|
"I spoke to Sarah [Fitz-Gerald] this morning and
I knew she'd be watching - and all I could think about, when
I was match-ball down, was what would I tell her when we
next spoke.
"She had told me to keep going until the very end - the
game's not over until somebody wins - and that's where I got
my strength and confidence,"
"And I didn't want to lose in front of my family and
friends."
 |
"It was a quality match for both sides - but I'm happy we
did it for the second time after our victory almost 12 months
earlier in the senior World Cup in Chennai.
"But congratulations to India - we expected it to be tough,
but we really enjoyed it."
Egyptian Coach
"If someone had said to me a week ago that
we would be in the final, I would have taken it.
What we
achieved to get this far was brilliant - and today's
performances by our players were outstanding.
"Dipika and Ramit rose to the occasion and played brilliant
squash."
India Coach |
"Certainly this was a big match - both for me personally
and for the team
"I've played
Lucas so many times, since we were about ten years old, and
we are good friends.
"But I just wanted to beat him to get revenge for the defeat
earlier in the week. He's a very strong player and that was
a tough match. I switched off a bit in the third game - but
stepped up the concentration in the fourth and fifth."
"We're all excited to be involved in such a great event
which bridges the gap between juniors and seniors.
"All our
players play on the PSA and WSA Tours, but playing for your
country is different - and the experience they will get out
of this will be second to none."
"Yesterday was very disappointing, but at the same time
encouraging - it inspired our players. Charles was a
different player today and set up the situation beautifully
for Emily to go through and win.
"And Emily definitely got our 'man-of-the-match' award
today!"
England Coach |
|
Egypt Deny India World Cup Triumph
Howard Harding reports from Chennai
In a dramatic clash which went the full distance, favourites
Egypt eventually overcame surprise opponents India 2/1 in
the final of the SDAT WSF Under-21 World Cup to deny the
hosts a historic first world title in the inaugural World
Squash Federation event before an ecstatic crowd at the
Express Avenue Mall in Chennai.
The largest shopping complex in southern India attracted a
near record crowd of over 75,000 on the day that India were
playing in the first world squash final in the country's
history. Throughout the long final, a significant percentage
of the crowd were either surrounding the unique ASB
GlassCourt court or hanging over balconies of the three
floors overlooking the spectacular all-glass showcourt which
features a pioneering new glass floor with under-floor LED
lighting.
Marwan El Shorbagy 3-1 Ravi Dixit
11/4, 11/7, 7/11, 11/7 (58m) |
It was a tall order for the hosts in the opening match where
team number one Ravi Dixit, ranked 183 in the world, faced
Egypt's world No33 Marwan El Shorbagy, the highest-ranked
man in the tournament.
The Delhi-born 20-year-old threw everything he had at the
in-form world junior champion - and recovered from 2/0 down
to win the third game, despite having to warm up a new ball
at game-ball at 10-4.
But El Shorbagy, still only 18, stamped his authority on the
next game to win 11-4, 11-7, 7-11, 11-7 in 58 minutes - and
put the favourites into the lead.
Nour El Sherbini 3-2 Dipika Pallikal
7/11 11/4 11/8 12/14 5/11 (74m) |
 But the match of the championship then followed - in which
the star of Indian squash Dipika Pallikal, the highest-ranked woman in the event, faced Egyptian rival
Nour
El Sherbini.
The head-to-head record between the pair was one-all - but
20-year-old Pallikal is currently ranked 14 in the world,
nine places above the 16-year-old former world junior
champion from Alexandria.
Chennai born-and-bred Pallikal took the opening game, but to
the dismay of the crowd, Sherbini won the next two to move
ahead.
The Egyptian maintained her control of the match to march on
to match-ball at 10-6. But Pallikal was not about to concede
and, urged on by the exuberant crowd, clawed her way back
into the game - saving four match-balls to draw level.
The crowd erupted - shouting and screaming more than ever
before - and it as some time before the local heroine was
able to resume play. Twice more Sherbini moved to within a
single point of the title - and twice Pallikal fought back
before finally converting her own first game ball - having
saved six match-balls - to win the game 14-12.
With crowd scenes and screams rarely witnessed before at a
squash event, Pallikal returned to the court inspired. After
losing two points from 8-3 up, she returned the next serve
into the nick, delivered a delicate back hand drop shot
again into the nick before winning the third on a no let to
claim a sensational 11-7, 4-11, 8-11, 14-12, 11-5 victory
after 74 long minutes.
 Pallikal was besieged by delirious fans and TV crews before
speaking briefly to the crowd via the tournament MC.
Later, the Indian champion who is now coached by Australian
legend Sarah Fitz-Gerald, admitted that the match had been
her toughest of all-time...
Karim Abdel Gawad 3-1 Ramit Tandom
12/10 11/4 6/11 11/8 (67m) |
With the crowd now sensing a shock victory, the semi-final
hero Ramit Tandon took to the court to face Egypt's
Karim
Abdel Gawad in the decider.
Gawad, a 20-year-old ranked 42 in the world, took the first
game after a tie-break and then moved 2/0 ahead. But spurred
on by the increasingly noisy crowd, Kolkata-born Tandon -
ranked almost 300 places below his opponent - battled hard
and took the third game to reduce the deficit.
But as the Egyptian reclaimed the advantage in the fourth,
the crowd became more muted until Gawad eventually clinched
his third match-ball to win 12-10, 11-4, 6-11, 11-8 after 67
minutes to earn the title for Egypt.
Charles Sharpes bt Lucas Serme
14-12, 7-11, 5-11, 11-6, 11-5 (76m)
Emily Whitlock bt Cyrielle Peltier
11-5, 11-7, 11-7 (31m) |
Earlier, second seeds England
avenged their earlier shock
pool defeat to France by beating the third seeds 2/1 in the
Bronze medal play-off.
 Top string Charles Sharpes made up for his previous loss to
Lucas Serme by fighting back from 2/1 down to overcome the
Frenchman 14-12, 7-11, 5-11, 11-6, 11-5 in 76 minutes - the
longest match of the tournament.
The pair came through junior ranks together, but Sharpes had
not previously beaten the 19-year-old from Paris since 2009.
Emily Whitlock, the 17-year-old who pulled off the biggest
win of her life 24 hours earlier when she beat Egypt's world
junior champion Nour El Tayeb for the first time, faced
France's Cyrielle Peltier.
The English teenager maintained her blistering form in
Chennai to put away 19-year-old Peltier 11-5, 11-7, 11-7 in
31 minutes to clinch victory for the jubilant England team. |
