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Thu 28th, Team Final:
Individual Event
Egypt 2-0 Great Britain
Ramy Ashour 3-0 Alan
Clyne
11/8, 11/8, 11/7
Tarek Momen 3-0 Joel Hinds
12/10, 11/5, 13/11
Raneem El Weleily v Emma Beddoes
not played
3rd/4th: Malaysia 2-0 Canada 2-0 5th/6th: Austria 2-1
Switzerland 7th/8th: Australia 3-0 USA |
Egypt add Team Title in Cairo
Having already taken both individual titles, hosts Egypt made it a
clean sweep when they collected the World University Team title,
beating defending champions Great Britain 2-0 in the final at Cairo
Stadium.
World number four and men's individual champion Ramy Ashour
got the hosts off to a good start as he beat Scot Alan Clyne
in straight games.
The title was wrapped up when Tarek Momen, individual
runner-up, won a close three-game match with Englishman Joel
Hinds.
Momen recovered from 2/7 down in the first to take it 12/10, eased
through the second and won the final game on extra points, 13/11 to
give the Egyptians the title they last won in the fourth edition in
2002.
Malaysia, the second seeds who lost out to Great Britain in the
semis, collected the Bronze medal, the more experienced Adnan
brothers holding off strong challenges from the young Canadian pair
of Colin West and Frederick Reed.
"I'm certainly proud of
the team's efforts and both Colin and Fred left everything they had
on the court. If we could have managed a win in the first two games
we would have been in an excellent position to win the match with
Alana Miller playing third."
Canadian Coach |
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GB upset Malaysians to make the final
While hosts Egypt, as expected, cruised through to the team final,
defending champions Great Britain upset second seeds Malaysia to
reach the final again.
 Emma
Beddoes beat Lim Woke Yah in straight games, and Alan Clyne clinched
the win, coming from 0-2 and 6-10 down against Nafiizwan Adnan.
For Egypt individual champions Raneem El Weleily and Ramy Ashour
completed 3/0 wins to put Canada into the bronze medal match.
Semi-Finals:
Egypt 3-0 Canada
Malaysia 1-2 Great Britain |
5/8 Playoffs:
Australia 1-2 Austria
USA 1-2 Switzerland |
9/11 Round Robin:
Germany 2-1 Czech Republic
South Africa 1-2 Czech Republic
Germany 2-1 South Africa |
Great Britain reach World University Final!
Team GB Diary from Jon Tate
 As
expected Great Britain met up with the higher seeded Malaysians in
the semi-final of the World University Championship Team Event,
however hopes were high that they could overturn their seeding and
reach Thursdays Final against probable opponents Egypt.
Emma Beddoes was first on court for GB against strong Malaysian girl
Lim Yoke Wah. Lim who twice defeated Lauren Siddall 3-2 in the 2006
championships was obviously going to be a tough test for Emma,
however Emma has been in excellent form all championships despite
illness, and defeated her opponent 11/7, 11/9, 11/7 to give GB an
early advantage.
Next up was Team Captain Alan Clyne in his match
against the number 1 Malaysian player Mohd Nafiizwan. Mohd had
finished fourth in the Individual competition after losing 3-0 to
Omar Mossad in the Bronze medal match up and this was always going
to be a close affair.
 The first two games were evenly contested, and despite Alan leading
at times in both he was unable to close out and went 2-0 down losing
15/13, 12/10. It looked as if the tie was going into a deciding
rubber because Alan was behind throughout the third and found
himself down 10/6 match ball. The Scot is nothing if not determined
however and after saving five match balls he took the third game
13/11. The fourth remained tight but towards the end of the game
Alan took the initiative and pulled away to win 11/7 and
level the match at 2/2. The momentum was now with Great Britain, and
as Mohd began to tire Alan closed out the match 11/2 to take GB into
tomorrow's final.
With the tie now safe Joel Hinds took to the court in a dead best of
3 game rubber with Mohd Nafzahizan. Mohd had already lost to Alan
Clyne 3-0 in the Individual competition, and Joel was determined
that he would not be the only player to lose for GB in the tie.
Playing his usual high paced style of squash Joel did just that
winning 3/0 to give GB a 3-0 victory.
 "I
was pleased with how our players performed today. I
think that we are all looking forward to having a match up with the
Egyptians, and we definitely believe we have a chance. Obviously as
number 1 seeds they are favourites, and their performances in the
individual competition support this, however in team squash anything
is possible."
 Team
GB Coach |
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 Team
GB Diary, Teams Day One:
GB make the semis
Jon Tate reports
Great
Britain got off to the perfect start this morning, defeating Team
USA three nil.
 Team captain Alan Clyne was first on court, and he set the
team up for victory with a comprehensive 3-0 defeat over
Alexander Charles. The Scot was simply too strong for his
opponent and blasted him off court 11/2, 11/4, 11/5 in quick time.
Next on court for GB was Sarah Bowles against number two
American player Amanda Siebert. The first was a close
tentative affair from both players, however Sarah led through most
of the game and won it 11/9. Having the lead seemed to settle the
nerves of Sarah and after that she looked comfortable winning the
next two 11/3, 11/2.
Last on court was Joel Hinds in his match against John
Fulham. Joel was not looking to hang around on court any longer
than needed and took the initiative from the start. After leading
throughout every game he went on and closed out the match 11/6,
11/7, 11/4.
Great Britain secured a place in tomorrows semi-finals with a
comprehensive afternoon victory over the Czech Republic.
The Czechs had suffered a surprise defeat at the hands of USA in the
2pm matches, and were no match for Great Britain. Alan led from the
front again defeating Pavel Sladecek 11/4, 11/4, 11/4, and
the match was made secure by Emma Beddoes who defeated
Olga Ertlova 11/5, 11/6, 11/4. Joel was left to play his second
dead rubber of the day against Jaroslav Cech and ran out a
comfortable winner 11/8, 11/8, 11/5.
GB can expect tougher opposition tomorrow in a bid to reach
Thursday's final and all players will be looking to raise their
games in a match up against the number two seeded Malaysians.
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Australians guaranteed
a top eight finish
Andrew Dent reports
Australia is guaranteed a top eight finish at the World University
Teams’ Squash Championships in Cairo after they defeated Germany 2-1
on Tuesday.
The Australians will now meet Austria to determine whether they play
off for the 5/6 positions or 7/8.
Earlier in the day the Australian team of Nathan Turnbull
(University of Queensland), Rex Hedrick and Melody Francis (both
Deakin University) went down to an Egyptian team featuring three
players inside the top 50 in the world professional rankings.
Francis said the conditions took some getting used to.
“We had to play Egypt at 10am and then Germany at 2pm on the
three-wall glass court, which has hardly any air-conditioning,” she
said. “That meant we had extreme heat conditions.”
Turnbull was first up against Egypt, taking on world No.23 Omar
Mosaad – the Egyptian proving too good for Turnbull winning 11-2,
11-7, 11-4.
Francis then took on Omneya Abdel Kawy, the world No.10.
Francis put up a great fight, taking the challenge right up to the
Egyptian before falling 12-10, 11-5, 9-11, 11-7.
In the final match Hedrick played Tarek Momen, world No.48, and
again fought hard in an 11-6, 16-14, 11-6 loss.
“Personally, I think the team did exceptionally well against the
Egyptians,” Francis said.
In the afternoon matches against Germany, Turnbull beat Markus Voit
11-8, 11-6, 14-2 before Francis went down to Kathrin Rohrmuller
12-10, 11-7, 11-9.
Hedrick then put Australia into the top eight with a thrilling 11-6,
11-5, 11-9 win over Moritz Dahmen.
The next World University Squash Championships will be held in
Melbourne in 2010, with Monash University the host university.
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INDIVIDUAL EVENT |
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Mon 25th, Individual Finals:
[1] Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt [3/4] Tarek Momen (Egy)
11/5, 11/7, 7/11, 11/6
[2] Raneem El Weleily (Egy) bt [1] Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egy)
3/11, 11/5, 4/11, 11/9, 11/9
Men's 3rd/4th: [2] Omar Mosaad (Egy)
bt [3/4 Nafiizwan Adnan (Mas) 11/3,
11/3, 11/2
Women's 3rd/4th: [3/4] Alana Miller (Can) bt [3/4] Emma Beddoes (Gbr)
walkover |
It's Ramy and Raneem
It was always likely to be an Egyptian double - the first in the six
stagings of this event - the one remaining
question was who would take the gold and silver medals, and in the
event it was Ramy Ashour and Raneem El Weleily who
collected the World University Championship golds at the National
Stadium in Cairo.
Ramy, a student at the Naval Academy, was pushed hard by his fast-rising compatriot Tarek Momen, who
had upset second seed Omar Mosaad to reach the final, but the world
number four prevailed in four games.
The women's final was contested by the players who between them have
won the last three world junior titles, and it was the current
holder of that title Raneem who prevailed in five games, twice
coming from behind to record
her first win (according to WISPA records) over Omneya.
Both having won the world junior title twice, it seems fitting that
Ramy and Raneem should add the World Universities title to their
growing collections.
Omar Mosaad made it a clean sweep for Egypt on the men's
podium as he eased past Nafiizwan Adnan in straight games, while the
women's bronze went to Canada's Alana Miller who was awarded
a walkover against an exhausted Emma Beddoes. |
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Day Three, Semi-Finals:
[1] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [3/4 Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS)
11/3, 11/5, 11/6
[3/4] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt
[2] Omar Mosaad (EGY)
7/11, 11/8, 11/5, 12/10
[1] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) bt
[3/4] Emma Beddoes (GBR) 11/9, 8/11, 7/11, 11/2, 11/5
[2] Raneem El Weleily (EGY) bt
[3/4] Alana Miller (CAN)
9/11, 11/4, 11/8, 11/4
All-Egyptian finals in Cairo
 The
semi-finals of the World University championships in Cairo produced
the result the home crowd wanted, with four Egyptians winning
through to the finals.
Top seed Ramy Ashour won easily enough, but in the other
men's semi Tarek Momen produced an upset to beat his higher-ranked
compatriot Omar Mosaad in four games.
World junior champion Raneem El Weleily reached the final
with a four-game win over Alana Miller, while top seed Omneya
Abdel Kawy, had to recover from 2/1 down against Emma Beddoes to
secure the all-Egyptian lineup.
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Team
GB Diary, Day Three:
Semis & Playoffs
Jon Tate reports
First on court today was Sarah Bowles in her match up against
Stephanie Edmison from Canada. Sarah was the favourite going into
the match however another night of sickness had left Sarah looking
pale and ultimately struggling for form. She lost the first two
games 15/13, 11/2 and looked like she was heading for a quick 3-0
defeat.
Sarah rallied in the third however and after staying with her
opponent throughout the early stages, she moved ahead late in the
game and snatched it 11/9. The forth was much the same and could
have gone either way, however two mistakes from the tiring Canadian
gave Bowles the game 12/10. An unlikely victory was now possible
however a spent Bowles took to the court in the fifth and quickly
found the match moving away from her before losing 11/4 and the
match 3/2.
This marked the end of competition for Sarah in the Individual event
as she promptly retired from her last match choosing to save herself
for the team competition and as a consequence finished the event in
a disappointing 16th position.
Joel Hinds was next up against Ho Fai Chiu from Hong Kong.
Joel controlled the match throughout and was always ahead in every
game winning 11/9, 11/8, 11/7. This put him in the 9th / 10th
play-off position to play Colin West from Canada and again Joel came
out on top winning 12/10, 11/8, 11/9.
The big match of the day for GB was the Women’s semi-final match
between Emma Beddoes and number one seed Omneya Abdel Kawy.
A poor start from Emma ended up with her quickly going 5-0 down in
the first game, however a good forehand drop winner helped her to
settle down and she then stepped up and started to play the better
squash.
Unfortunately the head start was too great to overcome and she ended
up losing the first 11/9. No such early mistakes in the second and
third however as Emma led from the front in both games and took a
well deserved 2/1 lead winning 11/8, 11/7. At the end of the third
it was evident that Emma was starting to tire and that the sickness
bug that has hit every member of the team was starting to become a
factor.
The GB team were still hopeful that Emma would not ultimately pay
for her slow start in the first as with the exception of the first 5
points it was not unfair to say that Emma had been the better player
and could have justified a 3-0 victory. Unfortunately it did come
back to haunt her however and a fading Beddoes went on to lose the
next two games 11/2, 11/5 in quick time and the match 3-2.
Emma will now be the only GB player in action on the final day of
the Individual competition, and faces a tough match against Alana
Miller from Canada to decide the Bronze medal.
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Momen makes the upset
Kawy v Miller
Beddoes receives advice |
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Opening Ceremony Magic ...
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 23-Aug,
Day Two:
Tops seeds progress on Day Two
Two rounds of action in Cairo saw the men's and women's draws reach
the semi-final stage with the top seeds all coming safely through.
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Day Two Results:
Men's Quarter-Finals:
[1] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt
[5/8] Aqeel Rehman (AUT)
11/3, 11/6, 11/5
[3/4 Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS) bt
[5/8] Nafzahizam Adnan (MAS) 10/12, 11/9, 9/11, 11/7, 11/7
[3/4] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt
[5/8] Alan Clyne (GBR)
11/5, 11/7, 12/10
[2] Omar Mosaad (EGY) bt
[5/8] Jethro Binns (GBR)
11/5, 6/3 rtd
Men's 3rd round:
[1] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [9/16] Joel Hinds (GBR)
11/5, 11/5, 11/3
[5/8] Aqeel Rehman (AUT) bt [9/16] Devon Hendrikse (RSA)
11/4, 11/3, 11/7
[3/4] Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS) bt [9/16] Rex Hedrick (AUS)
7/11, 11/8, 11/5, 11/8
[5/8] Nafzahizam Adnan (MAS) bt Chiu Ho Fai (HKG)
12/10, 7/11, 12/10, 11/7
[5/8] Alan Clyne (GBR) bt Markus Schwartz (GER)
11/4, 11/6, 11/2
[3/4] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt Colin West (CAN)
11/7, 11/9, 11/7
[5/8] Jethro Binns (GBR) bt Fred Reid (CAN)
11/8, 11/7, 11/4
[2] Omar Mosaad (EGY) bt [9/16] Benjamin Fischer (SUI)
11/4, 11/4, 11/2
Women's Quarter-Finals:
[1] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) bt
[5/8] Lucie Fialova (CZE)
11/3, 11/6, 11/6
[3/4] Emma Beddoes (GBR) bt [9/16] Birgit Coufal (AUT)
11/3, 11/3, 11/9
[3/4] Alana Miller (CAN) bt
[5/8] Siti Munirah Jusoh (MAS)
11/7, 11/7, 11/7
[2] Raneem El Weleily (EGY) bt
[5/8] Lim Yoke Wah (MAS)
11/7, 11/9, 11/9
Women's Round Two:
[1] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) bt Sarah Bowles (GBR)
11/5, 7/11, 11/3, 11/2
[5/8] Lucie Fialova (CZE) bt Kristen Lange (USA)
11/5, 11/6, 11/7
[3/4] Emma Beddoes (GBR) bt [9/16] Melody Francis (AUS)
11/7, 11/5, 11/3
[9/16] Birgit Coufal (AUT) bt
[5/8] Stephanie Edmison (CAN)
11/4, 12/10, 11/7
[5/8] Siti Munirah Jusoh (MAS) bt [9/16] Olivia Hauser (SUI)
11/7, 7/11, 9/11, 11/7, 11/8
[3/4] Alana Miller (CAN) bt [9/16] Kathrin Rohrmueller (GER)
6/11, 16/14, 11/9, 11/7
[5/8] Lim Yoke Wah (MAS) bt [9/16] Olga Ertlova (CZE)
11/6, 11/6, 11/3
[2] Raneem El Weleily (EGY) bt Gaby Schmohl (SUI)
11/9, 12/10, 11/5
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Team GB Diary, Day
Two:
Mixed fortunes for GB players in Cairo!
Jon Tate reports
 First
on court for team GB today was Sarah Bowles in her match
against Omneya Abdel Kawy. With nothing to lose Sarah gave it her
all and played well looking at all times to take the match to the
Egyptian.
In the first Omneya showed her class by punishing any lose width or
short length with some excellent drop shots and took the game 11/5.
In the second however Sarah tightened up her game and displayed some
excellent shots of her own to lead 5-1.
Despite Omneya coming back at Sarah to level at 7-7 Sarah continued
to hold her nerve and went on to level the match at 1-1 taking the
game 11/8. Unfortunately that was as good as it got for Sarah in
this match however because after being up all night with sickness
she began to tire and Omneya stepped up to punish anything loose. A
short time later Sarah had lost 3-1 with
Omneya taking the last two games 11/3, 11/2.
Sarah said afterwards ‘I’m really pleased with the way that I
played, and I am going to take confidence from that match. I proved
to myself that I can play well against a top player in the world and
now must look to take that belief into my other matches.
Better luck for Team GB in the other ladies singles match however as
Emma Beddoes opened her account in this tournament with a
comprehensive 3-0 victory (11/7, 11/4, 11/2) over Melody Francis of
Australia. Overall Emma looked comfortable in this match and now
moves on to face the much improved Birgit Couval of Austria in the
last eight.
Joel Hinds was the other GB player to lose today going down
3-0 to number 1 seed Ramy Ashour. Like Sarah, Joel had spent the
entire previous evening not sleeping due to sickness and had spent
the morning visiting the tournament doctor. This less than ideal
preparation to play the World number 4 quickly showed in this match
as a rather weak looking Joel struggled to contend with the vast
array of shots coming from the Egyptian racket. Ramy took control in
every game and ultimately ran out a comfortable winner 11/5, 11/5,
11/3.
“I’m absolutely gutted said Joel afterwards. Its not every day I get
the chance to play players in the top 10 and I wanted to see where
my game is at right now. Unfortunately I was so weak it was almost a
waste of time. I just hope I can start to feel better this afternoon
as I have to play again this evening!’
Alan Clyne is through to the last 8 however with a
comfortable 3-0 win over German Markus Scwarz. Controlling the match
from the start Alan took control of the T and rarely let the German
player take the initiative ultimately winning 11/4, 11/6, 11/2. He
know faces the in form Tarek Momen (3/4 seed) and will have to be on
top form if he is to reach the semi-finals.
Jethro Binns also progressed to the last 8 with a 3-0 win over
Frederick Reid of Canada. Playing in a relaxed and confident mood
Jethro led in every game and ultimately won the match 11/8, 11/7,
11/3. Like Alan and Joel, Jethro now faces Egyptian opposition in
number 2 seed Omar Mosaad.
Speaking about this match Jethro said ‘I am looking forward to
playing a player on the verge of breaking into the top 20, and using
this game to test my own playing credentials. I’m feeling confident
and hope I can perform to the best of my ability in this match.
Quarter Finals and Play Offs
Emma Beddoes kicked off the afternoon with a win that now
takes her through to the semi-final stage to play Omneya Abdel Kawy.
Up against the now full time Birgit Coufal of Austria, Emma
controlled the match from the start and went on to win the match
11/3, 11/3, 11/9. Like Sarah before her Emma is now looking forward
to a crack at the number 1 seed and hopes to provide a serious test
for the World number 9.
‘I try not to think too hard about my matches in advance, however
I’m feeling pretty good and I’m going to give it my best!
Sarah Bowles and Joel Hinds were next on court playing
in the 9/16 play off places.
Sarah was up against Kristen Lange from the USA and was hopeful of
repeating some of the form she showed in the morning match. Sarah
started the brightest taking the first two games 12/10, 11/5 however
in the third Sarah seemed to lose her concentration and allowed the
American into the match. This was to prove costly as Sarah never
seemed to regain her composure and began trying to force the play.
This played into the hands of the gutsy American, and despite having
match ball Sarah went on to lose the match 3-2 (12/10, 11/5, 8/11,
9/11, 11/13).
Joel was up against Devon Hendrikse from South Africa. Still
feeling the effects of a lack of sleep and sickness Joel was not
quite his usual self however he got off to a good start taking the
first two games 11/9, 12/10. Starting to flag Joel took a rest in
the third and lost the game 1/11, however a big last push in a
fourth game that was short on quality but high in tension resulted
in Joel taking the game 16/14 and the match 3-1.
‘I’m just relived to get off to be honest. I was really struggling
by the forth and the last thing I needed was a fifth game. I managed
to save a few game balls in that one and I had to dig in to come
through. Hopefully I will be feeling stronger tomorrow.’
Alan Clyne was up against 3/4 seed Tarek Momen from Egypt.
Struggling to get up to the speed of the game Alan was pressured
into mistakes by the quality of the drops and length coming from the
Egyptian and lost the first two 11/5, 11/7. In the third however
Alan led throughout the game and had game ball before ultimately
losing 12/10 and the match 3-0.
Worse was still to come for team GB in the match between Jethro
Binns and number 2 seed Omar Mosaad from Egypt. Jethro was
clearly lulling his opponent into a false sense of security as after
losing the first 11/5, and trailing 6-3 in the second disaster
struck when Jethro lunged for a ball in the front left corner,
slipped on the court and was forced to retire with a suspected tear
of his right hamstring.
‘I’m gutted said Jethro afterwards. Not only did I have him just
where I wanted him but it looks like this injury could mean its the
end of my involvement at these Championships! I’m going to see the
doctor now, but I can’t put any weight on my leg at all and I
definitely felt something go! I can’t believe it!’
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Binns on
Day Two ...
The mood in the camp is far from bouyant as the majority of the
squad have been damaging the doulton for the past 48 hours.
Coach Worth is the latest member of the squad to be struck down by
the joys of Egyptian food. He has spent the morning sweating
in bed in a room where the air conditioning no longer functions. He
was last heard mentioning something about the eye of a needle, I
don't know what he meant.
Joel is now feeling a bit better and managed to win his playoff
match this morning and moves into the 9-10 playoffs later on today.
This is an impressive feat as he has no water left in his body and
is sweating pure crystals.
Sarah (blasting the) Bowles is struggling with a dicky tum and has
now withdrawn from the individual event in preparation for the
teams.
Alan is now in the unusual position of being the least miserable
person in the group. A special achievement for a Scotsman. Obviously
relieved at now not facing fellow celt Jethro in the 5-8 playoffs he
can enjoy a day of rest from competition.
A practice match is in progress with manager Jon Tate as we speak
who has been preparing for such an eventuality by stealing physio
time from the players and requesting feeding sessions from Joel in
between matches.
Jethro is probably the most miserable person in Egypt, if not the
whole world at present. Struggling to even put his own shoes on he,
now faces 5 days of hanging around as a change of flight will cost
in excess of £900. He awaits assessment from team physio Rachel
Calver to diagnose the extent of his injury.
Binns bows out |
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TEAM
GB DIARY
Day 1 of competition, by Emma Beddoes
 An
early morning start after shared spoils of previous night’s rummy
with manager Tatey still complaining that Beddoes didn’t
reveal all the rules early enough in the game and therefore was
unable to fulfil his obvious potential.
First on court Bowles faced Greek opponent Eliza Kargioti and
won through 11/ 3, 11/4, 11/4 in 17 minutes. She faces a somewhat
tougher proposition tomorrow in the form of 9 in the world Omneya
Abdel Kawy. Not one to be daunted Bowlesy is looking forward to
the challenge while assistant to the manager Worth is looking
forward to a few more “stroke Balls” from the referee in the
morning!
 Shortly
before lunch Hinds got off to a flyer 11/3 11/4 before
promptly forgetting the location of the side walls, preferring
instead the more spacious centre of the court. He battled to a 12/10
win over German Markus Voith in 27 minutes.
Play was temporarily suspended while all players and officials were
transported over to the stadium for the official opening of the 2008
World University Championships. The 2000 noisy supporters who
greeted the walk-on of the Egyptian team had obviously taken
inspiration from that other lesser-known world sporting competition
going on at the moment somewhere in China. Dancers, women with
candlesticks on their heads, break-dancers and a chicken were among
the highlights of the quite spectacular televised show.
The excitement had only just abated before Clyney took to the
court and the crowd struggled to contain themselves again early in
the first as he slotted in a filthy backhand back corner nick. Known
for his flamboyant Egyptian inspired playing style, a mere 40
minutes later he had ground out the 11/7 13/11 11/4 win against
South African Richard Colburn.
Final match of the day after Beddoes’s hard won bye was Welsh
boy Binns. A favourite with our adopted helper Eddie, Binns
did not disappoint with 11/9 12/10 11/2 win over Czech Jaroslav Cech.
When asked for a quote on his performance all he could muster was a
miserable “fold” as Clyney gladly stole most of his poker chips.
He will have to raise his levels of concentration tomorrow if he
hopes to proceed further in the competition as well as the squash
tournament.
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So Far So Good for Team GB in Cairo
Jon Tate reports
Day one and so
far its been a successful start by all of the GB Team in their first
round matches. Sarah Bowles kicked off with a comprehensive 3-0 win
over Greek girl Eliza Kargioti and now faces tough opposition in the
form of number 1 seed and current World Number 9 Omneya Abdel Kawy.
Sarah commented I’m pleased with how I played today and now I’m
looking forward to what will definitely be a tough test tomorrow.
I’ve never played her before but believe that I am capable of
giving her a good test.
Joel Hinds played German Markus Voith. Always in control of the
first two games he won 11/3, 11/4 however a lapse in concentration
in the third gave the German player a big lead and Joel had to fight
from behind and save 2 game balls before finally going on to win the
game 12/10 and the match 3-0.
Next up is top seed Ramy Ashour and Joel is hopeful he can stretch
the young Egyptian. I know he has been struggling with injuries
recently and has pulled out of his last two tournaments so I’m not
sure what shape he is in? My plan is to play hard, try and push him
in the early games and see how he holds up, I’ve certainly got
nothing to lose!
Alan Clyne and Jethro Binns completed a good day for the GB Team
both winning their matches 3-0. Alan played South African Richard
Colburn and won 11/7 13/11 11/4 whilst Jethro played within himself
and beat Czech player Jaroslav Cech 11/9 12/10 11/2.
Both can expect tougher matches as they progress through the draw,
however both are determined to meet up and play the higher ranked
Egyptians Tarek Momen and Omar Mosaad in the quarter finals!
First however the must concentrate on the matches in hand, with Alan
up against Germam Markus Schwarz , and Jethro facing Canadian
Frederick Reid.
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World University Championships Boast World Class Fields
Home successes are predicted in the 6th World University Squash
Championships which are underway at the Cairo International Stadium
in Cairo, Egypt - boasting the strongest fields in the event’s
12-year history.
Players from a record 20 countries - representing all five
continents - are competing in the individual events which will reach
their finals on Monday, followed by the team event from 26-28
August.
Ramy Ashour, the world number four and a record two-time winner of
the Men’s World Junior title, is top seed in the men’s individual
event. The 20-year-old from Cairo beat Switzerland's Kevin Villiger
11-5, 11-4, 11-6 in the second round - and will now face Great
Britain's Joel Hinds for a place in the quarter-finals.
Hinds, a 9/16 seed representing Birmingham University, beat German
Markus Voit 11-3, 11-4, 12-10.
In Monday's final, Ashour is expected to face fellow countryman Omar
Mosaad, the 20-year-old world No23 who is also from the country’s
capital. Second seed Mosaad began his World University Championship
campaign with an 11-6, 11-4, 11-2 second round win over South
Korea's Se Hyun Lee.
Chiu Ho Fai (Hong Kong), Markus Schwartz (Germany) and Colin West
(Canada) produced notable upsets in the men's second round with
victories over 9/16 seeds Ondrej Ertl (Czech Republic), Nathan
Turnbull (Australia) and Pavel Sladecek (Czech Republic),
respectively.
A former world junior champion is also favourite to win the women’s
crown for the first time. Cairo-based Omneya Abdel Kawy, ranked 10
in the world, won the world U19 title in 2003. The 23-year-old is
expected to face reigning World Junior Champion Raneem El Weleily,
the second seed, in another all-Egyptian final.
But 19-year-old El Weleily, from Alexandria, may first have to beat
the reigning World University Champion Lim Yoke Wah, a 22-year-old
5/8 seed from Malaysia who is in El Weleily’s quarter of the draw.
While all three players received byes into the second round,
Switzerland's Gaby Schmohl claimed an unexpected place in the
women's last sixteen following an 11-8, 11-6, 11-5 victory over
Melissa Meulenbelt, a 9/16 seed from the Netherlands.
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Draws and
Day One Results
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Egypt dominate World
University seedings ...
Hosts Egypt dominate the seedings for the 6th World University
Championships to be held in Cairo next week.
Egypt's 2006 World Junior team champions Ramy Ashour, Omar
Mosaad and Tarek Momen top the men's list, while Omneya Abdel Kawy
and Raneem El Weleily, winners of the last three women's world
junior championships, are top seeds in the women's draw.
The draws will be made on Thursday 21st August ...
Women's Seedings |
Men's Seedings |
15-Aug-08:
Great Britain Students looking forward to Cairo ...
Jonathan Tate reports
GB students travel to Cairo next week for the team and individual
World University Championships and the players are excited at the
prospect of challenging for and bringing home some medals.
The team consists of the 2006 Men’s Individual Bronze Medalist
Joel Hinds (Birmingham), Alan Clyne (Edinburgh),
Jethro Binns (Loughborough), Emma Beddoes (Nottingham),
Sarah Bowles (Leeds) and is in the fortunate position of
retaining two of the players (Joel and Emma) who brought home the
Team Gold last time in Hungary (Chris Ryder also took individual
gold).
In 2006 the GB team was an all English affair, however this time
round the team has a different mix with a Scotsman (Alan), a
Welshman (Jethro) and an Englishman (Joel) joining the two English
girls.
These players have a lot to live up to, not least because they will
arrive in Cairo as the defending team champions. All are aware that
repeating that success of 2006 will be extremely difficult, as all
of the other nations continually seem to go from strength to
strength, and playing the hosts Egypt in their own back yard is
never going to be an easy task for anyone!
Despite this, Head Coach Keir Worth commented that he is
looking forward to the challenge of trying to retain the team title,
and is confident that after a hard summer of training and matches
the players will put in some good performances in both competitions.
 "All
of our players have now almost finished a hard summer training
programme, and with three of the players having recently turned
professional and with Joel due to do so next year this should be a
good test of their professional credentials.
"This group of players have all beaten and competed well at times
against some top world professional players, however it is the
concentration, application and consistency of performance that holds
the key to the next stage of their development."
Keir Worth
 Jethro
Binns is one of those players who Keir is referring to as he has
recently finished his degree at Loughborough University and having
decided to turn professional this competition marks the start of a
very busy period for the young Welshman.
Currently in Bogota, Columbia competing at
XI Abierto Colombiano, he
will have just one day back in England before heading out with the
GB Team to Cairo.
From there he is heading to America for a series of events in
Chicago, Houston and Baltimore, and after that its Wolverhampton,
Saudi and then the World Open in Manchester. Jethro, who is a member
of the Welsh Performance programme, has been working closely with
the sports science and a strength and conditioning coaches in
Cardiff, and has been training most days with coach Greg Tippings
and the other Welsh Players.
Like Jethro, both Alan Clyne and Emma Beddoes are also
now training professionally. Alan is the current 2008 Men’s BUSA
Champion, is a key member of the Scottish Performance programme
coached by Roger Flynn, and is the current Scottish number two
behind John White.
 Emma
on the other hand was the BUSA Champion in 2007, and since
graduating from Nottingham last summer she has continually and
steadily moved up to number 9 in the Under 23 WISPA rankings, and to
number 44 on the main WISPA tour.
Currently training at Nottingham Squash Club with a number of up and
coming young English players, Emma is also a member of the
Nottingham PSL team.
Joel Hinds and Sarah Bowles are the two players who
are currently still studying at university, and both are currently
funded by the UK Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS).
Joel is a member of the Birmingham University team that has won the
BUSA squash team championships for the past five seasons, and Sarah
is the 2008 BUSA Champion and an influential member of the Leeds
team that has reached the BUSA Team final for the past two years.
Joel has been a key member of the Birmingham PSL team that has
reached the semi-final stage on both of the past two seasons, and
Sarah is a regular member of the Pontefract Ladies Team that are the
current European Club Champions.
 GB
Team Manager |
www.squash2008.com
2006 Event
 "We
have all been working really hard this summer and we’re looking
forward to taking our increased level of fitness into a sustained
period of playing tough competitive matches.
"We all realise that we will certainly get that at these
championships and I know all of us are really looking forward to
performing well at this competition.
"Roll on Cairo!"
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Joel Hinds |
Bowles & Beddoes |
Alan Clyne |
18-Jul-08:
Australia chooses first ever university squash team
Andrew Dent reports
Deakin University pair Rex Hedrick and Melody Francis
will join the University of Queensland’s Nathan Turnbull in
the first ever Australian squash team to compete at a World
University Squash Championships.
The championships, which are held every two years, will take place
this year in Cairo from August 22-28.
The decision to send a team to Cairo came after Squash Australia and
Australian University Sport began working closely together to
promote squash in the university sector.
All three Australian players had successful junior careers and all
have played tournaments on the men’s and women’s professional tours.
The 22-year-old Turnbull said he was unsure of the level of
competition he would face in Cairo, but predicted a very strong home
team.
 “It’s
hard to know, because we don’t know who are university students and
who aren’t,” he said. “Egypt will probably have a really strong team
because they have so many young guys hanging around the top 50 in
the world.”
Turnbull combines his psychology degree with coaching a Brisbane
junior team and his own personal training for the men’s professional
tour. He said the decision to send a team to these championships
would boost squash in universities.
“A lot of the younger guys I coach are already talking about it and
thinking they have a chance to play for Australia if they go on to
university,” he said. Hedrick, 19, a scholarship holder, with the
Victorian Institute of Sport, is in his second year studying sport
and exercise at Deakin University.
“I’m really excited about going to Egypt – I think it’ll be a really
good experience,” Hedrick said. “I know some of the players from
Canada who are going, and they are pretty good so I know it’s not
going to be easy.”
 Francis,
who is also 19, won the Czech Junior Open in 2007 and represented
Australia at the Women’s World Junior Championships in Hong Kong
last year.
She played her first tournament on the main women’s professional
tour earlier this year, reaching the semi-finals of the Top End Open
in Darwin.
Australian team
Nathan Turnbull 22 University of Queensland
Rex Hedrick 19 Deakin University
Melody Francis 19 Deakin University
Reserves:
Nathan Kam 20 Macquarie University
Rebecca Jones 20 University of Canberra |
www.squash2008.com
2006 Event |
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