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DAY SEVEN: FINALS

                   [2] England 2-1 [4] Australia

                [1]   Nick Matthew 2-3 David Palmer             9/11, 9/11, 11/7, 11/2, 4/11 (82m)
                [2]   James Willstrop 3-0 Stewart Boswell     11/8, 11/7, 12/10 (65m)
                [3]   Peter Barker 3-0 Cameron Pilley           11/6, 11/3, 11/8 (60m)

A Noisy Start

There was quite some fanfare at the start of the match as young kids escorted the teams into the arena to the sound of drums and piped music.

The two teams exchanged pennants before the start of the match.

One bunch of kids sitting near the England camp raised a chant: "Come on England," and kids in the Aussie camp returned with "Come on Australia!"

England coach Paul Carter had to tell his newfound supporters not to get excited so early, and the noise levels went down ...
  

"Greg played an excellent match, he was hungry for revenge after his recent defeats against the world number one, and dug in deep to clinch the victory.

"The team is satisfied with another medal for the World Championship, the third medal in three editions (silver in 2003, and bronze in 2005).

"Let's not forget the long journey which brought France to this place, as one of the world's top nations for a few years now.

"We were seeded three, and we finish third. Now, it is an understatement that the players were hoping for more, they wanted the title. But such is sport....!

"The French team is a real team, and it has proven it today yet again ..."


France Technical Director

"Nick played better, that’s why he won those two games. At 6-4 in the third I thought I had done it and dropped my concentration.

"Nick has always been a fighter and he came back strongly. But in the decider I didn’t panic, started well and was happy to win.

"To beat Shabana and Nick in a couple of days feels great stuff."

"The charm of team games was there to see. You can lose your match yet the team wins. I did my best, but David is an exceptional player when it comes to playing the big points.

"I think he got tired in the third and fourth games especially as I was never going to `die’. But he held o, how he keeps his composure is something for us to learn.

"James and Peter are my best friends, I am happy for them.  Celebrations will be hold till after the English Open.

"I didn’t feel bad about missing the final. This game is about the team not the individual.

"I had my moments, like beating Karim Darwish at No 2 in the win at the last worlds at Islamabad.

"To have defended the title was a great feat. Winning back-to-back titles proves how good a team we are."

"We are over the moon. This is the stuff we dream about. It’s the stuff to cherish, winning a world championship. It’s a major achievement on court.

"We had to play a lot of tournaments but were able to maintain the freshness. Brilliant  and fantastic. "

"I did feel the pressure of playing the decider initially. But I played the basic game and a simple one, going straight to the front and making it hard. The pressure came back in the third but I decided to be patient. It worked."

"Our No 2 and No 3 men played to form, kept us ahead of Australia. Nick too raised his game but it is always hard to  beat David. But after we were one-down James and Peter kept their cool.

"Pilley felt the pressure more than Peter. It is the team which can  tackle this pressure that is the  winner. Our boys needed good starts and got them. This momentum makes such a difference.

"It was not possible to have a camp before this event because the players are playing all over the world. But thanks to the support of Sport England  the support staff, Paul Carter, and Phil Newton, who travel with the players to some  tournaments. That way we can keep tab on their fitness and performance.

"Above all our team spirit is very strong ...."
  

England manager and national coach

"It was really a great world team final.

"We were the underdogs at No 4, but David Palmer was exceptional while beating Nick Mathew. He did well to win the crucial points otherwise Nick may have had his day.

"Winning the first game makes a difference for the underdogs, we did that against Egypt and that’s how we won. When David had allowed Nick to level I told him that he had to move forward, he was hanging back and allowing Nick to dominate, that way he could cut off the shots early. He made the changes and won the decider.

"James was too strong for Boswell. Peter was solid. The England boys had a better day."


Australia coach

DAY SIX: SEMI-FINALS

                    [1] Egypt 1-2 [4] Australia

                 [3]  Mohammed Abbas bt Cameron Pilley    7/11, 11/7, 11/4, 11/8 (62m)
                 [1]  Amr Shabana lost David Palmer            8/11, 6/11, 11/6, 6/11 (55m)
                 [2]  Karim Darwish lost Stewart Boswell       8/11, 11/7, 9/11, 8/11 (73m)

                   [2] England 2-1 [3] France

                 [3] Peter Barker bt Renan Lavigne                  11/6, 11/6, 11/6 (42m)
                 [1]  Nick Matthew bt Grégory Gaultier             11/3, 11/6, 11/4 (41m)
                 [2]  James Willstrop lost Thierry Lincou           10/12, 8/11 (25m)

Semi-Finals

World Open Champion Amr Shabana, the star attraction of the event, lost in four games to David Palmer in the second tie after No 3 Mohammed Abbas had beaten Cameron Pilley with some confident strokeplay in the opener.



In the decider, Karim Darwish, tried his best in spite of his recent injuries but the fitter Stewart Boswell - who had taken Shabana to five games in the World Open first round - kept getting everything back to win 3-1 to give the Aussies a famous win.

For the first time in the tournament world class players were pitted against one another. In such cases past reputation and record has no relevance, the one that plays better on the day is the winner. Amr Shabana just didn’t produce his wonted shots.

Palmer, on the other hand, kept him busy in the back of the court. There were several obstructions as Palmer refused to budge from the `T’ and Shabana tried his best to do that.

In the end the strain of the past five weeks in which he won four events told on Shabana.

"This result was not expected. David had lost to Shabana at Bermuda, he played a lot better here. The courts were slippery there they are good here.

"Aussies are strong in squash but the people don’t want to come to play competitively for it takes a lot of time. They want everything fast, fast food, they use it as a means of fitness in the fastest time. The inhouse and heated courts are usually full and at junior level the outlook is good because they have a lot of time for tournaments.

"We have squash at most of our sports institutes at Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane and Adelaide where I come from."


Squash Australia president

It was sad to see Shabana almost in tears sitting on the stairs for a long while. The Frenchmen kept glancing at him from time to time with a tense look as if fearing that their time could also come for that.



And it turned out exactly that way as England shut them out.

England Shut out France

England played No4 Peter Barker at third string as Lee Beachill had a bad tummy. Barker won the opener against Renan Lavigne in three straight games. Then came the second upset of the day as World No 5 Nick Matthew beat World No 3 Gregory Gaultier also, 3-0. In the `dead’ rubber Thierry Lincou beat James Willstrop 2-0.

When told that an `Ashes’-like battle will be fought out in the final of the ICL World Men’s Team Championship here on Wednesday Matthew, who had been instrumental in that happening, said:

"Australia beats us in several sports, I hope we can beat them in squash. I am pleased to be in the final but not over the moon, it’s a half job done, it will be fifty-fifty for the final. I was the team mascot when the last time we lost to Australia in Melbourne 2001."

"Greg Gaultier looked stale. In Bermuda he was looking great, but he has had a long run, it was bound to happen. In comparison Nick, who also plays a lot, works hard on staying mentally fresh, and Peter Barker doesn’t reach too many title rounds to get drained.

"It was certainly one of the best England performances I have seen."


England manager

"Nick Matthew was too strong today, and Gregory too tired both mentally and physically by his last tournaments.

"He had the will before getting on court, but once in the cage, we could feel that he wouldn't go and pick up the balls. Which led him to make too many unforced errors by looking for winning shots.


France Technical Director

"I was devastated. I wanted to Australia a good start. But Mohammed played well."

"We had no pressure being No 4 seeds, but  It’s always great to play for Australia.

In Bermuda he played well, I didn't play. Here I played well and he looked tired.

"Anyone who has won four titles would be, I am surprised Egypt used him in every match. You need a break. The mental tiredness is terrible more than physical."

"It’s a fantastic result. We played as a team and were sharp. David was great, he had lost four times to Shabana this year. Pilley had a strong game though he lost. Stewart kept a cool head to win against a higher ranked player.

"We were happy the pressure was off us as fourth seeds, but we respected every opponent. Australia last won at Vienna four years ago and David and Stewart were there. Anthony Ricketts has retired but we hope we win again."


Aussie coach

"Renan beat me last September, so I was careful this time."



"England were better today. Against Barker I was good in the first half of the games, but every time I played the ball short, it turned into a loose shot.

"It's obviously a great disappointment. We all took the building on the head, but we'll be back mentally for tomorrow's, and for that third place.

"The analysis of the event, we'll do after the last match. Like two years, it will be a question of desire to win, and we'll do our best for that desire to have the French colours on!"

"Nick was too fresh, he played a super match, but I, with all my will to beat our opponents, I just couldn't do what I wanted, it's a whole really, the accumulation of too many matches these past weeks.

"Still, I'm looking forward to playing Shabana tomorrow to take my revenge on my last three defeats against him, but most of all, to retain the bronze medal we acquired two years ago."



"Greg beat me in the World Open semis, so I had to stay mentally stronger."

It is rare indeed for my writings to make much sense, but for once my semi final preview looks like the work of a clairvoyant. Naturally I was delighted at England's win over France, which surprisingly turned out far easier than expected, but Australia's win over Egypt did not surprise me one jot.

The loss of Ramy Ashour was serious for Egypt, but no more so than the loss of Anthony Ricketts for Australia.

So to a finely balanced final. Nick Matthew was already thinking about the world teams before he left Bermuda and the top string match with the redoutable David Palmer is heavyweight indeed. Stewart Boswell played well in defeat against Amr Shabana in Bermuda and clinched the match for his country in the semi finals. His match with James Willstrop who has had little to do, cannot be other than close. Perhaps with Lee Beachill or Peter Barker at three England have a slight advantage, but it is marginal. 

It all adds up to what should be a thrilling climax to the championships, between genuine team players. My heart is obviously with England for a multitude of reasons, one of which is that should Australia win, I will be plagued with telephone calls from a certain Australian Tony Smith, the Great Britain Rugby League  coach.

Match Ball, Nick/Greg
(©FFSquash/Francois Timour)

Semi-Finals Day ...
the rest of the world

Where's Joshna ?

"Where's Joshna Chinappa?" someone asked at the championship, because there have been local women players of India like Deepika Pallikal and Anwesha Reddy around this week.



Joshna's father Anjan who was there to watch and applaud Ritiwk's effort against Egypt on Monday, said: "Joshna is in South Africa training with fitness expert Heath Matthews."

Heath sometime ago worked with another India star tennis icon Sania Mirza during her comeback from injury.

So we should see a better Joshna in the circuit next time around. Because of her ranking Joshna has been often run into the top seeds in the early rounds and bit the dust, although she once had a US Open semi-final spot.

Before she left for Durban Joshna received an award for achievers at the hands of India's lady President Pratibha Patil.
 

Walker watches
over US

Former England great and current US coach Chris Walker was disappointed over the team's showing against South Africa.

"South Africa had a lesson in squash for us. My boys learnt what it is to play a big match, I hope the players realise that they can't take things for granted. There is one thing in learning what to do, another how to execute it."



Asked for a silver lining, Walker said: "There is this article in the New York Times which says squash is growing in the US. That parents are realising that if their kids play squash they have a good chance of getting into the universities where squash is big.''

Indian kids and their parents realised this decades ago. Anil `Lucky' Nayar, from Bombay (NOW MUMBAI), a Drysdale Cup winner, went to the US in the sixties on a squash scholarship and won not only the US collegiate title but also the US Open title.

In his wake over a hundred boys and girls followed suit and they brought glory for their universities. Lads like Dinyar Ali Khan, Adrian Ezra,Akhil Behl, Rishad Pandole, and more recently Siddharth Suchde, Akhil Behl, Indian 1997 champ, who was a collegiate semi-finalist is here for the World team. He recalled beating current US player Julian Illingworth, a Yale freshman, at the collegiate event. He said Julian had improved by leaps and bounds.

There was a time when US played hard ball and it was thought that the problem of transition to soft ball would delay the advance of the players.

Walker said: "Today's kids have begun only with soft ball so there's no problem there. The only problem will be application.''

He also wanted the sport to grow nationwide rather than stay in pockets like the east cost and some other centres.

In the end he said; "Watch out for Dillon, a 12-year-old I am coaching at the next Drysdale Cup ..."

The Blue Corner
Renan Lavigne, #2

Jesse beats Julian

Spain beat Kenya

       QUARTER-FINALS       playing order 2-1-3

       [1] EGYPT beat [10] INDIA 3-0
            Wael El Hindi 3-0 Ritwik Bhattacharya     13/11, 11/4 11/8 (44m)
            Amr Shabana 3-0 Saurav Ghosal            11/5, 11/8, 11/9 (30m)
                          Mohamed Abbas 2-0 Siddharth Suchde   11/6, 11/8 (22m)

   [4] AUSTRALIA beat [6] CANADA 3-0
         Stewart Boswell 3-0 Mathew Giuffre      11/4, 11/8, 11/4 (33m)
         David Palmer 3-1 Shahier Razik           10/12, 11/7, 11/6, 11/6 (64m)
                           Cameron Pilley 2-0 Shawn Delierre      11/3, 11/7 (16m)

     [3] FRANCE beat [5] MALAYSIA 3-0
             Thierry Lincou 3-0 Ong Beng Hee         11/9 11/6 12/10  (36m)
             Gregory Gaultier 3-1 Azlan Iskandar    11/8, 11/7, 9/11, 11/7 (48m)
                          Renan Lavigne 2-1 Muhd Asyraf           11/8, 10/12, 11/5

    [2] ENGLAND beat [8] NETHERLANDS 3-0
           James Willstrop 3-1 Tom Hoevenaars     11/6, 11/7, 9/11, 11/8 (40m)
           Nick Mathew 3-0 Laurens Jan Anjema     11/6, 11/6, 11/9 (40m)
                          Peter Barker 2-0 Piedro Schweertman    11/4, 11/2 (20m)
  

Top four
through to Semis

One all-European semi ...

Defending champions England blanked giant-killers Holland 3-0 and amazed the Indian squash buffs by then having a workout on the all-glass centre court where they play tomorrow's semi-final against France, who beat Malaysia 3-0.

French star world number 3 Gregory Gaultier said: "I am happy I had a competitive the match against Azlan." Thierry Lincou also had a keen tie against Ong Beng Hee, who had his moments in the opening and closing games.

And one Antipodean-African

The other semi-final pits top seeds Egypt against many-time winners Australia. Egypt beat India 3-0 despite resting number two Karim Darwish and Australia beat Canada 3-0 with only David Palmer having problems getting past Shahier Razik.

Razik, a top 20 player, worried the Aussie with his consistent returns, the occasional drop from back, and his returning ability and sudden winners stumped Palmer in the opening game which he lost over extra points. But when Palmer slowed him down he suddenly lost control of the game.

Stewart Boswell had earlier given Australia the lead and Cameron Pilley wrapped up the dead rubber for the Aussies.

India beaten but not disgraced

Ritiwik Bhattacharya lost the first game against Wael El Hindi on extra points 13-11, not having much luck with refereeing decisions as he went on to lose in three. "I wish I had the luck in the first, it would have been a different match. In the next two it was a slugfest," said Ritwik.



Saurav Ghoshal played his shots against World Champ Amr Shabana, who played them well thanks to the accuracy and width of his shots, especially the crosscourts. Saurav did have him stumped with a volley drop or two and some drives to length, but Shabana went through 11-5, 11-8, 11-9.

In the third tie Siddharth Suchde could not perform as well as the other two, losing the dead rubber tie to Mohammed Abbas 6-11, 8-11.

"It was a totally different level," said Suchde. "The length of the shots that came back at you was totally different than you expected. They have that kind of touch."

The tenth seeds, who made this round for the first time and were rewarded by the Squash Rackets Federation of India with a Rs 2.5 bonanza, now play for 5-8 positions meeting sixth seeds Canada.

Power back next time for Canada

In Tuesday’s tie against Canada all eyes will be on veteran Jonathan Power who is still playing for Canada despite retiring from the pro tour almost two years ago. It appears he has some back pain and was rested from Canada’s game against Australia.
  

"Nick Matthew had a good run-up to the semi-final with his match against LJ Anjema, but James Willstrop was a little out of focus against Tom Hoevenaars.

"We beat France in a four-player Euro match but lost last time we had a three-player affair."

"It’s amazing how when the Egyptians want to win a point they do so."


Former Indian champion

"Saurav is fast, has good hands, if he stays hungry he can make the top 20 and go higher.

"Ritwik had some unlucky calls from the referee. But for that he could have made the match interesting."



"Amr has fantastic racketwork, it's phenomenal how much width he gets on the crosscourts."

"I’m feeling sore. I have respect for the Indian players. It will be a tight match."

"I remember Mumbai and the Mahindra Open ... Jansher beat me 15-13 in the decider of the semi-finals ..."

Looking good for India & Asia

"The win over Wales can only be good for the sport in the country. We knew it was possible but we had our fingers crossed. I am happy for the boys.

"I'm looking forward to taking the sport forward in Asia. India, Malaysia and Hong Kong are pushing it. Singapore, once a force, has fallen back, also Thailand, but China will come if it becomes an Olympic sport. It is an Asian Games sport and China will have it in the next Asiad in Guangzhou. In fact a Chinese delegation is coming here tomorrow to study the facilities here."


Asian Squash Federation Secretary

"This is what is called winning ugly. I am not disappointed. Abdullah is a good player so fit at this age, Rahmat has been doing good work the boys.

"Alan Clyne is a comeback specialist so he pulled one back. But it was good we had Harry Leitch at the end, his experience counted."

29th for Taipei

The youngest of the tournament Kan Han Chang was pitted against the oldest, Sergey Kostykin. The match ended dramatically when Kan stretched for a return and his legs were completely splayed sideways in the manner of a gymnast. Shows how fit the Taipei players are.

Sergey, who promotes Black Knight sporting gear back in Moscow, said "the kid was playing tough squash."

A disappointed Taipei manager Amingo said: "We are through with the event, taking the wooden spoon, the 29th spot. But we will be back."



Swedes swing it

Sweden won an extended match against Finland their traditional rivals thanks to the injured Badr Abdel Aziz playing his first game and winning. "It still hurts the groin but I managed," said Badr, who said he was looking for a break until after the new year.

Coach Jonas Gornerop said: "It was important to beat our old enemies. We had a tough draw he hoped to finish in top 16 but now play for 17-20. Every player played well, even the guy who lost because it was 2-3."

"Japanese women have a better record than our men. We had two women in the last eight of the 2006 Asian Games at Qatar. They are playing on the WISPA circuit also. Unless squash gets into the Olympics it will be hard to support squash. But the silver lining is that squash became part of the Japan Olympic Committee two years ago.

"The JOC provides 50 per cent of the funding, otherwise we had to shell out from our own pockets.

"Soccer, baseball, women’s golf (men’s golf has gone down) and volleyball are the sports that attract the youth. Malaysia has a system where you get tax rebates for funding sporting teams, I hope it comes to Japan."

Aqueel gets
one for Austria

The redeeming feature of Austria’s loss to Japan was the win by their Aqeel Rehman. He is the son of a Pakistani father and Austrian mother. Father Shafiq runs a Pakistani/Italian restaurant in Salzburg. Rehman, ranked in the 80s, said a big junior programme was in the offing in Austria. But he said there wasn’t a squash boom after Vienna staged the 2003 World Team event. "It’s okay, the squash in our country."

The youngest v the Oldest  ...  experience wins, for today ...

Photo Gallery

View from the Hexagon:
Renan Lavigne reports

"It was as expected. Now we await the winners of Pakistan and Netherlands.

"The change for us in the event is that unlike at Islamabad in the 2005 event we likely run into France in the semis, we met Canada last time.

"On the basis of the rankings the matches between the number ones and twos of England and France will be close. On form we should be favourites to win the number three tie."

David Pearson

            [10] INDIA beat [9] WALES 3-0
         Ritwik Bhattacharya 3-0 David Evans        11/6, 13/11, 11/7 (38m)
                      Saurav Ghosal 3-1 Alex Gough                 12/14, 11/7, 11/3 rtd (50m)
                      Siddarth Suchde 2-1 Jethro Binns             11/8, 7/11, 11/2 (31m)

         [8] NETHERLANDS beat [7] PAKISTAN 3-0
        Dylan Bennett 3-1 Mansoor Zaman            14/16, 15/13, 11/7, 11/8 (49m)
                     Laurens Jan Anjema 3-0 Aamir Atlas Khan  11/3, 11/9, 11/4 (33m)
                     Piedro Schweertman 0-2 Farhan Mehboob   7/11, 7/11 (18m)

Last evening when Wales beat Holland, there was a little sadness in the Indian camp, for the hosts now had to face Wales and not Holland in the round of 16. India had beaten Holland at Islamabad in 2005 and fancied their chances again.

But today when Holland sent 7th seeds Pakistan crashing out of the medal round, the India camp’s thinking looked flawed. Wales had 'Dad’s Army' playing in the form of David Evans and Alex Gough and looked the easier option. As it turned out India’s youth prevailed and India sent Asian squash topsy turvy - the only other time India finished higher than Pakistan was in the inaugural event in 1967 when all of Pakistan’s professionals did not play and India were fifth and Pakistan sixth in the six-team event.

India, who were 11th at the last worlds in 2005, are now assured of their best finish ever, at least eighth, as they advanced to the quarter-finals for the first time. They next play top seeds Egypt who blanked Hong Kong 3-0.

Ritwik Bhattacharya, who has been hovering on the brink in the earlier matches, showed his best game against David Evans, drops from back, shots into the nick and timely crosscourts winning 3-0. The brinkmanship surfaced when he won the second game 13-11. He took his dad’s advice to calm nerves. Evans showed his class in the way he played for the crucial points.

Alex Gough had a lesson or two for Saurav Ghosal. But Saurav reads the game well and kept the ball to length. His positivity was seen in his going for his shots when he had a `let’ coming his way. This was a good sign and it kept up the rally which tired Gough in the first game, though the Welshman won it 14-12.

He needed taping for his thigh after that, courtesy of the Dutch physio. In the second Gough was still controlling the exchanges with his wealth of experience, deceptive shots, first-timers into the nick. But Saurav kept his focus and kept ramming home the advantage, not letting his opponent’s injury affect him. After losing the second Gough conceded the tie on the last point of the third game.

Siddharth Suchde made it 3-0 beating Jethro Binns 2-1 indicating that India may have won even if one of the earlier matches had not gone their way.

"I am absolutely delighted and this is great for Indian squash...the Squash Rackets Federation of India has done a magnificent job over the past few years and now we reap its reward. The boys played outstanding today and they all deserve this victory as they have toiled hard for the past few years."


Indian National Coach

MORE REACTION TO INDIA'S WIN

"The pressure was getting to me. So took my advice of my dad on what he did when he had pressure when flying planes for the Air Force. He told me to stay chilled out and that helped."



"I played my natural game. I had the back-up of a great match against Pakistan’s Aamir Atlas. I knew Gough was flagging physically but decided not to let up my game for he had the experience to wriggle out.’’ This wasn’t his best win of his career, Saurav said it was the win at the Asian Seniors over No 17 Shahid Zaman.



"I finally went to pieces, it had to happen."

"It’s an outstanding result for Indian squash.

"It was a test of Saurav’s temperament when Gough was injured. He drove the point home."

Dutch down Pakistan

Dylan Bennett got the Dutch off to a great start when he beat Mansoor Zaman at second string: "I kept control of the game, kept ball in play he made mistakes with his finishing shots."

Laurens Jan Anjema, who lost to Gough yesterday, bounced back to beat the Pakistan No 1 Aamir Atlas Khan. "I knew Aamir is the fastest player on the circuit, so I slowed the pace down, kept him to the back, used my height and dominated the T.’’

The Pakistani pair were reflective - "I was just not in the match, I don’t know how," said Aamir, while Mansoor said "My opponent played well. I was leading 6-1 in the third after being two-down. But I began hitting too many tins and that was that."

----- 17-29 Playoffs -----

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