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World Games 2005 Squash, 16-19
July
Held under the patronage of the IOC, the World Games 2005 bring
together 3,500 athletes from 100 nations, competing in
40 sports at 27 venues, and in squash has attracted a
world-class field.
Here's the experiences of some of the Squash Competitors ... |
WORLD GAMES
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Rachael
Grinham | Hansi Seestaller |
Peter Nicol | Nicol David |
Grinham sounds ominous warning
to Rivals ...
Gordon
Dexter talks to the women's world number one and top seed on the
eve of the games ...
 Refreshed
Australian world No.1 Rachael Grinham sounded an ominous
warning to her squash rivals on the eve of the 2005 World Games in
Duisburg, Germany.
The Queensland 28-year-old, aiming to become only the second
Australian after Sarah Fitz-Gerald to win a squash gold medal at the
World Games, believes her game is stronger now than at any other
time during her 12 month reign as
world No.1.
Top seed Grinham last played in a WISPA tournament two months ago
when she won the Hurghada International
in Egypt.
 In
Duisburg she takes on little known Italian Sonia Pasteris in
the opening round, and says she is fully focused on winning her
first World Games gold medal after the huge disappointment of squash
narrowly missing out on inclusion for the 2012 Olympics a week ago
following the IOC voting process in
Singapore.
She then faces a likely quarter-final against Jenny Tranfield, and
in the semis a possible re-run of the Hurghada final against Omneya
Abdel Kawy.
After the World Games Grinham
returns to the WISPA World Tour at the
Malaysian Open at the end of July. |
 “My
training has been going really well and I have felt better on
court in the past few weeks than I have in almost 12 months,
so I'm glad I had the chance to take some time off and
revitalize myself a little.
“It’s been good to take some time off because I felt like my
body was still trying to recover from the hectic schedule we
had at the end of 2004.
“I had a couple of niggling injuries which I wanted to get rid
off so I took as much time off as I could but I still didn't
feel quite 100 percent when I started training again but now
I’m fine and I’m looking forward to playing some tournaments.”
“The World Games is the closest thing squash has to the
Olympics - a multi-sport event featuring the best athletes
from everywhere in the world - so it would be fantastic to be
able to win a gold medal for Australia,” said Grinham, who
returns to the
 “I
obviously have WISPA events that would be more important to me
such as the British
Open and World Open but this tournament is extremely
significant for me especially after a break of two months, and
it will be good to get the first match out of the way.
“I should meet Jenny Tranfield in the quarters. When in good
shape Jenny’s top 10 standard, and if I get through that one I
would likely meet Omneya Abdel Kawy (of Egypt) in the
semi-final who I only just beat in a close 3-2 match in the
final of Hurghada in May.
“And if I were to make the final I would probably come up
against either (Malaysian world No.3) Nicol David or
(Great Britain’s world No.6) Linda Elriani who should
make it the semi-finals fairly comfortably on the other side
of the draw.”
Rachael Grinham |
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Late Call
For Hansi
German champion Hansi Seestaller,
is determined to make the most of a last-minute invitation to
compete in the World Games, after the disappointment of being
overlooked for the original place in the men's draw of the
multi-sport event which is being staged in his home country.
 The
withdrawal of Pakistan's Shahid Zaman created an opening which was
offered to the host nation's champion, where he will face Austria's
unseeded Andreas Fuchs, ranked some 29 places below
Seestaller, the world no 129.
Seestaller, the 22-year-old former German army soldier, now a coach
in Munich, took part in Thursday's games opening ceremony in
the magnificent MSV-Arena stadium in Duisburg, which featured a huge
parade of athletes from all participating countries.
Finishing touches were being put to the 15-court Sport-Treff-Punkt
centre in Mulheim today in readiness for the opening first round
women's matches at 1.00pm between Great Britain's No3 seed Linda
Elriani and Mexico's Samantha Teran, and France's fifth seed
Isabelle Stoehr and Germany's Katharina Witt.
Later in the day top men's seed Thierry Lincou takes on Stefan
Leifels, the German number one, and women's favourite Rachael
Grinham, the world No1 from Australia, faces Italy's Sonia Pasteris.
"It should be a fantastic event - I'm really happy with the quality
of the draws," said Technical Director Peter Kock.
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 "Andreas
and I always have close games, and though he beat me in five
games the last time we played, I think I have a real chance of
getting through to the quarter-finals.
"Though I live in Rosenheim, around 700 kilometres south of
Mulheim, this is where
I won
the German title earlier this year - and it's one of my
favourite venues!
"So after feeling quite disappointed about not being given the
first German place in the World Games draw, I'm now delighted
to have this chance - and a better draw!"
"Being involved in the opening ceremony was something really
special, which I've never experienced before. It was a great
chance to meet fellow countrymen competing in other sports."
Hansi Seestaller
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Nicol Prepares For
Debut
As A Briton
After beginning his illustrious squash career
as a Scot, then courageously crossing the border to become an
Englishman in 2001, former world No1 Peter Nicol will
compete in this week’s World Games in Germany for the
first time as a Briton!
 “It’ll
seem strange playing for Great Britain,” said the 32-year-old
Londoner who last year celebrated 60 months at the top of the
world rankings. “I feel as if I’ve grown up all of a sudden -
representing the whole nation after all this time!”
Nicol is making his debut in the World Games,
the multi-sport event which is being staged in the city of
Duisburg under the patronage of the International Olympic
Committee (IOC).
Peter Nicol has enjoyed a distinguished
career in squash, earning 67 caps for Scotland before
representing England in both the European and World Team
Championships for the past three years. A gold medallist in the
Commonwealth Games in both 1998 and 2002, he has won the World
Open and two British Open crowns - and now stands just one title
away from his 50th major international triumph.
The second seed in the World Games, Nicol
faces Canada’s Matthew Giuffre in the opening round
before a projected semi-final clash with England team-mate
James Willstrop, the 21-year-old world No8 from Yorkshire.
Nicol, currently ranked five in the world, is
expected to meet his long-time rival Thierry Lincou in
the final. The top-seeded Frenchman succeeded Nicol as world
number one in January and this month celebrated his seventh
successive month at the top.
“It’s something special competing in
multi-sports events like this, with an Opening Ceremony
involving athletes from other sports to look forward to before
we start playing. I’m really excited – and can’t wait to meet up
with my fellow GB team-mates later in the week,” added Nicol. |
Commonwealth Gold
for Scotland ...
... and for England
WORLD GAMES
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Disappointed
David returns to World stage
 After
the disappointment of narrowly missing out on persuading IOC
members in Singapore to vote Squash into the Olympic Games in
2012, Asian champion Nicol David can now return to the
stage where she performs best, in Germany this week.
The 21-year-old double world junior champion from Malaysia has her
sights on her first senior world title in the World Games.
“It was such a privilege to be part of the World Squash Federation
team in Singapore lobbying for squash to be in the Olympics,” said
David.
“It was extraordinary witnessing big names in one place all at the
same time - truly a great opportunity to meet everyone, especially
those in the IOC committee and top sportsman such as Mohammed Ali,
Sebastian Coe, Alexander Popov and many more.
 “Then,
after it looked as if we would get in - when two sports were
knocked out of the games and squash then came out first in the
initial vote - it was hugely disappointing that the members
decided not to include any new sports in the Games after all,”
said the world number three from Penang.
“But, after being in Singapore, the enthusiasm for playing in the
World Games is even greater now. I’m very excited to be
participating in the event in Duisburg and am looking to do well
there too!
“This will be my first time playing in this event so it should be
exciting. Playing in a multi-sport games is always a thrilling
experience because you have your fellow countrymen in other sports
competing as well.
“This is certainly a taste of how it will be like to play in the
Olympics,” added David, whose recent rise to number three in the
world rankings was hailed in her home country as "the best ever
position by a Malaysian sportsperson". |
Malaysia
Marvels
at
David's Success
Top
award for Nicol
WORLD GAMES
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