Doubles Birmingham 2022

King Equals Record As New Zealand Win Women's Doubles Title

New Zealand’s Joelle King equalled Rachael Grinham’s record as the most decorated female squash player in Commonwealth Games history as she and Amanda Landers-Murphy defended their 2018 women’s doubles title against England, who ended the day with a gold and two silvers after Declan James and James Willstrop beat Daryl Selby and Adrian Waller in an all-English men’s doubles final.

In the bronze medal matches, Scotland won their first medal since 1998 with an entertaining win over Malaysia, who picked up a medal of their own in an all-Malaysia women’s doubles clash.

King, who alongside this year’s men’s singles champion Paul Coll won a mixed doubles gold yesterday, had to convince Landers-Murphy to come out of retirement after the 2018 Games.

On today’s evidence, it was a decision well made.

The Kiwi duo made a flying start to the match, targeting the front successfully against a flat-footed England on the way to a 5-2 lead.

Perry and Waters responded, pushing up the court to good effect, which led to thrilling duels at the front and an 8-6 England lead.

New Zealand, though, quickly regrouped, with Landers-Murphy imposing herself on the court and sealing the first game 11-8 with a terrific cross court nick.

The second game was initially even, before New Zealand pulled away from 3-2 down to a 9-4 lead. England then dug deep to reduce the deficit to 9-7 as an exciting cross-court duel developed between left-hander Landers-Murphy and right-hander Waters.

To the dismay of the home fans, the Kiwis were able to regain their grip on the match, and they ended England’s scoring run before securing New Zealand’s third gold of the 2022 Games with a second 11-8 win.

“I’m exhausted!” King, who now has eight Commonwealth Games medals, said afterwards.

“If you were to look through our chats, every single day I was messaging her [to convince Landers-Murphy to come out of retirement]. People don’t realise she was studying, working full time and training for this, with 5AM wakeup calls to do training before work and then going straight to training after work.

“I’m extremely proud of her, she had unfinished business and she’s done it!”

James Willstrop (left) and Declan James (right) with their gold medals from the men's doubles

Despite the disappointment of this defeat, England soon had a gold – their second of the Games following Georgina Kennedy’s singles gold last week – after James and Willstrop overcame compatriots Selby and Waller in the first ever doubles gold medal match contested by teams from the same nation.

The top seeds made the perfect start as they won the first game 11-3, with Willstrop moving well and James keeping left-hander Waller quiet on the backhand side.

Selby and Waller responded well in the second, with the 2018 silver medallists – who knocked James and Willstrop out in the 2018 semi-finals – scoring seven successive points as they came back from 5-2 down to level the match with an 11-7 win.

In a nail-biting final game, James and Willstrop saw an 8-4 lead reduced to just 9-8. Eventually, though, they were able to check the 3/4 seeds’ momentum and had three match balls at 10-8.

After Selby and Waller saved the first, James, who was almost ruled out through injury ahead of the Games, brought the gripping final to an end at with a brilliant backhand, and the 29-year-old sank to the ground in tears as the scores were confirmed.

“That’s one of only two or three moments in my squash career that I’ve cried. I wasn’t sure if I’d be here two months ago,” he said.

“To have one last dance with Jimbo, after five years of an amazing partnership, well if we don’t get to do it again, what a way to finish. I’m so grateful.”

Aifa Azman (left) and Rachel Arnold (right)

There was another national derby in the bronze medal matches, when Rachel Arnold and Aifa Azman overcame Malaysian compatriots Ainaa Amani and Chan Yiwen 2-0.

Arnold and Azman, a new doubles partnership that was formed only a month ago when Arnold’s usual partner Sivasangari Subramaniam had to withdraw ahead of the Games after being badly injured in a road accident, made a dominant start to the match to take the first game 11-3.

The second was more even as Amani and Chan found some of the form that saw them shock top seeds India in the quarter-final, but Arnold and Azman were able to hold out for an 11-9 win.

“For their first Games, they came and didn’t give up at all. There was a lot of pressure for us today, I’m really proud of them!” Arnold said.

Greg Lobban (left) and Rory Stewart (right) with their bronze medals

In the men’s bronze medal match, Greg Lobban combined with Commonwealth Games debutant Rory Stewart to end a run of three consecutive men’s doubles bronze medal match defeats for the Scots.

Their opponents today, the dangerous Eain Yow Ng and Ivan Yuen of Malaysia, pushed them all the way in an exciting match.

The first game was even throughout, with the two sides trading the lead before Scotland saved game ball at 10-9 before going on to claim a vital 1-0 lead with an 11-10 win.

Malaysia initially recovered well and started game two as the better team, before a steady progression of Scotland points wrestled momentum away as Lobban and Stewart secured the medal with an 11-6 victory.

The victory came as a particularly rewarding one for Lobban, who was beaten in the bronze medal match alongside Alan Clyne in 2018.

“It feels great. I think there’s been pressure on us at the last few Games to come home with something. We knew we had a chance to win event, so it bittersweet. But we’ve tried for so many years and to come through and get a medal for Scotland feels terrific,” Lobban said.

With seven nations winning medals across five events, this year’s Games represents the widest distribution of medals since squash’s debut in the 1998 Games in Kuala Lumpur.

New Zealand Win Commonwealth Games Mixed Doubles Gold

New Zealand are the Commonwealth Games mixed doubles champions after Joelle King and Paul Coll downed England’s Alison Waters and Adrian Waller in a one-sided final.

Coll and King, bronze medal winners in 2018, have looked in brilliant form throughout the tournament and today were unstoppable as they overpowered England to return the title to New Zealand after 16 years of Australian dominance.

After an even opening exchange, the Kiwi duo powered away from 2-2 to 11-3 winners, with England making too many mistakes and looking panicked by New Zealand’s relentless energy.

The 3/4 seeds picked up where they left off in the second game, with the explosive Coll, who threw himself around court, and the accurate King quickly building a 7-3 lead.

England briefly found a response, with the cauldron atmosphere building as the increasingly confident Waters and Waller began to chip away at New Zealand’s lead to pull the scores back to 8-6, but ultimately had too much to do and a strong finish from the Kiwis delivered them the title with an 11-6 win in the second game.

In scenes more reminiscent of a rugby match than squash, Coll and King, who was sporting a bruise to the eye inadvertently caused by Coll’s celebrations, were stunned as their New Zealand teammates and fans passionately performed the Haka.

Afterwards, Coll said: “That [Haka] is something I’ll never forget, thank you so much guys. To celebrate like that is one of the coolest moments in my career.”

King added: “Last week, I didn’t think we’d be standing here today. We had unfinished business after the Gold Coast; I really wanted this and clearly so did Paul with the amount of diving he was doing!”

While King will have the opportunity to win a second gold and equal Rachael Grinham’s record of eight Commonwealth Games medals tomorrow, when she and Amanda will defend their women’s doubles title, this win draws the curtain on a dream Games and season for Coll, who besides winning the singles gold on Wednesday became the first male from New Zealand to reach World No.1 earlier in the year.

In the bronze medal match, India ended their tournament with a flourish by beating 2018 champions Donna Lobban and Cameron Pilley of Australia 2-0, leaving Australia without a medal for the first time since squash was added to the Games programme in 1998.

While India had gone in with hopes of more, with their mixed and women’s doubles teams both seeded first, 2018 silver medallists and siblings-in-law Dipika Pallikal Karthik and Saurav Ghosal will leave with their heads held high after a dominant performance in their final match delivered an 11-8, 11-4 victory.

Ghosal, who also won a men’s singles silver, said: “Winning a medal always special. These things don’t come easy,

“To come out today and play against very good players, to produce a performance like that, especially from Dipika after yesterday, shows the metal that she has. I’m proud we can go home with this bronze medal.”

Elsewhere, there was plenty of excitement in the men’s and women’s doubles competition. In the men’s draw, the hosts made history to set up the first ever one-nation final, while Waters will have an opportunity for revenge over King in the women’s event.

Despite the positive results, the afternoon session was a nervous one for England as top seeds Declan James and James Willstrop survived an almighty scare against 5/8 seeds Eain Yow Ng and Ivan Yuen in their semi-final.

The reigning World Champions fell 8-1 behind to the aggressive strategy of the Malaysians in the first game on the way to an 11-5 defeat, before recovering to take the second 11-5.

In a tense last game, the 2018 bronze medallists were in trouble at 7-3 down, before they fought back brilliantly. Roared on by the crowd, England scored a flurry of points to take the decisive game 11-8.

“The first two rounds went perfectly according to plan, but we said we knew there would be a time when our backs were against the wall and this was that moment, the moment you fight and dig,” James said.

Their opponents tomorrow, Daryl Selby and today’s mixed doubles silver medallist Waller, also had to endure some nervous moments in a 2-1 win over No.2 seeds Scotland.

The 2018 silver medallists appeared to be cruising into the final when they took a 5-0 lead in the second game after winning the first 11-8.

Greg Lobban and Rory Stewart, though, fought back well, levelling the match with an 11-8 win before the 3/4 seeds rallied to take the third 11-6.

Afterwards, Selby said the atmosphere generated by the crowd had played a crucial role in their victory in the third game.

There was another comeback in the women’s semi-finals, as England battled back against Malaysia’s Aifa Azman and Rachel Arnold to ensure there would be home representation in all three finals.

No.2 seeds Sarah-Jane Perry and Waters dropped the first game 11-8, with the Malaysians’ tactic of switching sides disrupting the rhythm of the English pair.

2014 bronze medal winner Waters and her partner Perry soon responded, though, levelling the scores with an 11-6 win in the second game before edging the third 11-9.

“Their tactics were very brave and [them switching sides] takes getting used to,” Perry said.

Waters and King will clash again tomorrow after King and Landers-Murphy overcame Malaysia’s 5/8 seeds Ainaa Amani and Chan Yiwen – who knocked out top seeds India in the quarter-finals – 11-9, 11-7.

The men’s and women’s doubles medal matches will be played tomorrow (8 August). Play at the University of Birmingham Hockey and Squash Centre will begin with the women’s bronze match at 10:00 (GMT+1), followed by the men’s bronze medal match at 11:00, the women’s gold medal match at 12:00 and the men’s gold medal match at 14:00. This will be followed by the medal ceremonies.

New Zealand v England In Mixed Doubles Final

Joelle King & Paul Coll (NZL)

New Zealand’s Paul Coll will compete in his second Commonwealth Games final in the space of four days after he and mixed doubles partner Joelle King downed Indian top seeds and defending World Champions Saurav Ghosal and Dipika Pallikal Karthik of India 2-0.

Coll, who on Wednesday beat Joel Makin to become the first Kiwi male to win a singles gold, was on top form alongside 2010 silver medallist King as they made light work of the 2018 runners up.

New Zealand took the first game 11-7, with King’s power and consistency proving the superior weapon to the impressive racket skills of Pallikal Karthik, who in April returned to the game after three years out following the birth of her twins last October.

The Kiwi pair continued to support each other ably in the second, with an energised Coll covering every inch of the court as New Zealand powered to an ultimately comfortable 2-0 win with an 11-4 victory in game two.

With a medal now guaranteed in the mixed doubles, King will overtake Australia’s Rachael Grinham as the woman with the most doubles squash medals if she and partner Amanda Landers-Murphy beat Malaysian 5/8 seeds Ainaa Amani and Chan Yiwen in tomorrow’s women’s doubles semi-finals.

“Playing in a team with Joelle fires me up massively. I’ve never fist-pumped so much in a game of squash!” Coll said.

“We were shouting at each other. We just love it. We’re a team. It’s part of the New Zealand culture that we love playing in a team.

“Joelle is incredible. She has the most energy out of all of us. She just keeps lifting everybody.”

Alison Waters and Adrian Waller (red)

New Zealands opponents in the final will be No.2 seeds Alison Waters and Adrian Waller of England as they put in a brilliant performance to beat Australia’s defending champions Donna Lobban and Cameron Pilley 2-0.

In a largely even match, 38-year-old Alison Waters proved to be the difference. The 2014 silver medallist and former World No.3, who retired from the singles game in 2021, was in incredible form today, hitting winner after winner as England took both games 11-8 to reach their fourth mixed doubles final.

Afterwards, Waters said: “Last time, agonisingly, England, were fourth. I’m so glad we’ve already improved on that. There’s no reason we can’t break that mould and take gold.”

Waller added: “After watching this week and the other teams my nerves are shot and I don’t have any left for me!”

Declan James and James Willstrop (red)

There was more joy for the hosts in the men’s doubles quarter-finals, with both of England’s men’s teams progressing to the semi-finals as top seeds Declan James and James Willstrop overwhelmed Australia’s Rhys Dowling and Cameron Pilley, while 3/4 seeds Daryl Selby and Adrian Waller came back from 1-0 down to avoid a shock defeat to Canada’s 9/16 seeds David Baillargeon and Nick Sachvie.

James and Willstrop’s win came off the back of lightning starts in both games, with them taking the first game 11-7 after strolling into a 5-0 lead and then storming into a 7-0 lead on the way to an 11-4 win in game two.

“There’s a lot of pressure [being top seeds in a home Games] but that pressure’s a privilege. How often are we going to be here, in front of a wonderful home crowd and with me playing alongside one of my squash idols?” James said.

The 2022 World Doubles Champions will face Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng and Ivan Yuen tomorrow, after the 5/8 seeds impressed to overcome India’s 9/16 seeds Velavan Senthilkumar and Abhay Singh.

Malaysia won a watchful first game 11-8, before Ivan Yuen went on the attack in the second, with the 31-year-old entertaining the crowd with some brilliant winners as Malaysia reached the men’s semi-finals for the first time, meaning Malaysia will have three doubles teams involved tomorrow after the shock quarter-final wins of their two women’s teams yesterday.

Greg Lobban & Rory Stewart (white shots)

The other men’s semi-final will be a home nations derby contested by Scotland’s No.2 seeds Greg Lobban and Rory Stewart, and England’s Selby and Waller.

Selby and Waller had looked in trouble when they went down 11-10 in the first game before they levelled the scores with an 11-5 win in the second.

In a tight third game, it was the 2018 silver medallists who were able to snatch the win, as they moved from 8-8 to 11-8.

“It’s what we live and breathe for, crowds like this, as everyone has said all week. There’s not many times left for me on there and I’ll cherish every moment,” the 39-year-old Selby said.

If today’s Scotland performance is anything to go by, the 3/4 seeds will have to play their best squash to threaten Stewart and Lobban, who are developing a formidable partnership after their silver medal at the 2022 World Doubles Championships.

They Scottish duo, who enjoyed raucous support from the stands, ended Australia’s run of appearing in every men’s doubles final in Games history by beating 5/8 seeds Zac Alexander – a winner in 2018 alongside David Palmer – and Ryan Cuskelly 11-2, 11-9 in 38 minutes.

Afterwards, Lobban said: “The stadium was pumping tonight, when we were standing there waiting to come on we heard the feet stamping. It’s a great crowd and atmosphere.”

The mixed doubles final will be played tomorrow (7 August) at 19:00 (GMT+1). Play at the University of Birmingham Hockey and Squash Centre will begin with the women’s doubles semi-finals at 12:00, with the men’s semi-finals scheduled to begin at 13:45.

Malasia stun top seeds

Malaysia enjoyed a spectacular day as their two women’s doubles teams stunned the top seeds and 3/4 seeds to reach the semi-finals of the Commonwealth Games for the first time in the country’s history.

5/8 women’s doubles seeds Rachel Arnold and Aifa Azman had already recorded one of the results of the round – when they ended Malaysia’s run of three consecutive quarter-final exits to become the first Malaysian women’s doubles team to reach the Commonwealth Games semi-finals with an impressive 2-1 win over Australian 3/4 seeds Rachael Grinham and Donna Lobban – before their compatriots Ainaa Amani and Chan Yiwen captured the headlines with a 2-0 win over Indian top seeds Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal Karthik.

There were signs of a shock result brewing when Amani and Yiwen stormed into the lead with an 11-2 victory in game one, with the reigning World Champions unable to cope with the determined defence of the Malaysians.

The second game was a stop-start affair, with the Indians becoming frustrated at both their opponents and the referee. After falling 6-3 behind, India appeared to be building momentum and clawed their way back to just 8-7 down. From here, though, the Malaysians dug in impressively and ground out a huge upset with an 11-7 win.

“I’m still in shock,” Yiwen said afterwards.

“We just wanted to enjoy the Games because it’s our first outing at a Commonwealth Games and we didn’t expect to go this far. We just hoped that we could continue the momentum and we went out there without any pressure.

“Everyone in the Malaysia squad is in very high in spirits now. It’s good to have two Malaysian teams together to motivate each other and hopefully we can meet in the final. We saw [Arnold and Azman] play in the first session and that really pumped us up!”

Amani and Yiwen will play defending champions and 3/4 seeds Joelle King and Amanda Landers-Murphy after the Kiwi pair navigated their way past England’s 5/8 seeds Georgina Kennedy and Lucy Turmel.

Arnold and Azman, meanwhile, go up against No.2 seeds Sarah-Jane Perry and Alison Waters after they overcame a spirited challenge from Scottish 5/8 seeds Georgia Adderley and Lisa Aitken.

There was more home joy in the mixed doubles, as Alison Waters returned to action alongside Adrian Waller, as the No.2 seeds recovered from a troubled start to beat Welsh 5/8 seeds Tesni Evans and Joel Makin in an entertaining match and reach the semi-finals.

The English pair were second best in the first game, which they lost 11-4, but managed to rally to a 2-1 victory with 11-8, 11-5 wins in the final two games.

“The first game, we were under the cosh. I’m really proud that we came out with a different plan and [in the third game] we played as well as we could do out there,” Waters said.

The English duo will face defending champions Donna Lobban and Cameron Pilley of Australia in the semi-finals, after they too came from a game down to overcome Lobban’s husband, Greg, and Lisa Aitken.

“We won’t be signing any divorce papers after today. We’re still all right,” Donna Lobban joked afterwards.

The other mixed doubles semi-final will be contested by Indian top seeds Dipika Pallikal Karthik and Saurav Ghosal, who beat Australia’s Rachael Grinham and Zac Alexander 2-0, and New Zealand’s Joelle King and Paul Coll, who overcame Scotland’s Georgia Adderley and Rory Stewart by the same margin.

Velavan Senthilkumar and Abhay Singh (white tops) with Alan Clyne and Douglas Kempsell

In the men’s second round, Indian 9/16 seeds Velavan Senthilkumar and Abhay Singh saved three match balls as they fought from one game down to upset 3/4 seeds Alan Clyne and Douglas Kempsell of Scotland.

The Indian pair looked down and out when they lost the first game 11-8 and trailed 10-8 in the second, but were able to stay ice cold as they levelled the tie with an 11-10 and then powered on to an 11-8 win in the third.

Afterwards, Singh said: “It was a good fight from me and my partner, we’ve grown up together for 15 years.”

Elsewhere in the men’s doubles, Canada’s 9/16 seeds David Baillargeon and Nick Sachvie upset Welsh 5/8 seeds Peter Creed and Emyr Evans, defending champion Zac Alexander combined with Ryan Cuskelly to beat Jamaica’s Christopher Binnie and Julian Morrison, and top seeds Declan James and James Willstrop overpowered Malta’s Niall Engerer and Kijan Sultana in 13 minutes.

The mixed doubles semi-finals and men’s doubles quarter-finals will be played tomorrow (August 6) from 12:00 (GMT+1), while the women’s doubles semi-finals will be played from 12:00 on August 7, ahead of the mixed doubles medal matches.

Australia upset England and husband to play wife in quarters

Rachael Grinham

Australian mixed doubles pairing Rachael Grinham and Zac Alexander put in a fine performance to surprise higher-seeded home hopes Georgina Kennedy and Patrick Rooney as the Commonwealth Games mixed doubles competition resumed, while the men’s and women’s doubles competitions got underway.

Yesterday, Kennedy captured headlines when she became the first Englishwomen to win a Commonwealth Games singles gold. Today, though, she faced the tough proposition of three doubles matches.

After she and mixed doubles partner Patrick Rooney beat Maltese siblings Lijana and Kijan Sultana in straight games in round one of the mixed doubles, the 5/8 seeds took on 9/16 seeds Grinham and Alexander in their second round match just two hours later.

Australia’s Opening Ceremony flagbearer Grinham, 45, a mixed doubles gold medallist in 2014 and a women’s doubles gold medallist in 2006, and 2018 men’s doubles gold medallist Zac Alexander got off to a challenging start when the English pair took a 5-1 lead.

Grinham, who is competing in her sixth Commonwealth Games, and Alexander then put together a brilliant scoring run as the experienced duo came back to take the first game 11-8 and then won the match with an 11-6 in the second.

Afterwards, Grinham said: “That was really good, especially after the start that we had. England got away to a blistering start and we had to regroup, hang in there and weather it. Pulling back that first game was crucial for us.”

Alexander added a congratulations to Kennedy for her win yesterday and revealed that he and his partner had been secretly supporting Kennedy through her gold-medal-winning run in the hopes that it would hamper her doubles preparation.

Grinham and Alexander will meet India’s top seeds Dipika Pallikal Karthik and Saurav Ghosal in the quarter-final after they beat Welsh 9/16 seeds Emily Whitlock and Peter Creed.

Elsewhere in the mixed doubles, married couple Donna and Greg Lobban will go head to head for Australia and Scotland tomorrow after round two wins.

Donna Lobban and Cameron Pilley

Australia’s defending mixed doubles champions Donna Lobban and Cameron Pilley overcame stubborn resistance from Indian duo Joshna Chinappa & Harinder Pal Sandhu, while Scotland’s Greg Lobban and partner Lisa Aitken breezed past Marlene West and Cameron Stafford of the Cayman Islands.

“It doesn’t happen often, that a wife plays a husband, but [Lisa and I] are just treating it as a squash match and, as long as we win, we’ll still be married tomorrow!” Greg Lobban joked afterwards.

For New Zealand, Joelle King put the disappointment of her bronze medal defeat in the singles to the back of her mind as she and fellow defending 2018 women’s doubles champion Amanda Landers-Murphy beat Guyana’s Fung-A-Fat and Ashely Khalil 2-0, before the 33-year-old downed Pakistan’s Faiza Zafar and Nasir Iqbal in the mixed doubles alongside last night’s newly crowned singles champion Paul Coll.

Kennedy and Lucy Turmel

King and Coll will face Scotland’s 5/8 seeds Georgia Adderley & Rory Stewart in the mixed doubles quarter-final.

In the women’s quarter-final, King and Landers-Murphy will face Kennedy and Lucy Turmel of England.

Despite the disappointment of her defeat earlier in the day, Kennedy made a strong return to action in the evening session alongside Turmel, as both of England’s women’s teams progressed to the quarter-finals along with mixed doubles pairing Alison Waters and Adrian Waller.

Kennedy said afterwards: “Lucy really helped me bring the energy that I needed to bring. I think it’s going to be a big mental battle tomorrow.”
Today also saw the final involvement of Indian 14-year-old sensation Anahat Singh in main Games, after she and Sunanya Kuruvilla lost to Australia’s Grinham and Lobban in the women’s doubles.

Nine matches were played today in the opening round of the men’s doubles draw. While the majority of the seeded players were not involved after receiving byes, there was still plenty of entertainment to be had, with Kiwi brothers Lwamba and Temwa Chileshe entertaining the crowd in their win over 2-0 win over Papua New Guinea’s Feonor Siaguru and Madako Suari, while Niall Engerer and Kijan Sultana – who were opponents in the first round of the singles draw, where Engerer emerged victorious – of Malta and Christopher Binnie and Julian Morrison of Jamaica came from behind to beat the Cayman Islands and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, respectively.

Tomorrow (5 August) the quarter-finals of the mixed and women’s doubles get underway, while the men’s doubles tournament enters the second round.