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This tournament will be a lot of
experience to our young team, that's why we are here really.
This morning, it was so close against Kuwait, we needed that win,
and were unlucky. And tonight, we need that win too, but we were
lucky. There is so little between that win and that loss...
But we are really happy we got to play some great teams, it's all
about learning and experience...
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[13/18] Switzerland 1-2 [19/23] Argentina
Manual Wanner 3-0 Rodrigo Obregon 11/9, 11/2, 11/7
Robin Gadola 0-3 Federico Cioffi 7/11, 8/11, 10/12
Yannick Lindemann 1-3 Gonzallo Gallardo 9/11, 11/7, 7/11,
17/15 |
SMILE FOR ME ARGENTINA....
What an emotional day this has been for Argentina. In the
morning, they pushed Kuwait all the way, with the higher-seeded
Kuwaiti scraping through after coming back from 1-2 and
1-6 in the decider.
Argentina, whose team is pretty young, they are all 16, and they
look it bless their little heart, and has got the caracteristic
to have twins in it. You may recognise easily though, as Rodrigo
Obregon is left handed, while Francisco is right handed. Simple.
This morning, Francisco played the very gruelling 5 setter, so
they decided to rest him, and Gonzallo took the last match.
You would have thought that such a short defeat would have
broken the young team spirit. Absolutely not! They were now
facing Switzerland, who chose a team also young, 2 17 years old
and 1 18.
It started very well for Manual Wanner, a very tight
first game against Rodrigo, fast pace, short rallies (who
won a 4 games/60m match in the morning, while the swiss had a
light match as Swiss was meeting Egypt). In the second, Rodrigo
didn't have much left from the hard work he produced in the
first, but in the third, it was really tight again up to 7/7,
when the Swiss found some lovely shots to finish quickly 11/7.
In the second leg, if the Argentine Cioffi led for the
game all the way to take it 11/7, it's the Swiss Gadola
that led comfortably in the second, 7/2. Don't ask me how/why,
but within a few short rallies, we were back at 7/7. Then 8/8.
And the Argentine closed it out 11/8. 2/0 Argentina.
If he was disapointed to have let such a lead go, Gadola didn't
show it, and went back to fighting, leading again in the 3rd,
4/1. But again, Cioffi clawed back to 5/5. 6/6. 8/8. Quite a few
lets. The Swiss gets on top, 10/8. Cannot concretise.
"Tactic" shouts the Swiss Coach. "Tranquille", the Argentine
Coach. I guess the tranquille worked better. 12/10 to
Argentina... We were 1 match all.
The third leg was not for the fainted hearted, let me tell you.
Both camps, vocal but very fair and respectful of the other
team, were making a great "ambiance" really. Difficult not to
get emotionally involved it was...
First blood to Argentina, nothing between the players in the
first, 9/9, but it's Gallardo that gets the cake 11/9,
leaving a bit of energy on the court. And it's Lindemann
that looks bleeping good at 7/0, and if the Argentine gets a bit
of oumf back, it's too little too late, 11/7 to Switzerland.
The third will be the opposite of the second, with the Swiss
looking pretty tired, while Gallardo bursting with energy and
nicks all over the place. 2/1 Argentina.
The 4th, well, let's just say that we had it all, tins, amazing
rallies, nicks, "Patience" from one coach "Quality" from the
other one. They both were playing at a very high level of squash
indeed, volleying nicely, good length, tactically sound, and
both fighting for their live/country.
Lindemann had 2 game balls, at 10/9 and 15/14, but it's
Argentina that finally gets the match on its 6th match ball,
17/15.
It was now past 10pm, and Ritchie Fallows and Zachary Leman (England
and Canada) were keeping everybody up.... Blessssssss.
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[3] England 3-0 [10] Canada
Thomas Ford 3-0 Tyler Olson
11/6, 11/7, 11/5
Oliver Holland 3-0 Cameron Set 11/6, 11/8,
11/4
Richie Fallows 3-1 Zachary Leman
12/10, 11/6, 8//1, 15/13 |
LEE DREW REPORTS
 The
anticipation of waiting for the start of the World Junior Team event was
over today as the tournament got underway in a blisteringly hot Qatar.
I must admit the sunshine of Qatar makes for a nice change from the cold,
wet & dreary weather that seems to be the English summer so far this year.
Our competition started against
Belgium in the opening pool match this afternoon; after three
intriguing matches England emerged with a very businesslike 3-0 victory.
This evening saw a very competitive match against a determined Canadian
team. After 2 hours 30 minutes England won 3-0. Richie Fallows just winning
a tough 4th.
Late night sustenance now before another day of squash tomorrow.
"It was great to get started again & to
play as a part of this English team"
"Good day of matches all round, really happy to get going & feel the
heat of battle again"
Ollie Holland |
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We played earlier against
Zimbabwe, and we rested our no 3 player. We had a fairly comfortable
win against them.
We were actually happy about playing two matches today, as we have a
big match tomorrow against Belgium that should decide who is getting
to no2 of the pool behind England.
We thought that we had a chance against the English, but they were
too good. We played well for the first half of the game really, and
then for the second half, the English players managed to pull away,
and that in the first two matches.
That's really something they are really good at, you think you are
close, but after they grind you, they just get away with the score.
So now, it's all about that match tomorrow against Belgium, there
are a few teams that are really close, we are not the only ones to
have to fight hard tomorrow.
Oh well, I'll try and "outcoach" Ronny tomorrow then....
Canadian National Coach
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"We are a bit disapointed, especially with the performance of our
no2 leg, as he gave up a bit too quick on the point.
But it's been a long week here already, the players are tired both
mentally and physically.
I used to play for my country, and I'm now coaching. But it's much
nerve-wrecking to be a coach than it is to be a player!!!!
Only one of our boys will be able to come back next year, for the
others, it's their last event.
We are trying to improve our juniors U13, U15, which is a bit weak
at the moment, but we get so little funding, we really would need
some help both from our governement and sponsors....
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[13/18]
Belgium 3-0 [19/23] Zimbabwe
Jordy Camps
3-1 Blessing Muhwati
11/9, 3/11, 11/5, 11/6
Jan Van der Herrewegen 3-0 Alex Roscoe 11/3, 11/9, 11/5
Vincent Hitchins 3-1 David Fisher
11/5, 5/11, 11/2, 11/7 |
 To
be noted...
This is the 6th appearance of Zimbabwe in the championship.
They played from 1998 in the US to the 2006 NZ edition. They
hadn't had a team since.
Their lowest ranking was 26th, on their first participation, and
their best 15th.
Welcome back... |
[9] Australia 2-1 [19-23]
Qatar
TJ Rarere 3-0 Sadam Mehawesh
11/2, 11/5, 11/6
Rhys Dowling 1-3 Abdulla Mohd Al Tamini 11/13, 7/11, 11/9,
5/11
Tom Calvert 3-0 Faisal Al-Marri
11/1, 11/8, 11/3 |
 The result is what we expect, although
there is always hope that we could have a great day!
Maye a bit disapointed in our number 2, he was probably a bit
nervous. Abdulla did what was expected of him, he played well. And
our number 3 played really well, even if the score is a bit severe,
he actually played well, so i'm happy with that.
We knew that Australia was going to be tough, now we are playing a
tough one with Germany, which probably will be around the same
standard than the Australians...
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I think we had a bit of nerves today,
the first round of the Team championships, with everybody focusing
on the big match against France tomorrow, not expecting to have to
work too hard today, and finding ourselves in a real battle.
Dylan was solid today, he was not too happy about his performance,
but he was still 3/0 better than the boy he beat 3/0.... Still, he
played fine, he was a bit negative at times, but solid...
Edward was in a real fight, he was 7/1 in the 5th, had to do a real
gutscheck, and he gets the game ball for us today.
TJ played relaxed and executed rather well, beating a boy that he
probably should beat.
Now we got to feed our boys, let them have a nice bath, and be ready
to play a tough match against France tomorrow at 11.
That match will
tell the tale for the rest of the week really, and we'll know more
about 2pm tomorrow.
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[6]
USA 3-0 [13/18] Brazil
Edward Columbia 3-0 Pedro
Viega
11/7, 11/3, 12/10
Dylan Murray 3-2 Josemar Silva 5/11, 11/7, 11/8, 5/11,
11/9
TJ Dembinski 3-0 Cassiano Silva
11/7, 11/9, 11/6 |
PEDRO VIEGA ON THE FIRST TWO
MATCHES...
 We have a pretty good team, we really try and help each other
out...
The first match, Columbia against myself, was tough I think
because he was the same style of game. The first and 3rd game
were close, disputed, but suddenly he came up with a few shots I
just didn't expect!
 And in the 3rd, I started well, then I'm not sure what happened,
but I think I lost my concentration.
And when I came back to it,
I was down 8/3! Then I had a blood injury, and it strangely took
a lot out of me, and the end of the game was really fast.
The third could have gone either way, unfortunately for me, it
went the wrong one!!!! It was still a tough match, I'm not
playing my best, but then again, nobody is!
 Now, for
Josemar/Murray, Josimar played well, so did Dylan, they
both hit hard and run a lot, but I think that the fact Josimar
is very tall forces him to do more work!
There was nothing between them really, and in the 5th, they were
both tired. Josemar was up 7/1, but suddenly, he seemed to do a
few errors, and that was the turning point.
Maybe it was because
he was very tired, but I think it's also a mental thing, as
Dylan really managed to frustrate him with a great choice of
shots that got under his skin.
 Still, we are really proud of what we did today. We were not
expected to put USA under pressure, and I think we really did.
Tomorrow, we'll give a real big push against France... |
[7] France 3-0 [19-23]
Guatemala
Baptiste Masotti 3-0 Jose
Rodriguez 11/1, 11/2, 11/5
Damien Volland 3-0 Josue Enriquez
11/4, 11/4, 11/8
Auguste Dussourd 3-0 Ricardo Toscano 11/2, 11/1, 11/1
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Damien Volland reports
 Here we go in our first match in these championships against a
young Guatemala team.
First on we had Baptiste, he did his job and got the upper hand,
3/0, not too much trouble there.
Then it was my turn, I also didn't had too much troubles against
a talented Guatemala player who I'm glad to say made far too
many errors, making my life much easier.
 Then Auguste gave the "coup de grâce" winning as well 3/0.
A good encounter for the French camp, which allowed us to keep
all our energy for tomorrow's big encounter against the US.
Went on court with no pressure as the
match was won thanks to Baptiste & Damien who did the job.
Tomorrow, big day, USA and Brazil. We'll have to give everything
we've got to try and finish first of our pool.
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After two matches, we have secured the
victory, both Damien and myself have won 3/0. We are glad to say it
was not too tight of a match.
Tomorrow, things are getting more complicated. I hope we'll be at
our best for this championship.
One thing is sure, we are a close group, and physically, we feel
fine.
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It was the perfect match to settle the
nerves - all of the boys were happy to win in 3. Happy with the boys' performance today.
This is their first time playing not only in the event, but also
representing New Zealand, so nervous times....
The Iraqi players really took their chances when they had the
opportunity. The second match was the closest, Johnny played well,
he saved two game balls in the second.
The instructions for the match were to be as clinical and quick to
win as possible, as we have to play Pakistan, and we want to throw
everything into that, and we didn't want to be drawn into long
matches. They all won 3/0, so that's good.
"We are very happy to come here, in
this very well organised tournament. We hope that little by little,
our players will get more experience and get better year after year.
We are based in Bagdad, and we really would like to thank our
Federation who is helping us to train and allowed us to come here,
offering us the opportunity to admire and learn from other players,
like the Egyptian team for example that really impressed us.
Iraqi Delegation
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[11] New Zealand 3-0 [19/23] Iraq
Zac Millar 3-0
Saifuldeen Salman
11/2, 11/6, 11/1
Jonathan Barnett 3-0 Mohammed Hasan
11/8, 13/11, 11/7
Todd Redman 3-0 Faisal Khudair
11/4, 11/1, 11/9 |
This is the first year Iraq
participates into the Championship, so they didn't have much
expectations, but to be fair, I watched their three matches, and
although the result was never in doubt, they fought hard all the
way.
First one, Salman, a strong young man who can
really hit the ball hard, was up against a rugby player type,
Millar, with a very delicate backhand volley drop shot and
racquet skills that did a lot of damage today.
If the first game was pretty one sided, it was not the case of
the second, closer, but far too many errors for the Iraqi, and
the New Zealander closed the match rather quickly 2, 6, 1.
The second match was much more interesting, the Iraqi actually
having a WR, as in, must have done a few competitions, and you
could feel the difference.
So a very tight first game between Hasan and Barnett, nothing
between them up to 8/8, but a few errors, and the New Zealander
gets it 11/8.
The second could really have gone either way, as the Iraqi got 2
game balls, before getting the good quality game 13/11 at his
second attempt.
And you would think that led 2/0, the Iraqi would have said die,
and he sort of did at the start, only to put his head down and
start fighting at 4/8 down, to save 2 match balls from 10/7
down, and only losing 11/9 on a stroke.
The last match, Redman versus Khudair, was more onesided, as the
Iraqi was struggling a bit to see the ball, although he was
running a heck of a lot and still found some lovely shots. |
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[3] England 3-0 [13/18] Belgium
Richie Fallows 3-0 Jordy Camps
11/3, 11/4, 11/4
Thomas Ford 3-0 Jan Van Der Herrewegen
11/5, 13/11, 11/9
Matthew Sidaway 3-0 Vincent Hitchins
11/8, 11/7, 11/7 |
Another match where the outcome
was not really in doubt, but if Fallows didn't seem to have too
much troubles against Jordy Camps, the encounter between Thomas
Ford and Belgium no1 Van der Herrewegen was an excellent match
indeed.
First game, a bit onesided in favour of the English left hander,
11/5. The second was much more disputed indeed, with the Belgium
a couple of points ahead only to be caught up every time!
Jan even had two game balls, 10/9 and 11/10, but every time, the "Little
Prince" as I call him (for you Philistines, it's the heros of a
French Book from St Exupéry, so looks like him) managed to catch
up, and finally takes the game, 13/11.
Never thinking for a minute of slowing down, Jan fought for
every point in the 3rd, 2/2, 4/4, 6/6, 7/7, was led for a while,
but caught back at 9/9, only to finally bow 11/9. A good fight
that was....
Sidaway took a bit more time than I thought he would be
originally, as Hitchins really fought hard, and push the English
boy to do a few too many errors... |
 We knew that it was going difficult
against England. Jan had a very close match against Ford, and we
thought he could have his chances.
Jan is the most experimented of our players, the two other boys are
virtually no experience on the tour, maybe two appearances on the
European circuit.
So they are here as a learning process, and our target for this
match was to make every rally count, and try and make the overall
match as long as possible. In that regard, I'm rather happy with the
result.
The young players we have are here really to learn like I said, not
only when they are playing, but also when they are not. They are
watching the others, and making sure that they learn from what they
see, they are not here to have a good time and have a holiday!
We are playing Zimbabwe next, we are hoping to do well, if
everything is going according to plan.
Our big match will be against
Canada, but as our seeding is 13/18, we are not expecting too much.
Still, we will be fighting to the best of our abilities...
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[12] Kuwait 2-1 [19/23] Argentina
Yousif Ali lost Rodrigo Obregon
Youssef Saleh 3-0 Frederico Cioffi
Athbi Hamad 3-2 Francisco Obregon 11/7 in the 5th |
I'm so tired!!!! My heart is
going sooo fast, it's so much easier to be a ref than a coach,
I'm too old for this.
Our team is young, this tournament will be perfect to get
experience for our young players. Today was a very hard game,
Argentina really surprised me, they were a very fit team....
We were 1/0 down, Youssef, "The Dog" as we call him, got us back
in the game, and Hamad closed it down, but that was really
close.
After that, we are meeting Egypt, we will try our best knowing
they are a very strong team. Our big match will be against
Switzerland, and probably the winner of the match will finish
number 2 of the pool.
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[11] New Zealand 0-3 [2] Pakistan
Todd Redman 0-3 Syed Bukhari 5-11, 5-11, 4-11 (23m)
1)Jonny Barnett 0-3 Nasir Iqbal 5-11, 2-11, 6-11 (20m)
3)Ben Grindrod l0-3 Tayyab Aslam 3-11, 11-13, 3-11 (25m) |
Gary Denvir reports
New Zealand remains on target to make the top 12 knockout stage
after the opening day of pool play. The Kiwi side proved too
good for Iraq in their opening tie, cruising to a 3-0 victory
with all three matches won in straight games.
However, it was a different story for New Zealand in their
second tie, where they came up against the powerful second
seeded Pakistan line-up.
Zac Millar was rested for the tie and the trio of
Barnett, Redman and Ben Grindrod were beaten 3-0. Redman
battled hard against Syed Hamzah Shah Bukhari but went
down 11-5, 11-5, 11-4 and Barnett also couldn't be
faulted for effort despite an 11-5 11-2 11-6 scoreline against
Nasir Iqbal.
Grindrod then showed New Zealand's strength in depth as he
came close to snatching a game off Tayyab Aslam, but ultimately
lost 11-3, 13-11, 11-3.
New Zealand will now play South Africa in the final round of
pool play tomorrow with the winner joining Pakistan in the top
12. |
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