30-Jan:
Chennai gears up for World Cup
 Chennai
is all set to play host to the Squash U21World Cup, being
played at the Indian Squash Academy and Express Avenue from 1-5
February 2012.
Chennai has been host to almost all the World Squash Federation
(WSF) world championships earlier – the World Junior Men
competitions in the year 2002, World Doubles in 2004 & 2007,
World Men’s Team in 2007, World Junior Women, World Junior Men’s
Individual in 2009 and SADT WSF World Cup in 2011. Now, Chennai
will host the mixed team event at the first SDAT U-21WSF World
Cup.
 The
world's leading under 21 squash players, led by Indian world
number 15 Dipika Pallikal and Egypt's world No41 and
World Junior Champion 2011 and British Junior winner Marwan
El Shorbagy, will star in this year’s event.
“All these are indeed a testimony of the faith WSF has in the
organizational capabilities of the SRFI/TNSRA”, says WSF
President Mr. N. Ramachandran.
The Tamil Nadu government and Sports Development Authority of
Tamil Nadu (SDAT) are solely responsible for ensuring this event
is staged in Chennai. The Tamil Nadu Squash Rackets Association
wishes to place on record their grateful thanks to the Honorable
Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Puratchi Thalaivi Dr. Selvi J.
Jayalalitha.
G.A. Rajkumar, I.A.S. Additional Chief Secretary to
Government, Youth Welfare & Sports Development Department who
has given us tremendous support for this tournament will
officially inaugurate the tournament on 31st January 2012 at the
Marriott Hotel and will preside over the prize giving ceremony
on 5th February 2012 at the Express Avenue, Royapettah.
We are thankful to all our co-sponsors as well, namely Express
Avenue (official venue), Malaysia Airlines (Official Airlines),
Courtyard by Marriott (official hospitality partner), Dunlop
(official ball), Harrow (official apparel) Hindu (official
media), Sports Mechanics (official online partner), Chennai Live
(official radio), Shriram City Union Finance Ltd., Herbalife,
Tourism Malaysia, SportzPower (official sports media),
Sports-Locker, ASB, Light Power and Advent Sports Management.
There will be video on demand facility and live web streaming
of this event available online provided by Sports Mechanics for
all matches played during the event and a delayed telecast on
the sports television channel ESPN Star Sports on 17,18 and 19
February 2012.
The other organizations that have given us full support are the
Sports Authority of India, Squash Rackets Federation of India,
Tamil Nadu Squash Rackets Association and the Indian Squash
Academy.
The 2012 U21-WSF World Cup will be staged initially at the
Indian Squash Academy - leading to the final rounds being played
on an ASB all-glass show court erected at the Express
Avenue Mall, the largest shopping complex in southern India.
This will be the second time in India that squash will be played
in a shopping mall. For the first time the show court will have
a glass floor. The anti slip floor will have LED lights
below giving a different feel to the court.
This new innovation will be showcased to Hein Verbruggen
President, Sports Accord and IOC Member who will be in Chennai
to witness the semi finals, finals and give away the prizes.
Egypt start favourites
Egypt has been named as top seeds in this
two-man-one-woman team event. Their strong line up has Karim
Abdel Gawad world no 42, 3 world junior champions Marwan El
Shorbag (2011), Nour El Tayeb (2011) & Nour El Sherbini (2009).
Mohamed Ashraf Abouelghar ranked 78in the world is the other
member of their squad.
Seeded to face the favourites in the final are England,
led by Charles Sharpes (world #96) in the men and Emily Whitlock
(world #33) in the women.
Hosts India have been seeded 4th and will be led by
National Champion Dipika Pallikal ranked 15 in the world. Dipika
is the highest ranked player in this event. The other team
members are Ravi Dixit, Ramit Tandon, Karan Malik and Anaka
Alankamony.
The entire contingent is from the state of Tamil Nadu.
Action in the SDAT U-21 WSF World Cup will take place initially
in two pools, with the top two teams in each pool moving on to
the semi-finals.
The pool stage will be played at the Indian Squash Academy
(ISA) from 1 & 2 February, and at the Express Avenue from
3-5 February 2012.
“We are glad to be taking the sport to the masses for the 2nd
year running and I believe this will create a greater awareness
amongst the general public” said SRFI secretary general
Srivatsan Subramaniam.
Mr Subramaniam also expresses his gratitude to the SDAT and
Tamil Nadu Government for their sponsorship and support, and to
all other co-sponsors who have generously contributed to this
gala event.
Players |
Young
Squash Stars riding high on eve of World Cup in India
Many of the young squash stars of the future eager to make their
mark in this week's WSF Under-21 World Cup in India will arrive
in Chennai fresh from notable success on the senior
international circuit.
Mixed teams from eight nations will compete in the inaugural
biennial event launched by the World Squash Federation which
gets underway on Wednesday.
After early rounds at the Indian Squash Academy in Chennai, the
final stages of the U21 World Cup will be held on an all-glass
show court erected at the Express Avenue Mall, the largest
shopping complex in southern India.
Egypt, led by the two reigning world junior champions
Marwan El Shorbagy and Nour El Tayeb, are the top
seeds, ahead of second seeds England, No3 seeds France
- and hosts India as fourth seeds.
El Shorbagy, the 18-year-old world No41 from Alexandria, reached
last week's quarter-finals of the Tournament of Champions in New
York, becoming the first qualifier to appear in the last eight
of the elite PSA World Series event for ten years.
Furthermore, team-mate Nour El Sherbini, a 16-year-old
former world junior (U19) champion, made the semi-finals of the
women's Tournament of Champions unseeded.
But a surprise finalist in the event was 20-year-old Dipika
Pallikal, the Indian senior champion from Chennai. The
world No15 - the highest-ranked player in the World Cup -
recorded her best ever success on the women's World Tour in New
York after overturning two higher-seeded opponents to reach the
final as the seventh seed.
Australia
team member Sarah Cardwell, the 20-year-old daughter of
legendary former world No1 Vicki Cardwell, has also just shown
her best form to date - winning her maiden Tour title this month
at the Australia Day Challenge.
Charles Sharpes, a London-born 19-year-old who leads the
England attack, took out the top two seeds in the first PSA
World Tour ranking event of the year in France to notch up the
fourth Tour title of his brief career to date.
The former British U17 and U19 national champion enjoyed an
illustrious junior career, having represented his country at
U15, U17 and U19 levels.
"If it wasn't for an event like the WSF U21 World Cup, a player
like Charles would be unlikely to play again for England for
five years," said England Squash & Racketball's Head of Coaching
& Performance Keir Worth. "And representative squash is
so different."
Sharpes, ranked 96 in the world, will be joined in the England
squad in Chennai by 20-year-old Ben Coleman, 18-year-old
Declan James, 20-year-old Carrie Ramsey, and
17-year-old European Junior Champion Emily Whitlock, the
current No1 in the WSF World Junior Circuit Rankings.
"But the new event is also a good way to measure our success
internationally - our players tend to come on later than
others," added Worth. "Charles is hitting form just at the right
time and Emily, who is only 17, is also showing great promise -
as is Declan, who is still at school.
"What makes this event unusual is that if you look at the draw,
you will see that there are no easy matches - right from the
early pool stages.
"But the real key is that the U21 World Cup establishes itself
as a permanent fixture on the squash calendar - one that more
countries can build into their future planning to give their
players the chance to play representative squash earlier than
might otherwise be possible," concluded Worth.
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