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 World
Games 2013 Squash
02-04 Aug, Cali, Colombia |
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Sun 4th Aug, Day THREE
Farewell to the World Games ???
Women's Final
[1] Nicol David (Mas) 3-0 [3] Natalie Grinham (Ned) 11/6, 11/9, 11/8
In a repeat of the 2009 final in Taipai, Malaysia's Nicol
David made three World Games Gold medals in a row as she
beat Natalie Grinham in straight games.
Men's Final
[1] Gregory Gaultier (Fra) 3-1 [3] Simon Rosner (Ger) 9/11, 11/7,
11/5, 11/4
Top seed Gregory
Gaultier came from a game down to beat Germany' Simon Rosner
to make it a first-ever World Games Gold for France.
Women's Bronze: [4] Camille Serme (Fra) bt
[2] Low Wee Wern (Mas) 11/8, 11/4, 11/4
Men's Bronze: [6] Miguel Angel Rodriguez
(Col) bt [2] Peter Barker (Gbr)
w/o |
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Draws &
Results
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Finals Day in Cali
Major Maniam
reporte
What a wonderful day it was. France go home with a rich haul
of one gold and one bronze, Malaysia takes home a gold,
Netherlands and Germany take silver whilst Colombia takes a
Bronze.
The morning started of with the bronze medal play-offs,
first up Low Wee Wern against Camille Serme.
The first game started off well with both players playing a
steady basic game. As the game progressed so did Camile’s
sense of urgency. Her determination got her the first game.
The second and third largely dominated by Camille. Depth and
width deserted Low today as Camile won in three.
“The first game was alright but after that the ball was just
flying past me and I could not control it," said a
disappointed Low.
“I’m so happy to win bronze for my country,” said a very
excited Camille Serme.
Peter Barker was scheduled to play Miguel Angel Rodriguez
but the Englishman was forced to withdrew due to injury. The
crowd was treated to an excellent exhibition match between
Miguel and Peruvian youngster Diego Elias. The Colombians
were happy to accept their first ever squash medal at the
World Games. Miguel addressed the gallery in Spanish saying
what an honour it was for him and his country to win the
bronze.
 The women’s final, a repeat of the last World Games climax
in Taipei, was an exciting affair with Natalie Grinham
giving Nicol David a good run for her money. The first game
was evenly poised up to 4-4 before Nicol raced away to take
the lead with some steady squash.
Throughout the match Nicol
was aggressive whilst Natalie mixed it up with some
beautiful lobs and delicate drops, but Nicol was always
there to pick them up. Natalie fought hard in every game
right to the end, but Nicol prevailed.
 "It’s so nice to win a medal at a multi sport event,"
said the ever smiling champion on collecting her third
straight World Games Gold.
The men’s final between Gregory Gaultier and Simon Rosneer
was keenly contested. The first game saw some amazing
attacking shots, some unbelievable retrieving by both
players and the score line read 10-9 game ball to Simon.
During the final rally a ball is called out and the referee
announces 11-9 game to Simon. Gregory appeals in his usual
dramatic style. Simon showed what a classy sportsman he is
by agreeing to play a let. Gregory acknowledged the great
gesture, but nevertheless Simon takes the first game.
In the second game Greg was leading 6-3 and he plays a
forehand cross court hitting Simon. Referee calls stroke and
Greg says lets play a let. Good sportsmanship by both. The
second game goes to Gregory, as Simon is highly error prone.
 In the third game Gregory plays a forehand cross court drive
from a most difficult angle at the back. Simon looks at him
in awe and Greg in jest wiggles his racket indicating that
you need to do it with a certain position of the racket.
Greg serves and Simon plays a dead nick to the front and
returns the same gesture to Greg and the spectators are
thoroughly amused.
Two days of hard squash begins to tell on Simon as he loses
the next two games. Match and Gold to France.
“I’m so happy to contribute this gold to the total tally
of medals to my country,” said the new champion at the
end [France finished third in the medal table with 16 Golds
and 40 in total].
Medals for the women’s event were presented by Mrs. Susie
Simcock, WSF President Emeritus, whilst the men’s medals
were presented by M. Jacques Fontaine, WSF representative at
this event. Colombian Squash President Pablo Serna gave away
the mascots.
It was a Happy Ending for one and all.
Major S Maniam signing off from Cali
Farewell to the World Games ??? |
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Women's semis:
[1] Nicol David (Mas)
3-0 [4] Camille Serme (Fra)
11/5, 11/5, 11/8
[3] Natalie Grinham
(Ned) 3-1
[2] Low Wee Wern
(Mas)
11/7, 2/11, 11/4, 11/4
Men's Semis:
[1] Gregory Gaultier (Fra) 3-1 [6] Miguel Angel Rodriguez
(Col)
11/6, 11/5, 8/11, 11/9
[3] Simon Rosner (Ger) 3-0
[2] Peter Barker (Gbr)
11/8, 11/7, 11/8
Second seeds crash out in Cali semis
Major Maniam reports
The women’s semi finals comprised four players from three
different countries - two from Malaysia, one each from
Nederlands and France.
 Low
wee Wern and Natalie Grinham were the first to
get on. The match was of good quality with great frontcourt
play from Natalie and excellent retrieving by Low. Natalie
played an outstanding tactical game to upset the second seed
Low today. She was aggressive and used her chances well.
Low on the other hand was too defensive and did not use the
front of the court enough. Low did play attacking squash in
the second but could not produce that game after that.
Both players showed true sportsmanship as they owned up to a
number of double pickups as well as agreeing to a let when
no let was called. The packed crowd thoroughly enjoyed the
show.
 Two-time
World Games champion Nicol David was a phenomenon.
She was calm and composed even though she was trailing in
the third. Camille Serme gave it everything she had
but simply was not as consistent as she would have needed to
be to beat Nicol today.
Nicol makes the game look so simple. Perhaps it really is.
The men’s semi finals comprised four players from four
different countries-France, Colombia, Germany and Great
Britain and this augurs well for the game.
 The
men’s event commenced with Peter Barker taking on
Simon Rosner. It was a match that showcased the talents
of two outstanding squash players.
If one expected a long drawn out affair, it was quickly
proven wrong as Simon displayed some awe inspiring squash
that had the crowd supporting and cheering him on.
Peter played steady squash but it was Simon who was
creative, deceptive and less error prone.
There was some pushing and shoving and it was quickly
brought under control by the referee. Simon romped home with
an unexpected but well deserved 3-0 victory.
When asked as to how come he was able to bounce around the
court after the energy sapping match this afternoon, he
said: “I was really tired after the afternoon match, but
I had a session with my physio and I am feeling fine. He
must have done something good.”
 At
the post match interview Simon mentioned about how great it
would be for squash to get into the Olympics and he looked
forward to playing in it and he said he was within striking
distance.
The final match of the day was as good as one would expect
of two extremely fit and skilled players. Gregory
Gaultier started off at a furious pace and was in
control for the first two games against local hero Miguel
Angel Rodriguez.
The third was looking like it was going Gregory’s way when a
lapse in concentration gave Miguel confidence and the next
game. The fourth was closely fought and the rallies were
long and hard laced with some outstanding deception and
retrieving by both players.
In the end it was Greg’s finishing shots that saw him home
and to his first world games final. Sorry Colombia.!
The gallery was packed to the brim until the end at 12.30
a.m. and they were treated to the highest level of squash by
the most talented squash players; what a treat, what a show.
Major S Maniam
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Draws &
Results
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Women's Quarters - top four
seeds safely through
[1] Nicol David (Mas) 3-0 [7] Sarah-Jane
Perry (Gbr)
11/9, 11/9, 11/8
[4] Camille Serme (Fra)
3-1 [5] Rachael Grinham (Aus)
7/11, 11/3, 11/7, 11/6
[3] Natalie Grinham
(Ned) 3-1 Misaki Kobayashi (Jpn)
9/11, 11/9, 11/7, 11/5
[2] Low Wee Wern
(Mas)
3-0 Emma Beddoes (Gbr)
11/8, 11/6, 11/8
Men's Quarters - Rodriguez stays in medal contention
[1] Gregory Gaultier (Fra) 3-0 [8] Ryan Cuskelly (Aus)
11/6, 11/4, 11/4
[6] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (Col) 3-1 [4]
Cameron Pilley (Aus) 5/11, 11/8, 11/6, 11/6
[3] Simon Rosner (Ger) 3-1 Mathieu Castagnet (Fra)
11/8, 10/12, 11/9, 12/10
[2] Peter Barker (Gbr) 3-0 [7] Ong Beng Hee (Mas)
11/4, 11/8, 11/4 |
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Draws &
Results
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Streaming
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Miguel joins top seeds in medal hunt
Major Maniam reports from Cali on the quarters
The day started with the women’s quarter-finals. On the
glass court Low Wee Wern the second seed took on
Emma Bedoes. It was a fairly straight forward 3-0
victory for Low, who did say she was a little apprehensive
at the start having not had a match on the glass court:
“I was tense having to be first on but got the hang of it
quickly as the weather conditions are similar to back home
in Penang. Emma played well and I’m happy to be in the
semis.”
On the side court under the watchful eye of her president
Jacques Fontaine, Camille Serme defeated Rachael
Grinham. It was a keenly contested four games but
Camille appeared the fitter of the two making far less
errors.
Top seed Nicol David went through with a
straightforward 3-0 victory over Sarah-Jane Perry.
The first two games were keenly contested but the steadier
Nicol stayed the course better.
“I’ve never played her before and having seen and heard
about her good results I knew I was going to have a good
game," admitted the player who has just completed seven
unbroken years at the top of the world rankings. "I used the
first game to assess the situation and thereafter I stayed
steady to take the match."
Misaki Kobayashi gave a glimmer of hope to the small
group of Japanese supporters when she took the first game
against Natalie Griinham, and was looking set to take
the second. A series of unforced errors in the second and
thereafter, was the cause of her downfall.
“My legs were gone and my head was heavy, I just could
not push anymore,” said Misaki.
Kobayashi has played some awesome squash at this
championship. Natalie echoed the sentiment and said:
“Misaki is fit and fast and these conditions suits her game
well. It’s so hard to put the ball away. I was limited with
what I can do. Had to play a game, which is not my style –
lengths and more lengths.”
What about her game with Low Wee Wern tonight? “Let’s see,
it will be a lot cooler tonight, I will give it my best, I
always do. You might have to carry me off the court,
though!” [I’m sure there will be enough volunteers!]
Then it was on to the men's quarters, all on the glass
court.
Peter Barker beat Ong Beng Hee 3-0. Beng Hee
put up a good fight for two games before he got tired.
Yesterday’s game certainly took its toll on the senior Beng
Hee.
 Likewise
top seed Gregory Gaultier beat Ryan Cuskelly
3-0. Gregory kept it fast and basic whilst Ryan stayed with
Greg as long as he could, but was simply not enough.
 The
match between Simon Rosner and Mathieu Castagnet
was hugely entertaining with both players displaying an
array of shots. In the end it was Simon’s finishing shots
that made the difference giving him a 3-1 victory.
The German was elated and said: “I feel so happy making
the semis of the world games. It was really hot in there and
the ball was bouncy and I found it difficult. Despite that I
remained aggressive playing my drops at the right time
(Simon played some awesome drops from all parts of the
court).
"Mathieu is one of the toughest competitors who push you
till the end. I will try to regain my energy for tonight’s
match and hope to do well."
Mathieu, who impressed throughout the event said he played
well today. “I started badly. I was not so confident and
did not play enough to the front. But the next three games
was good. It is difficult because the ball is bouncy and the
weather is hot but you must push.
"That is the only way I can make top10 in the world which is
my goal. Simon played some really good drop shots today and
I wish him all the best in the championship.”
Once again the grand finale for the morning session was the
match between home hero Miguel Angel Rodriguez and
the lanky Australian Cameron Pilley.
 The
stands were packed and the cheering must have spurred Miguel
on. Cameron who is not new to such environments kept his
cool throughout. He started off aggressively and did not
give Miguel too much room and took the first game.
Miguel, whose retrieving ability is legendary, plodded on
with some amazing shots. It was obvious that as the match
wore on Pilley’s error rate went up.
Pilley gave it everything he had but today Miguel was simply
in superb form to take the match and march proudly into the
semis of the world games. His coach Santiago Montoya
was a happy man as was the president of Colombian squash
Pablo Serna.
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Fri 2nd Aug, Day ONE |
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After the morning's first round matches all the top seeds
took to the courts in Cali, and most of them made it through
to their expected quarter-final places, but Emma Beddoes,
Misaki Kobayashi and Mathieu Castagnet sprang some surprises ...
Major Maniam reports from Cali
 A notable upset took place on the centre court when 9-16
seed Emma Beddoes from GB beat Donna Urquhart the 6th
seed from Australia in a surprise three setter.
Donna certainly did not play her best and this is what Emma
had to say – “I’ve never played in this region before so
did not know what to expect. I focused on stepping forward
and controlling the T, furthermore Donna was a little error
prone today.”
Emma has had a few close matches with Low Wee Wern
whom she plays in the quarters tomorrow (second seed Low
went through without playing after the withdrawal of Maria
Toor Pakay).
 At the side courts another upset took place when Misaki
Kobayashi the 9-16 seeded Japanese overcame the 5th
seeded Mexican Samantha Teran in five hard fought games.
“I’ve played Samantha twice before this year and beaten her
both times. This makes it three.. I felt relaxed and had no
pressure to win. I look forward to playing Natalie [Grinham]
whom I have never played before,” said a beaming Misaki.
 The third and final upset for the day came when Frenchman
Mathieu Castagnet beat fifth seeded Englishman Tom
Richards in a close four games. Just to release his anger
and frustration Tom flung his racket onto the ground. A
match he so much wanted to win.
Meanwhile 4th seed Camille Serme broke Colombian
hearts as she brushed aside the challenge of local lass
Catalina Pelaez. (3-0)
Joshana Chinappa was out of sorts as Rachael Grinham
beat her 3-0. “I felt like my head was going to explode,”
said Joshana. "I’ve never played in such conditions,"
she added.
Ryan Cuskelly had to dig deep to overcome Julian
Illingworth. He was 2-0 up and cruising and then, Julian
staged a mighty fight back and the score was 2-2. A
promising start and all of a sudden Julian just gave away
point after point. All the work he had done took its toll on
him.
 Said Ryan of the match: “I had two easy games and I
thought I had in the bag and took it easy. Julian came on
strong, and I lost my way. In the 5th I stepped up to the T
and took charge like I did in the 1st two games and it paid
off.”
The final match of the day was between home favourite Miguel
Rodriguez and Indian Mahesh Mangaonkar. The capacity crowd
while waiting was treated to a highly entertaining 5 setter
between Ong Beng Hee and Raphael Kandra. Beng Hee
came through a match that could have gone either way.
The pleasant demeanour of both the players drew a thunderous
applause at the end of the match. “He is a little rusty,
having not played too much. But he knows what exactly to do
in a match,” said Malaysian Coach Peter Genever.
 The
match every Colombian was waiting for, the final match of
the night; and Miguel did not disappoint. His athleticism
amazed the audience.
Nothing should be taken away from the young Mahesh who
fought gallantly for two games before he ran out of gas in
the third against a supremely fit and speedy opponent.
The top two seeds meanwhile had an easy day at the office.
Nicol David and Gregory Gaultier overcame
Franziska Hennes and Shawn Delierre in three easy games.
Morning Session
 The world games squash event started his morning at 11 at
the Canasgordas sports club. There are 6 glass back
courts and an all glass court erected by the swimming pool
specially for the games.
A total of 21 men and 18 women representing 19 member
nations are participating in this event.
 There was a lot of excitement in the morning matches.
Colombian Catalina Pelaez (9/16 seed) gave the home
crowd a roaring start by cruising past Hungarian Edina
Szombati 3-0 [Pelaez later lost out to France's Camille
Serme]. However her team mate Laura Tovar Perez was
beaten 3-1 by Brazilian Thaisa Serafini (9-16 seed).
In an exciting match on the all glass court Ryosei Kobayashi
(Jap) stretched 9-16 seed Christopher Gordon of the
USA to 5 hard fought games. Ryosei led 2-1 but was narrowly
edged out 11-9 in the 5th. Harinder Pal Sandhu (9-16) was
beaten by unseeded Christoper Binnie of Jamaica in
three close games.
The evening matches start at 6p.m. local time. The local
enthusiasts were treated to a wonderful spectacle of world
class squash this morning and are eagerly awaiting for more
action later today.
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Streaming
Beddoes v Urquhart & David v Hennes video
World Games minisite
Draws &
Results
World Games minisite
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Official Galleries
Streaming
Beddoes v Urquhart & David v
Hennes video
Draws &
Results
World Games minisite |
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25-Jul, Preview:
Nicol & Greg head
World Games draws
 Malaysia's
world number one Nicol David and world No2 Frenchman
Gregory Gaultier head world-class draws in the Squash
championships in the 2013 World Games in Cali, Colombia.
David, the defending women's World Games champion, is aiming
for a record third successive gold medal. The 29-year-old
from Penang, who has topped the world rankings since August
2006, is expected to face second seed Low Wee Wern in
an all-Malaysian final.
Dutch champion Natalie Grinham will be aiming to go
one better than she did in the 2009 Games in Chinese Taipei,
where she finished as runner-up to David. The former
Australian – a record three-time gold medallist in the 2006
Commonwealth Games – is the event's third seed.
Former world number one Gaultier is making his debut in the
event. The 30-year-old from Aix-en-Provence, seeded to
become the first French winner of the men's title, is
expected to face English rival Peter Barker in the
final.
Londoner Barker, ranked seven in the world, is also making
his World Games debut
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Some 4500
athletes and officials from more than 100 countries will be
competing in the 9th World Games from 25 July to 04 August
(the squash event taking place from 02-04 August).
The
multi-sport event is being held on the South American
continent for the first time in its 32-year history.
The
Squash event will boast players from 19 countries, with
Kuwait, Jamaica, Peru, Pakistan, Brazil, Guyana and hosts
Colombia being represented for the first time.
World Games Squash
Official Games Site
 In
supporting the sport's latest appearance in the event,
Commonwealth Games Federation President and IOC Member
HRH Tunku Imran highlights the fact that Squash is
"truly a 'world game'."
"For me, squash is superbly placed to fill the brief of the
title of the event as it is truly a 'world game', with men’s
and women’s world champions from all five continents," said
HRH Tunku Imran, who is also Patron of the World Squash
Federation.
"In addition to Commonwealth participation players are
coming from as far afield as Japan, a spread of European
nations and of course from across Pan America, which is very
gratifying.
"The action on the all-glass showcourt in Cali will
definitely be athletic, intense and exciting to watch,
demonstrating squash as a true world class sport," Imran
added. |
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