07-Sep, Team Finals:

Final: Egypt bt Great Britain 2-1

Farah Abdel Meguid 2-3 Millie Tomlinson        9-11, 7-11, 13-11, 11-8, 5-11
Mazen Hesham 3-0 Eddie Charlton              10-12, 11-5, 5-11, 12-10, 11-4
Zahed Mohammad 3-2 Joel Patrick Makin        11-5, 9-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-8

 In what was a final that went to the wire Egypt managed to down reigning champion Great Britain 2-1 and grab the gold medal in the mixed team event of the World University Squash championship here on Sunday. This is the third time that Egypt is lifting the team title in this championship, the last being in 2008.

Each match in the tie went the full distance to provide the just the setting for a grand finale.

“This is about the best you would have asked for in a final,” said Zena Woolridge, the FISU Technical delegate and also President of the European Squash Federation. She could not have put it more aptly. It was a nail biting contest right through. As per the draw on the final day, it was the women’s singles in the tie that was played first. If Egypt thought Farah Meguid would put the country in a happy situation then Camilla Tomlinson had other ideas. Having won the individual gold earlier this talented player showed her fighting qualities after the Egyptian clawed back from two games down. Finally it was a test of resolve and Camilla came up trumps with her never give up approach.

With Great Britain one up, the pressure was on Mazen Sabri to keep Egypt afloat. The situation demanded careful play and against a resilient Edward Charlton who has shown good ability to adapt to situations in this championship, Mazen had to be sharp. He was not that in the opener and the Briton made the most of it. But things turned there, particularly after Mazen showed his amazing stroke production to come back from 6-10 situation to win a game. The soft drop shots began working as also the fierce backhand essays that found the spot inches above the tin for winners. Still Charlton gave little away even in struggle. The net result was a lively contest that inexorably turned Mazen’s way.

Equally close was the deciding match involving Zahed Mohammed and Joel Patrick Makin. The Egyptian till date had little to do in the team event for so fluent were the others in helping the cause. But today the onus was on him. The pressure told particularly with Makin showing admirable penchant for returning winners, be it low volleys or cross court drives. There were any number of ‘let ‘ calls and a few moments when the two players seemed to lose cool but in the end the steadier of the two won. The winning point was a case in point as a tired Makin went diving to get back a low ball but in vain.
Earlier for the bronze medal, Malaysia defeated South Africa 2-1.

The medals ceremony followed as the curtains came down. The next edition will be held in 2016 in Malaysia.

Third place: Malaysia bt south Africa 2-1
 Zulhijjah lost to Alexandra Fuller 11-8, 2-11, 11-13, 12-10, 11-13; Sanjay Singh bt Andrew Martin 11-3, 9-11, 3-11, 11-7, 11-5; Addeen Bahtiar bt Nell Van De Merwe 8-11, 11-3, 11-8, 11-3
 

Reigning champion Great Britain will play top seed Egypt in the final of the mixed team event on Sunday in the world university squash championship at the ISA courts.

In two semi-finals of near similarity on Saturday, Egypt defeated Malaysia 2-0 and Great Britain accounted for South Africa by the same margin. Both the ties ended without the third singles being played.

The showman that Mazen Hesham is, the Egyptian talent certainly showed that he is more than that. The deft touches he exhibited lightened up the mood of the small gathering. Not that Sanjay Singh for Malaysia gave in easily but even his admirable athleticism could not stop certain shots that saw the ball eluding him. Such was Sanjay’s work that by the time the contest ended he had begun to hobble around showing clear signs of wear out.

If Mazen was class then Farah Abdel Meguid provided anxious moments to the Egypt camp with her regular slips. Zulhijjah Azan is no push-over player but one who shows lots of sense in her play. Her tactics of switching the ball from one side to the other and topping it with good drops meant Fara had a struggle right through.

“I have been having a touch of fever and cold,” said the winner in the aftermath of her long tussle. In the end it did not matter that Farah just managed to keep her slate clean, for Egypt the victory meant a place in thetitle round.

Eddie Charlton likes to prolong rallies. The Briton has more than once here showed an appetite to remain on court for long. So it was against South Africa’s Ruan Oliver in the first singles. To start with Eddie’s ploy seemed to work for Oliver kept lapsing into mistakes.

But just as everyone thought Eddie would sail through came Oliver’s resistance and what is more his pluck to grab a game. As it happened, Oliver could not sustain that pressure and a promising rivalry ended too soon.

In the second singles, the individual champion Millie Tomlinson started well against Cheyna Tucker but suffered a mid-contest lapse. But the fighter she is, Millie was soon to regain touch to turn things around and help Great Britain ease past South Africa.

[1] EGYPT bt [3/4] MALAYSIA 2-0
Mazen Hesham bt Sanjay Singh Chal 10-12, 11-3, 11-5, 11-6
Farah Abdel Meguid bt Zulhijjah Azan 11-6, 6-11, 11-13, 11-6, 11-5

[2] GREAT BRITAIN bt [3/4] SOUTH AFRICA 2-0
Eddie Charlton bt Ruan Oliver lost to  11-7, 11-7, 7-11, 11-6
Millie Tomlinson bt Cheyna Tucker  11-9, 11-7, 6-11, 11-1

I round (quarterfinal: EGYPT[1] bt PAKISTAN[5/8] 2-0 ( men singles 1: Mazen Sabri bt Saqib Yousaf 11-5 11-8 11-7; women’s singles: Farah Abdelmeguid bt Sammer Anjum 11-2 11-4 11-7; MS2: Zahed Salem - Ullah Rizwan Gul – not held); INDIA[5/8] lost to MALAYSIA[3/4] 0-2 (MS1: Ravi Dixit lost to Sanjay Singh Chal 6-11 8-11 11-6 7-11; WS: Aparajitha Balamurugan lost to Zulhijjah Azan 7-11 9-11 7-11 ; MS2: Maninder Pal Singh Sandhu - Addeen Bahtiar –not held); SOUTH AFRICA[3/4] bt CANADA[5/8] 2-0 (MS1: Andrew Martin bt Cameron James Seth 10-12 12-10 11-2 11-9 ; WS: Alexandra Fuller bt Alex Kelly Younger 14-12 6-11 11-8 11-6; MS2: Ruan Oliver - James Richard Van Staveren – not held; FRANCE[5/8] lost to GREAT BRITAIN[2] 0-2 (MS1: Antoine Cami Petrucci lost to Edward David Charlton 5-11 11-13 8-11; WS: Chloe Mesic lost to Nada Mohamed Elkalaawy 9-11 11-13 11-9 5-11; MS2: Marc Vaez Olivera - Joel Patrick Makin –not held)

04-Sep, FINALS

[1] Mazen Hesham (Eg) 3-0 [2] Zahed Mohammad (Egy)
         11-8, 11-9, 11-6
[5/8] Millie Tomlinson (Gbr) 3-0 [1] Olga Ertlova (Cze)
         11-8, 11-6, 11-1

Hesham and Tomlinson take the titles
S R Suryanarayan reports

Mazen Hesham and Millie Tomlinson covered themselves with glory after emerging victorious in the men’s and women’s sections respectively in the World University Squash Championship at the Indian Squash Academy here on Thursday.

In terms of a contest the finals fizzled out but there was no doubting the high standards that came on view. Cool and collected Milie  appeared to see through the game of the top seed Olga Ertlova of Czech republic. Normally a swift mover with a good touch with the racket Olga never looked the fighting player she was, Millie ensured that with her testing returns and perfect placements.

Trailing in each game, Olga gave in to the resilient British girl in under 40 minutes. “I must say this is one of my biggest wins . This is a world level title. I am truly happy,” said Millie of her achievement while Olga admitted “she played better.”

Two Egyptians later gave a glimpse of the high-quality squash they are used to at the international level. It did not matter that Mazen and Zahed came from the same background. Both are friends but on court no quarter was given none asked. Both played with immense concentration. Where Mazen was different was his ability to get the ball to strike where he wanted, just above the tin and with consistency.

Be it in the drops or the forehand blasts, Mazen virtually had his opponent skidding and gliding to great lengths. “I am familiar with Zahed’s game and that helped,” said Mazen in the end as he rose to take the gold medal in just 35 minutes of play.

A brief medals ceremony followed the two finals with FISU officials, Allison Oddel, Zena Woolridge and Dr Csaba Hedi in attendance to give away the medals.

The team events gets underway on Friday.

Men's third place: Eddie Charlton (Gbr) bt Saqib Yousaf (Pak) 7-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-8; Women's third place: Farah Abdel Megid (Egypt) btAlexandra Fuller (Rsa) 16-14, 10-12, 12-10, 11-7.

"Zahed Mohammed was a tough opponent to beat. This was my first world event win. I’m very happy. It’s a very good first title win for me."

Mazen Hesham

“It was a very tough match. It’s one of the biggest victory. Winning this has given me lot of confidence."

Millie Tomlinson

Malaysian Diaries from Sharon Wee
 

Team GBR Blog,
Day FOUR

A great day for team GB at the World University Champs.
The East Midlands were represented particularly well, with Captain Charlton competing for a bronze medal and Millie Tomlinson competing for the gold!!!

The welsh wizard (Joel Makin) and the karate kid (Nada El Kalaaway) were first on court. Joel fought hard today to secure a 3/2 victory against Addeen Idrakie. Nada lost in a tight 3/1, despite playing on an injured foot.

Later on Captain C went on court to compete for the Bronze medal against Saqib Yousaf. Charlton used his height and hip flexibility to move around the court with ease. This, in combination with his dazzling hold, put his opponent under a lot of pressure. He went on to win the match 3/1 and secure himself a well-deserved bronze medal!

In the women's final Millie was up against top seeded Olga Ertlova from the Czech Republic. Olga was put under pressure with a combination of lightening fast serves and skill-full nicks from Millie. Both players endured some long rallies, but in the end Millie gained the edge and secured the match 3/0.

A huge thank you to Coach Beetroot McPhee for coaching us throughout these tricky matches and for giving us someone to glance at in between rallies!

Thank you also to the team physio, Rafa, who has kept the team smiling throughout (see photo for reference).
The team event kicks off tomorrow with Great Britain verses France - wish us luck!

03-Sep, Semis:

[1] Mazen Hesham (Eg) 3-0 [3/4] Eddie Charlton (Gbr)
          13-11, 11-7, 11-9
[2] Zahed Mohammad (Egy) 3-1 [3/4] Saqib Yousaf (Pak)
          11-6, 7-11, 11-1, 11-7

[1] Olga Ertlova (Cze) 3-0 [5/8] Alex Fuller (Rsa)
          11-7, 11-3, 11-5
[5/8] Millie Tomlinson (Gbr) 3-1 [2] Farah Abdel Megid (Egy)
          10-12, 11-9, 11-3, 11-7

Top seeds through as Millie stops Egyptian hat-trick
S R Suryanarayan reports

As the top two seeds, Egyptians Mazen Hesham and Zahed Mohammed took their appointed places in the men’s final but in the women’s title round it will be Millie Tomlinson of Great Britain and top seed Olga Ertlova of Czech republic who will be the contestants as the final moments in the individual competitions approached in the World University Squash championship on Wednesday.

For those who had gathered at the Indian Squash Academy the start to the semi-finals was unusual. Second seed Farah Abdel Megid of Egypt seemed to have started on the wrong foot, so to say. First she had to go for a change of attire because ‘shorts’ was not an acceptable dress under the rules.

Then when the contest began she began to face too many hurdles, thanks to Camilla’s intelligent approach. Playing into an established rival’s hands was not the Britisher’s plan for the day. True she lost the first game closely but from then on decided to change strides. “I knew her (Farah) ability to play the drop shots. I was careful to check that. I still am lucky I won. I am happy,” said the British girl all smiles, obviously pleased with the day’s work.

Zahed admitted he was a bit nervous against the Pakistan opponent Saqib Yousaf, who showed a good hand in playing to the corners.

“I had to be careful to see he did not play so many of those shots,” said the Egyptian after conceding one game. As the contest wore Fahed was lot more at ease. “The surface in the glass court certainly helped me move around nicely ,” he said in the aftermath of his good win.

Then came the sprightly Czech Olga and like earlier, she was a girl in hurry, this time against South Africa’s Alexandra Fuller. Cross court shots, punctuated with good drops featured Olga’s dominance in the day’s shortest semi-final (just 29 minutes). For sheer class Mazen’s play was something to behold.

The lanky Eddie Charlton (Great Britain) was driven to despair and nothing reflected that better than the final point which he contested with a scream. The referee ruled Mazen’s return was good and there ended a contest where the Briton was thoroughly outplayed.

The deft drops to the corners the skilful twirl of the wrist to send the ball cross court were some of the highlights in Mazen’s approach and that alone provides for a fascinating finale on Thursday.

Team GBR Blog,
Day Three

The penultimate day saw Camilla (The scream) getting another great win over a higher seed, Egyptian Farah Meguid seed to secure a place in the finals against Olga Ertlova.

This was a solid and tenatious performance that she came through 3-1. Sleeping beauty (Nada) then also won 3-0 with a clinical performance over Hong Kong's Ho Ka Po. Joel didn't play as well today losing out in 4 games.

The team did have a minor scare when physio Raf dog broke the physio table but quickly got back in the game with a screw driver and re assembled it.

Eddie lost out in a very tight match 3-0 against Mezan Hesham. Some tough calls, and desputed pick Ups saw Eddie missing out on taking the first and third games. Team GB looking to finish the individuals on a high with Millie looking to continue her great form into the final.

Fingers crossed for the gold!

02-Sep, Quarters:

Men:
[1] Mazen Hesham (Egy) 3-1 [5]8] Sanjay Singh (Mas)
            8-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-8 (38m)
[3/4] Eddie Charlton (Gbr) 3-2 [5/8] Addeen Idrakie (Mas)
            11-8, 11-9, 8-11, 7-11, 11-5 (68m)
[3/4] Saqib Yousaf (Pak) 3-2 Andrew Martin (Rsa)
             11-8, 9-11, 15-13, 8-11, 11-3
[2] Zahed Mohamed (Egy) 3-0 [5/8] Joel Makin (Wal)
             12-10, 11-8, 11-8 (45m)

Women:
[1] Olga Ertlova (Cze) 3-1 [5/8] Chloe Mesic (Fra)
            8-11 11-9 11-2 11-6 (44m)
[5/8] Alex Fuller (Rsa) 3-1 [3/4] Zulhijah Binti Azan (Mas)
             9-11, 11-8, 11-5, 13-11 (40m)
[5/8] Millie Tomlinson (Gbr) 3-1 [3/4] Cheyna Tucker (Rsa)
            11-2, 7-11, 11-3, 11-4 (38m)
[2] Farah A-Meguid (Egy) 3-1 Aparijitha Balamurukan (Ind)
             11-3, 11-5, 10-12, 11-4 (28m)

Good day for Egypt in Chennai
S R Suryanarayan reports

In a way it was Egypt’s day at the World University Squash Championship at the ISA courts here on Tuesday. Three of them came on view and each emerged a victor as the semi-finalists were spotted in the individual events.

Farah Abdel Meguid was the first Egyptian winner and quite certainly she was the source of disappointment among home fans for the loser was India’s Aparajitha Balamurukan.

Humour apart more than Farah it was the Indian who scripted her own downfall with repeated unforced errors, mostly failing to judge the height of the tin.

True Farah won but Aparajitha did raise some cheer by plucking one game in what can be called ‘against the run of play’. Still Farah had compliments for the Indian.

“She played well and made things difficult,” the second seeded Egyptian said but did not look stretched by it though. A well experienced pro already having been in the circuit for six years now, Farah is looking forward to happy times ahead.

Top seeded in the men’s section Mazen Hesham had to overcome an initial surge of energy and excellence of his opponent Sanjay Singh of Malaysia before cruising. Mazen is no stranger to ISA because he had come to spar with the Indian players recently in the preparation for the world juniors and loves his stay in India. But he seemed a stranger to anxiety, initially at least, before finding his way.

“I think I was lucky to win” said the humble Egyptian of his match while Sanjay felt “ I could not sustain the pace. He was so good.” Mazen’s variation of pace and his sure-shot drop shots were a treat to watch in what was easily one of the top contests of the day.

If Mazen had a scare then his compatriot Zahed Mohammad, the second seed, had a tough opponent in the form of Joel Makin of Great Britain. Joel has a good grounding and his movement spoke of his abilities.

Additionally he was physically tough and so Zahed had too many things in hand. It is a different matter that the Egyptian won in straight games but the scores hardly do justice to the kind of control and steadiness that marked the winner’s approach.

The lone Czech in the tournament, Olga Ertlova, the top women’s seed, took time to get her touch, even lost a game but Chloe Mesic (France) could capitalize much.

A sprightly player, not surprising considering she had also excelled in gymnastics, Olga got the right length to her returns and the rival’s mistakes turned form a trickle to a stream. Olga had a comfortable passage to the last four.
 

Team GBR Blog:
Day Two:

Great Britain came out strong today for the second day of The World University Squash Championships.

Nada El Kalaawy (aka sleeping beauty) got the day off to a good start, with a comfortable 3/0 win over Indian Sachika Ingale.

A few hours later, captain Eddie Charlton and Joel Makin (aka Stuart Broad) went on court.

Eddie started off well to gain a 2/0 lead. But his opponent, Addeen Idrakie, dug deep and levelled the score line to 2/2. Fortunately for Great Britain, Eddie showed great determination in the fifth and won 11/5.

Over on the glass court 'Broad' was up against the 2nd seed from Egypt, Zahed Mohamed. Joel fought hard against the more experienced Egyptian, to lose in a very tight 3/0.

Last on court was the marvellous Millie Tomlinson (aka the scream). 'The Scream' started strong winning the first game 11/2. Chenya Tucker fought back to win the second, but in the end Tomlinson's patience and mental toughness prevailed and she went on to win the next two games.

Tomorrow Eddie is playing the first seed from Egypt, Mazen Hesham, and Millie is playing the 2nd seed also from Egypt, Farah Meguid.

Both will be fighting for places in the final. Joel is up against the South African number 1, Andrew Martin, and Nada will play the Hong Kong number 1, Hoka Po.

A big thanks to team coach Kirsty McPhee (aka Beetroot) and physio Rafhael Rinaldi for pulling us through a tough day of matches.

Quote of the day from coach Beetroot - "after reading Harry Potter, I thought Hermione was called Heramone'

Online Draws

 
Newsletter - Day ONE
 

Team GBR
Day ONE Blog

Day one of the WUCS in chennai and we're off to a pretty good start.

Having got settled in the hotel and making full use of the 3 buffet meals a day we were ready for the first days play.

Having watched the opening ceremony (which was very good) it was Nada up first against South African Alex Fuller. Nada got off to a slow start going 2/0 down but showed character to turn it around and gain more control on the match. The scores tied at 2-2 unfortunately for us it was Fuller who regained ascendency and finished the match 11-6 in the fifth.

Millie was up next again Canadian Alix Younger, Millie took time to adjust to the ever changing conditions but showed good awareness to close out a four game encounter.

The boys finished the day with 2 fairly straight forward 3-0 wins against a South African and Pakistani respectively.

Day 2 will see some tough matches with Joel looking to get a win over the number 2 seed Zahed Mohamed, Millie up against South African number 1 Cheyna Tucker and Eddie will be looking to make his seeding and get a win over the 5/8 seed Idrakie from Malaysia.

A special mention goes to team coach Kirsty McPhee who has been struggling with sleep deprivation yet her feeding quality never fails and Raph the team physio who is keeping the players in great shape (even Eddie).

Preview:
World Universities for Chennai

The eighth edition of the World University Squash Championship will be hosted by the SRFI in association with the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) from September 1 to 7, 2014 at the Indian Squash Academy.

This is the first time that this event is coming to India and when AIU bid for it, it decided to seek SRFI’s assistance to host the competition. Under the auspices of SRFI, the Tamil Nadu Squash Rackets Association supported fully by the Tamil Nadu government will conduct the championship. This is also the first time that India is participating in this event.

For the Indian Squash Academy, which since its inception in 2000 has hosted several world-class competitions over the years, the latest is one more feather in its cap.

It was in 1995 that the idea of organizing a squash event for University-level students first cropped up, basically seeing its worldwide popularity.

The World Squash Federation gave its full support and promptly found dates in the international calendar for its launch in the August of 1996 in Maastricht in Netherlands.

Since then this Championship was conducted every two years till 2002 in Cardiff (GBR), Pilzen (Czech) and Linz (Austria). The next edition came four years later in 2006 in Szeged (Hungary). Two years later Cairo hosted it and the last one in 2010 was held in Melbourne. The event now comes to Asia, albeit after a four year gap.

Expectedly this championship has proved an additional forum for the top young squash players to exhibit their talent.

Some of the top names who have graced this championship over the years include Thierry Lincou of France, Karim Darwish, Mohammed Abbas, Ramy Ashour (all Egypt) and the like and in the women, Raneem El Weleily, Omneya Abdel Kawy (both Egypt) and Annie Au (Hong Kong).

In all, 45 entries including 18 women have come in from 11 countries aside from India for the Championship, which will witness both individual and team events separately.

The participating countries are: Canada, Egypt, France, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Slovenia, South Africa , UK and Czech Republic.

Nour El Tayeb is the highest ranked female (world no. 25) while Mazen Hesham also from Egypt is highest ranked male (world no. 34) in the event.

The Indian team comprises Ravi Dixit (world ranked 148), Maninder Pal Singh Sandhu, Hiteswar Singh Riar, Aparajitha Balamurukan (world ranked 109) and Sachika Ingale (world ranked 154).

The individual championship phase (September 1 to 4), which precedes the team competition (September 5 to 7), will see three male and two female players from each country in the fray.

The team championship is a mixed event with two male players and one female representing a country. In 2010, Great Britain was the team championship winner while Joel Hinds (GBR) and Annie Au (Hong Kong) were the men and women individual winners.

 2010 - Melbourne | 2008 - Cairo   |  2006 - Szeged