornes.
According to the rankings and previous form,
Germany's Raphael Kandra was expected to draw level. But, despite
only one previous win over his opponent in six meetings since 2013,
Spaniard Iker Pajares Bernabeu (pictured in action above) battled
hard for 64 minutes to claim an impressive 11-8, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7 upset
to ensure Spain a place in the top 12 play-offs.
It was the turn of the two teams' legendary top
strings to take to the court next - German Simon Rösner
celebrating the pair's 20th meeting over the past 14 years by beating
Borja Golan 11-3, 11-6, 11-9.
Pajares was delighted with his win: "It was a very
good win for the team and for me as well. I felt very confident and very
sharp on court. But we still have one more match tomorrow against
Argentina.
"I wasn't calm, we had to win this match and I
made it. We had Carlos in a very good shape as well, he won a tournament
a few weeks ago. We are all playing our best squash I think and we want
to have a good tournament, we've trained very hard for it, so hopefully
we can make it this year."
Spanish coach Jonas Gornerup pointed out the
significance of his players playing for their country, rather than for
themselves as in the regular Tour events: "Iker has only beaten Rafa
once - and it was in a team event, the Europeans, when he was wearing
the Spanish shirt.
"The atmosphere in our team is unbelievable. I've
been with these guys now for four years - and it's like being on holiday
in Barbados! The team spirit is so good. Our team is led by Borja, who's
the most modest guy in the world, and they all look up to him - it's
been like that for a few years. When he plays well, they play well - it
motivates them.
"We've got a strong group of players - the four
we've got here and Bernat (Jaume) who's back at home.
"We still have to beat Argentina tomorrow to
become top of the group - and then everything is by draw so let's see
who we get!"
Pool F provided the key interest later in the day
when Kuwait, the 21st seeds, 17th seeds Jamaica. Underdogs
Kuwait, who 24 hours earlier took seventh seeds Australia the full
distance, romped to victory - Ali Alramezi and left-hander
Abdullah Al Muzayen earning straight games wins in the first two
matches to assure the upset win over Jamaica.
It was the second upset win in two days for Al
Muzayen, the gifted former world No.33 (pictured in action above) who
currently languishes at 512 in the rankings after limited activity due
the sporting unrest back in his country.
"Abdullah is a great talent - he's our 'Messi'!"
said Kuwait physio/coach Ahmed El Said. "He's a great fighter
and he's come back to get two great results - it's awesome what he's
done.
"We've had a three-year stop back in Kuwait, and
that was very, very bad for us - our players were not able to compete in
international competition. We are now back and we want to get our
players back in the rankings."
Second seeds England were given a fright by
British rivals Wales when the 11th seeds' second string Peter
Creed fought back from 0/2 down to level the second match against
James Willstrop. England captain Daryl Selby had already put
the former champions in the driving seat with a 3/0 win over Welsh event
first-timer Owain Taylor.
But the experienced Willstrop, a former world No.1,
regained control of the match to win 11-5, 11-7, 9-11, 9-11, 11-4 in 54
minutes to ensure a second successive Pool B win for England.
Meanwhile a crunch tie was taking place in Pool F
between seventh seeds Australia and Hong Kong - the sixth
seeds who were expected to gain their first ever win over the record
eight-time champions.
The two teams were level at one-all when the top
strings Leo Au and Ryan Cuskelly (both pictured above)
took to the court - Yip Tsz Fung having put Hong Kong ahead after
beating Rex Hedrick, before seasoned campaigner Cameron Pilley
levelled for Australia after beating opponent Max Lee.
With so much riding on the outcome, the decider was
fiercely contested - left-hander Cuskelly putting the Aussies ahead
before Au gained the upperhand to draw level.
But at one-all in the third game, Cuskelly was forced
to concede the match as the result of a triceps strain in his left arm.
"I'm happy to be at the top of the pool at the
moment, but we didn't want to win in this way,"
said Hong Kong coach Faheem Khan. "I feel really sorry for
Ryan that he couldn't finish the match.
"But we had confidence that we could win tonight -
we knew we had a chance. But we didn't expect to do it this way!"
Action from the WSF Men's World Team Squash Championship continues
tomorrow (December 17) at 12:00 local time (GMT-5) with all matches
shown live on the official Facebook page of the Men's World Team
Championship. For more information on the tournament, follow the event
on Twitter
twitter.com/wsfmensteams, Facebook
www.facebook.com/mensworldsquash/, Instagram
www.instagram.com/mensworldsquash/, or visit
wsfworldteams.com/ or
www.worldteamsquashdc.com
|
DAY 1
Firm favourites Egypt
eased through their opening tie in the WSF Men's World Team Squash
Championship in Washington DC - but hosts USA did not
make it easy for the title-holders in front of a partisan home crowd
surrounding the all-glass showcourt at Squash on Fire.
The biennial World
Squash Federation championship is being staged in the USA for the
first time in its 52-year history. 23 nations are competing in the 26th
edition of the event, hosted by US Squash, at Squash On Fire, the
new state-of-the-art eight-court facility in the US capital.
Egypt fielded a
full-strength team for the eagerly-awaited opener in Pool A - featuring
Ali Farag, Karim Abdel Gawad and Tarek Momen,
ranked 1, 3 and 4, respectively, in the world.
Their US opponents were
not only ranked considerably lower, but each had never before faced his
American opponent.
Momen, the reigning World
Champion, put the top seeds ahead with an 11-2, 11-9, 11-8 victory over
the US No.2 Chris Hanson.
In the following battle
between the top strings, Todd Harrity dropped the first two games
as world No.1 Farag, a former Harvard graduate, powered ahead. But US
champion Harrity thrilled the crowd by fighting back to take the third
and reduce the deficit.
The new momentum was
short-lived, however, as Farag (pictured below in action with Harrity)
stormed back to clinch an 11-6, 11-7, 10-12, 11-4 win after 37 minutes.
There was excitement in
the third string when event debutant Andrew Douglas, a
21-year-old from New York, took the opening game against Gawad, the PSA
World Tour Finals champion. But, again, the home player was unable to
maintain the momentum as the Egyptian raised his game to close out the
match 8-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-6 and give his country a 3/0 win.
"I'm really pleased with
our start," said Farag afterwards. "We had a strong team in front of us
in the USA - Todd has been playing well so it was good to get that win
myself and also for Tarek to give us that head start.
"It's good to get the
first win under our belt.
"Having the likes of Karim,
Abou and Tarek next to me gives me a lot of confidence and a lot of
things to look up to. We lift each other up and hopefully we can bring
home the title."
US national coach Paul
Assaiante was upbeat about his team's performance: "We played three
people who have all been world champions.
"We had a couple of guys
coming off some injuries and we were hoping they could play their way
through - and in all cases I think they felt better about themselves
coming off the court. All three guys came off the court with their eyes
a little bigger! They did a really nice job - I'm very proud of them.
"It was a super crowd,
very appreciative of the squash from both sides.
"And now we have
Switzerland on Tuesday. Today they played with no pressure - and on
Tuesday it'll be all pressure, against a team, in the United States,
that on paper we should have a chance against! Today was fun; on Tuesday
it will be less fun."
There was much
anticipation in the Pool C tie between France and Colombia,
as it marked the return after a 14-month injury break of the French
former world No.1 and World Champion Gregory Gaultier.
The 'French General'
appeared to back to his former form as he despatched Colombian Ronald
Palomino (both pictured above) 11-1, 11-5, 11-2, before his
team-mates Gregoire Marche and Baptiste Masotti made it a
maximum points win for the third seeds with straight games wins over
Juan Camilo Vargas and Erick Herrera, respectively.
"It has been a really
tough year for me after having two surgeries," explained Gaultier, who
is celebrating a record tenth successive appearance in the
championships. "My second surgeon did a great job and gave me the hope
to play squash again. It was still 50-50 a couple of months ago between
doing no sport and being able to do something. All the work I have been
doing with my physios and all the work I have put in every single day
has been worth it.
"It's an amazing feeling,
it has been 20 years playing for my country and playing in this shirt
for my first match means a lot to me and it has always been an honour.
We will see how it goes, we have a pretty solid team and we are looking
forward to doing something good."
Fourth seeds New
Zealand, predicted to record their best finish for 30 years, began
their 2019 campaign in determined style, beating Ireland 3/0.
But it was the third
string clash which caught the imagination of many of the event's
followers - when Kiwi Evan Williams, a 30-year-old ranked 93 in
the world, took on Steve Richardson, an Irishman who has not only
never played a match on the professional tour, but is aged 47.
The event's oldest
participant made his debut in the championships in 1995 - before anybody
in the 2019 field - and is undoubtedly one the game's most capped
internationals. Richardson kept his opponent on court for 33 minutes,
but ultimately went down 11-7, 11-7, 11-5 (both pictured above).
"I wanted to come here and
compete," explained the 2002 Irish champion. "I'm competitive in matches
but physically we're on different planets these days! I've got to
realise that when I'm in matches I've got to stop it being a physical
contest and make it more a mental contest.
"It's good to able to
compete - but it's also about priorities. I still want to come here and
do my best - the only difference between a professional and an amateur
is the time to prepare. It doesn't make them better squash players!"
On making his World Teams
debut for Ireland in 1995, Richardson said: "It doesn't seem like 24
years ago - it seems more like 10!
"The difference between me
and the other guys is that Squash is fun for me - it always has been and
always will be."
Australia
are the 2019 event's seventh seeds and expected to finish in second
place in Pool F. But the record eight-time champions were shocked in the
opening match of their tie against Kuwait when the 21st seeds'
second string Abdullah Al Muzayen beat former world No.11
Cameron Pilley 11-7, 11-6, 11-5.
The 33-year-old
left-hander from Kuwait City has been hampered by political issues back
home and has competed in just one international event over the past 18
months - resulting in a drop in his ranking to 512. But the former world
No.33 showed signs of his former self as he stunned Pilley in one of his
best scalps in several years.
"I played well," admitted
underdog Al Muzayen (pictured above in action against Pilley). "This is
one of my best wins, for sure, and it will give me a lot of confidence."
Order was restored for
Australia when Ryan Cuskelly and Rex Hedrick both recorded
straight games wins to give the 7ths seeds a 2/1 victory over Kuwait.
England,
expected to reach the final for the fourth time in a row, faced
Canada in their opening tie - an encounter which turned out to be
the nations' 10th meeting in the championships since 1983. Captain
Daryl Selby led the five-time former champions to a 3/0 win, beating
Nick Sachvie 11-3, 11-8, 11-4 in 35 minutes.
"Any time you can captain
your country it fills you with pride," said Selby, the 37-year-old
former world No.9 (pictured above in World Teams action). "I've been
playing for more than 30 years and I've done it a few times at the
Europeans, but this is the first time at World Championships.
"We've got a great team
with a really good spirit, I say a big team, but I feel small in this
team - they're all over 6ft and I'm the little guy which doesn't happen
very often! We've got a lot of heart and we won't be easy to beat this
week.
"Nothing is won on paper.
Sport is a beautiful thing, you can say this team is going to beat that
team but it doesn't always happen like that. A team championship is
different and there are a lot of good teams out there, not just us and
Egypt. It's a going to be a tough and good week and I think there are
going to be fireworks this week."
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Hosts USA will now
face top seeds and title-holders Egypt in a dream opening tie in
the WSF Men's World Team Squash Championship which gets underway
tomorrow (Sunday) at Squash On Fire in Washington DC.
Formerly the 13th seeds,
USA have been elevated to 12th seeds and moved into the Pool A group
following an 11th-hour revision of the seedings caused by the late
withdrawal of Switzerland's world No.30 Nicolas Müller. The Swiss
No.1 sadly had to return home following the death of his mother.
The weakened
Switzerland team has been re-seeded at 15, raising USA to 12,
Colombia to 13 and Canada to 14. All other seedings remain
the same.
"It's a Sunday, so more
people can come, so for us it's great - a good strong match to get us
into the competition," said US coach
Thierry Lincou (pictured below, 2nd from right, with the US squad on
the Squash On Fire showcourt) on hearing the news.
"And now we have our
eyes on that other match that could qualify us for the play-offs. It's
lucky for us - originally we would have had to beat Malaysia, seeded
above us, and Korea, to get into the play-offs. Now it looks like it's
more do-able.
"We want to make sure
that everyone is healthy and ready for the week ahead,"
added the former world No.1.
New Zealand
are also looking to make an impression on the event at Squash On Fire.
With a seeding of four, the Kiwis are predicted to record their best
finish since 1989.
National coach Glen
Wilson was upbeat about his side's chances on the eve of the event:
"We've got a pretty similar team to two years ago and the guys are
slightly better on ranking and playing form - so we're expecting good
things from each other.
"But we're not looking
too far ahead. We are seeded four so we know there's a bit more
expectation on us, but we're just focussing on getting through the pool
first - to win the pool is our main goal.
"To get as high as we
did 30 years ago would be an amazing achievement - but we're five or six
days away from that!"
The squad is led by
'Superman' Paul Coll, the world No.5 who is the country's
highest-ranked male player since Ross Norman, the 1986 World
Champion.
"Any time a New
Zealander does well in any sport it gives the people a big buzz,"
Wilson continued. "To see a young guy from Greymouth - which is quite
a remote little town on South Island - reach the heights that Paul has
done is inspiring for us and good to show the young Kiwi guys that it is
possible.
"He's shown that even
though we're so far away from the rest of the world, we can do it!"
Second seeds England
are also hoping to extend an impressive record: the five-time champions
have never finished outside the top four in 38 years since their debut
in 1981. The team will include former world No.1 James Willstrop,
aged 36, and 37-year-old Daryl Selby - who will be making their
8th and 4th appearances in the biennial event, respectively.
"We're seeded two,"
said national coach David Campion. "We've got experience and
we've got age. James and Daryl are both playing really well still - and
at their age, it's incredible, really, the level they're able to play
at.
"France, Hong Kong,
Germany - there are plenty of teams who could cause an upset to us. We
just have to go in and work hard, and play with expression and be free.
"If the guys play to
their level, hopefully we can make the final and give Egypt a bit of a
run."
The 26th edition of the
biennial World Squash Federation championship, featuring 23
nations, is being hosted by US Squash at the new state-of-the-art
eight-court Squash On Fire facility from 15-21 December.
Today's revised pool
line-ups, including team seedings in brackets, are:
POOL A: [1] Egypt, [12]
USA, [15] Switzerland
POOL B: [2] England, [11] Wales, [14] Canada, [23] Nigeria
POOL C: [3] France, [10] Malaysia, [13] Colombia, [22] Republic of Korea
POOL D: [4] New Zealand, [9] Scotland, [18] Ireland, [20] Singapore
POOL E: [5] Germany, [8] Spain, [16] Argentina, [19] South Africa
POOL F: [6] Hong Kong China, [7] Australia, [17] Jamaica, [21] Kuwait
The full new Pool schedule
is as follows:
SUNDAY 15 December:
12:00 Egypt v USA, New Zealand v Ireland, Scotland v Singapore
15:00 France v Colombia, Spain v South Africa, Germany v Argentina,
Malaysia v Republic of Korea
18:30 England v Canada, Hong Kong v Jamaica, Wales v Nigeria, Australia
v Kuwait
MONDAY 16 December
12:00 Germany v Spain, Egypt v Switzerland, New Zealand v Scotland,
Ireland v Singapore
15:00 France v Malaysia, Colombia v Republic of Korea, Jamaica v Kuwait
18:30 Hong Kong v Australia, England v Wales, Argentina v South Africa,
Canada v Nigeria
TUESDAY 17 December
12:00 New Zealand v Singapore, Scotland v Ireland, France v Republic of
Korea, Malaysia v Colombia
15:00 USA v Switzerland, England v Nigeria, Australia v Jamaica
18:30 Wales v Canada, Hong Kong v Kuwait, Germany v South Africa, Spain
v Argentina
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Egypt
Face Canada In WSF Men’s World Team Championship Opener
The Prestigious Squash Tournament Will Take Place This December 15-21 in
Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 5, 2019) -- Canada will be the first team to
attempt to deny favourites Egypt a successful defence of the WSF Men's
World Team Squash Championship title when the 2019 championship takes
place for the first time in the USA from 15–21 December.
23 nations will compete in the 26th edition of the biennial World Squash
Federation championship which will be hosted by US Squash at Squash On
Fire, the new state-of-the-art eight-court facility in the US capital
Washington DC.
Canada, the 15th seeds led by world No.82 Shawn Delierre, will face a
tough challenge against top seeds Egypt, whose mighty squad boasts three
players ranked in the PSA world top four.
The teams last met in the first round of the knockout stage of the 2013
championship in Mulhouse, France, as Egypt began the journey to their
third successive final.
 The
2019 meeting is the opening tie of the Squash on Fire championship.
Canada’s squad features 37-year-old Delierre, a ‘veteran’ of five
previous appearances in the championships, together with Michael McCue,
Nick Sachvie and event first-timer David Baillargeon – while Pool A
opponents Egypt will be able to call upon World No.1 Ali Farag (right),
World No.3 Karim Abdel Gawad, World No.4 and reigning World Champion
Tarek Momen, and Mohamed Abouelghar, the World No.8.
The other morning ties on Sunday 15th December will be Germany v Ireland
and Scotland v Singapore.
Home supporters are expected to be out in force for the main attraction
of the afternoon session on Day One when hosts USA face third seeds
France. 13th seeds USA are led by World No.55 Todd Harrity, the US
champion, supported by former US champions Chris Hanson and Christopher
Gordon, together with event newcomer Andrew Douglas.
 The
standout tie could also see the long-awaited comeback by Frenchman
Gregory Gaultier (left), the former World No.1 and World Champion who is
returning to international action after a 14-month injury break. The
36-year-old will be marking an event-record 10th successive appearance
in the championships.
Gaultier is joined in the 2019 French squad by World No.15 Gregoire
Marche, with Mathieu Castagnet and Baptiste Masotti, ranked 26 and 45 in
the world, respectively.
Further afternoon action will include Spain v South Africa, New Zealand
v Argentina and Malaysia v Republic of Korea.
Two of the event’s leading nations are in action in the evening session:
England, winners of the title for the fifth time in 2013, face Colombia
– while record eight-time champions Australia face Kuwait.
The remaining evening ties are Hong Kong China v Jamaica and Wales v
Nigeria.
Tickets for the 2019 WSF Men’s World Team Squash Championship are on
sale now. Prices start from $25 for general admission, while VIP
packages, which include access to the VIP Lounge or Premium courtside
tables, are available starting at $50.
For more
information on the tournament, follow the event on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram,
or visit www.worldteamsquashdc.com
The full pool line-ups, including team seedings in brackets, are:
POOL A: [1] Egypt, [12] Switzerland, [15] Canada
POOL B: [2] England, [11] Wales, [14] Colombia, [23] Nigeria
POOL C: [3] France, [10] Malaysia, [13] USA, [22] Republic of Korea
POOL D: [4] Germany, [9] Scotland, [18] Ireland, [20] Singapore
POOL E: [5] New Zealand, [8] Spain, [16] Argentina, [19] South Africa
POOL F: [6] Hong Kong China, [7] Australia, [17] Jamaica, [21] Kuwait
Full Pool schedule:
SUNDAY 15 December:
12:00 Egypt v Canada, Germany v Ireland, Scotland v Singapore
15:00 France v USA, Spain v South Africa, New Zealand v Argentina,
Malaysia v Republic of Korea
18:30 England v Colombia, Hong Kong v Jamaica, Wales v Nigeria,
Australia v Kuwait
MONDAY 16 December
12:00 New Zealand v Spain, Egypt v Switzerland, Germany v Scotland,
Ireland v Singapore
15:00 USA v Republic of Korea, France v Malaysia, Jamaica v Kuwait
18:30 Hong Kong v Australia, England v Wales, Argentina v South Africa,
Colombia v Nigeria
TUESDAY 17 December
12:00 Germany v Singapore, Scotland v Ireland, France v Republic of
Korea, Canada v Switzerland
15:00 USA v Malaysia, England v Nigeria, Australia v Jamaica
18:30 Wales v Colombia, Hong Kong v Kuwait, New Zealand v South Africa,
Spain v Argentina
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