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David & Shabana Head World Squash Awards
Malaysian Nicol David and Egyptian Amr Shabana have been named as Players
of the Year at the 2007 World Squash Awards in London.
A star-studded gathering, featuring top players past and present as well as
leading Squash figures from around the world, gathered at the RAC Club in
Pall Mall to honour the sport's most distinguished contributors.
Remarkably, Amr Shabana and Nicol David - both of whom head their respective
world rankings - were claiming the top awards for the second successive
year.
Shabana, 28, from Giza, near Cairo, maintained his grip on the PSA world
number one ranking throughout the year - winning the Windy City Open and
Tournament of Champions titles at the beginning of 2007. He rounded off the
year in sensational style by reeling off four PSA Super Series titles in a
row - the Saudi International, Qatar Classic, Hong Kong Open and then the
World Open in Bermuda, to bring his career PSA trophy haul to 20.
During a year in which she established a 50-match unbeaten run, Nicol David
surprisingly faltered in the World Open in Madrid. But the plucky
24-year-old from Penang came back stronger than ever to win both the Qatar
Classic and Hong Kong Open - and bring her 2007 WISPA World Tour title tally
to eight, marking her best ever year. However, despite being taken close by
World Open winner Rachael Grinham, David clinched the WISPA members' votes
as Player of the Year for the third year in a row!
Shelley Kitchen, the New Zealander who sensationally stopped Nicol David in
the second round of the World Open in Madrid, is recognised as WISPA's Most
Improved Player of the Year. The 28-year-old from Auckland followed her
surprise Commonwealth Games bronze medal success in 2006 by claiming four
quarter-final berths in WISPA Gold events early in 2007 as a non-seed - and,
four Tour titles later, Shelley went on to celebrate a career-high world No9
ranking in November.
Egyptian Ramy Ashour is the PSA Young Player of the Year for the second
time. By the time he had celebrated his 20th birthday in September, the
record two-time world junior champion had already picked up five PSA Tour
titles in the year - all against seeding. In the Kuwait Open final in April,
Ramy beat Amr Shabana for the first time - and in the November PSA world
rankings, only failed by a margin of one point in more than a thousand to
replace his compatriot at the top of the list! Later in the year, in his
first appearance in the event, Ramy won the flagship PSA Tour championship,
the Super Series Finals.
The award for WISPA Young Player of the Year went to Camille Serme, the
18-year-old from France who followed her second successive European Junior
Championship win by reaching the final of the World Junior Championship in
Hong Kong in August. In November, Serme celebrated her maiden Tour title win
at the Santiago Open in Spain
The Lifetime Achievement award was made to
Heather McKay, AM, MBE, the distinguished Australian who won 16
consecutive British Open titles between 1962 and 1977. Considered by many to
be the greatest female player in the history of the game, and possibly also
Australia's greatest-ever sportswoman, Heather dominated the women's squash
game in the 1960s and 1970s. She lost only two matches in her entire career
(in 1960 and 1962), and was unbeaten in competitive squash matches from 1962
through to 1981, when she retired from active open squash.
Mrs McKay was disappointed not to have been able to attend the Awards: "I
know the award has been awarded only twice before, to two of the legends of
squash, Jahangir Khan and Jonah Barrington, so I am honoured to be the first
female to receive this award," said McKay in a message read out at the
ceremony.
"As you may have already guessed, squash has been a major part of my life
having first started playing in 1959, winning my first major championship
The Australian in 1960 and eventually retiring from open squash in 1981. I
had no idea that when I had my first hit of squash I would be lucky enough
to travel the world and make friends world wide, some of whom I still keep
in touch with."
A special Services to Squash award was presented by British National
Champion James Willstrop to veteran squash correspondent Dicky Rutnagur.
Rutnagur’s first squash interview was outside the open air courts of the
Cricket Club Of India in Bombay. He was talking to a smallish fellow from
Karachi who had come down to play the local professionals; name of Hashim
Khan.
Dicky was actually at the ground to see Denis Compton play cricket, but he
couldn’t pass by a good little squash story. Those who have known and
enjoyed the public musings of D.J. Rutnagur since then will know well enough
that he never forsook that first love of cricket, and he has rarely passed a
good little squash story along the way.
When the great Hashim took his fast and accurate game into the wider
international arena, soon to be followed by Roshan and Nazrullah, Jahanghir
and Jansher, and all the other Khans who rose imperiously to the top of the
tournament rankings, Dicky was never far behind them….usually about six feet
back in fact, in the front row of the bleachers behind pretty well every
major final that occurred over the following half century.
It is almost certain that D.J. Rutnagur has seen more top class competition
squash than any other man alive. It is absolutely certain he has written
more about that game than any other journalist. Rex Bellamy is perhaps
better recognised as the recorder of the game through the 1960s and 70s, but
in fact Dicky was writing about the likes of Mike Oddy, Abou Taleb, Jeremy
Lyons and Mahmoud Karim before Rex moved out from the Times sub-editorial
desk to cover squash. Before that he watched the great Indians and
Pakistanis in Bombay and Karachi. He was alongside Bellamy as Hunt and
Barrington brought the game out of the private clubs and public schools, and
he was still following every drop and drive as Jahangir and Jansher took on
the Australia’s Martin Brothers and New Zealand’s Ross Norman after Rex
moved on to become the leading tennis writer of that period.
And, while Bellamy was devoting his golden prose singularly to the pages of
The Times each day, Dicky could be found in The Telegraph, The Guardian, the
Melbourne Age, the Indian Express and all the Pakistan broadsheets, as well
as across the breadth of the world’s news agencies. Always accurate in his
analysis, always fair in his commentary, always to length and always on
time.
He watched Heather Mackay bestride the world undefeated, Vicki Cardwell nag
and scrap her way to fame, Susan Devoy fight with everyone including the
press, Guernsey girls Lisa Opie and Martine Le Moignan carry England back
into the international fray, Michelle Martin and Sarah FitzGerald develop a
new glamorous cutting edge for Australia, Nicol David establish a fresh
regime for Asian squash.
He has talked cricket with Chris Dittmar, tennis with Magdi Saad, rugby with
Ross Norman, golf with Peter Nicol and ice hockey with Jonathon Power. On
the job he is a walking encyclopaedia of past events, at breakfast before a
working day he is astute and interesting on the day’s news, at dinner
afterwards he is as fine a raconteur and jokester as the company demands.
Few who attended the World Open Championship in Johannesburg will forget his
all too plausible account of Squash Player Editor Ian McKenzie being eaten
by lions in the Safari Park (only half a pair of spectacles left for
identification) and press rooms throughout the game still talk fondly of the
day Prince Player Representative Andy Bunting had the esteemed Daily
Telegraph correspondent declared officially insane by the VIP room of the
World Team Champs in Helsinki.
He almost always leaves us laughing, Willstrop noted, and between jokes and
meals and drinks and pranks, he has assembled the foremost memory of world
squash. Nobody has served squash better.
Players and ex-players from all over the world attended the 2007 World
Squash Awards Dinner. The event was staged for the third year by Eventis
Sports Marketing, the company formed by four-times Commonwealth Games gold
medallist Peter Nicol with fellow directors Tim Garner and Angus Kirkland.
England Retain World Team Title
In a dramatic climax to the ICL World Men's Team Squash Championship - the
21st staging of the biennial event since 1967 - defending champions England
fought back from a match down to beat long-time rivals Australia 2/1 in the
final at the ICL Squash Academy in Chennai, India.
The triumph marked the first final between Australia and England since 1991
- and the first England win over Australia in a world final! The victory
also takes England's title tally to four since 1995, and prevented their
rivals from extending their record to nine trophy triumphs.
The opening encounter was a battle between the teams' first strings, with
Australia's former world champion David Palmer, ranked four in the world,
facing Nick Matthew, the world No5 from Sheffield in Yorkshire. Their
previous head-to-head tally showed Palmer 11-5 ahead, and the 31-year-old
from New South Wales duly took the opening two games.
But the Englishman struck back to draw level - winning the fourth game for
just two points. However, the experienced Aussie rediscovered his form and
eventually ran out an 11-9, 11-9, 7-11, 2-11, 11-4 winner in 82 minutes.
Almost exactly five years ago, James Willstrop won the world junior
individual championship on the same courts in Chennai. And, in his first
time back in the former Madras since that success, the 24-year-old
Englishman, now British National Champion, beat Stewart Boswell to level the
tie. But it was a tense and tight tussle, in which the world No6 from
Yorkshire needed 65 minutes to overcome his lower-ranked opponent before
prevailing 11-8, 11-7, 11-10 (2-0).
The decider was no less dramatic - and only marginally shorter. But
Englishman Peter Barker, in his maiden appearance in a world team
championship, delivered an assured performance as he defeated Cameron Pilley
- also a world championship newcomer - 11-6, 11-3, 11-8 in 60 minutes to
clinch the title for England.
Willstrop’s Pontefract training partner, Lee Beachill, was the rested
England player on the day.
"We were represented by an exceptional group of players," said England
Squash Chief Executive Nick Rider after the team's success. "Winning a world
championship is difficult enough - and retaining it so convincingly is
testament to the courage and determination of these world-class guys. We are
immensely proud of them."
In the play-off for third place, third seeds France beat favourites Egypt
2/0, and Malaysia recorded their best team championship finish by beating
Canada 2/0 in the fifth place play-off. Hosts India marked their best finish
since 1979, despite losing to Netherlands in the seventh place play-off.
Event newcomers Sri Lanka, Venezuela and Chinese Taipei finished in 26th,
27th and 29th places, respectively.
Double Willstrop Treble At English Open
James Willstrop, already the British National Champion and the English Grand
Prix winner, completed a unique domestic treble tonight when he won the 2007
English Open Championship at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield,
beating Nick Matthew 9-11 11-9 11-6 11-6 in a 75 minute final.
With Vanessa Atkinson, the Dutch National Champion and Willstrop’s live-in
girlfriend, taking the women’s title earlier with a 27 minute 11-7 11-9 11-9
win over England’s Lauren Briggs, and his father, Malcolm Willstrop, working
as MC, there was something of a second domestic treble, if not a complete
Willstrop benefit event, in play.
With the end of the Monte Carlo Classic crossing with the start of the
English Open, the Sheffield women’s field was not as strong as it might have
been, but it was interesting to see young women players happily settling to
the American scoring format favoured by the PSA.
“A nice way to finish what has not been a really great year for me,” the
31-year-old former World Champion admitted. “I would have stayed for the
finals day anyway, to see James play, but it helps to have a final of your
own to aim at.
“WISPA still plays to traditional nine point scoring,” Atkinson explained.
“Personally I like the American system. We played a good three game final
here and it worked quite well, I thought. Not too long but not too short
with plenty of play along the way.”
Willstrop was elated to take a national title on home county turf. He was
born and brought up in Pontefract and now lives in Leeds with Atkinson when
they are not travelling their respective tours. Matthew was sufficiently
unelated to punch an advertising board on his way out of court. He had
missed the chance of adding the English title to his US Open win earlier in
the year, and in front of his home town crowd.
For both players, though, it was a fine conclusion to a long compressed
schedule through Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Hong Kong, Bermuda and Chennai during
which they led the England squad that retained the World Team Championship.
Offered the prospect of a long well earned drink, 24-year-old Willstrop
responded : “We are not supposed to really, but we might have to. It is
great to have won this here in front of a Yorkshire crowd and to have played
Nick in what turned out to be a fair sort of final. Nick has had me on toast
the last few times we have met, so it is good to get one back on him at
last.”
"We both had to push - and we knew that - but I just managed to produce the
win. I was very pleased with way I played."
Matthew denied that it was better to lose to a friend: "I like him a lot,
but I'd rather lose to anyone else, to be honest! There is a massive, if
respectful, rivalry between us. We both want to be Yorkshire number one,
England number one - and world number one!" said Matthew, now runner-up in
his home town for the second time, after being beaten in the 2005 final.
Their tour head-to-head record was poised at 7-7. But the Sheffield hero had
come out on top on the last three occasions - including at the US Open final
in October and the World Open quarter-finals earlier this month in Bermuda.
This revenge win was emphatic, however. Matthew took the initiative from 0-3
down in the opening game, forcing on to an 8-4 lead and then blunting a
counter-attack with nicked straight drives on either hand from 9-9.
But Willstrop seemed to have the better physical form from that point,
covering the court with speed and precision and snapping up almost every
slight opening that Matthew allowed him during increasingly long and
demanding rallying. Matthew had a chance of a two game lead when he took 9-8
in the second game from a tinned Willstrop forehand, but a slammed forehand
crosscourt pass from the front court and a tightly clinging forehand pass
rattled his confidence enough to bring an over-egged forehand pick-up that
put the ball out on the lefthand wall on game ball.
The third was a 16 minute progression for Willstrop that started on a clumsy
penalty stroke and finished on a backhand reaction shot at the end of a
scrappy rat-a-tat rally. Matthew managed a 4-2 lead in the fourth, but
Willstrop drove his way to the title in just two more hands, allowing his
opponent only a single further serve at 5-5.
Egypt Hit BJO For Six
For the fourth time since 2001, Egypt clinched six of the eight titles in
the Tecnifibre British Junior Open Squash Championships in a dramatic climax
to the world's most prestigious junior squash event in the Yorkshire city of
Sheffield.
With a record 11 finalists on the fifth and final day of the event - which
attracted more than 450 competitors from all over the world - Egypt were
represented in all but one of the finals!
Top-seeded Egyptian Mohamed El Shorbagy won the Boy's U19 title for the
Drysdale Cup, beating France's 5/8 seed Gregoire Marche 9-6, 9-7, 9-1 in a
50-minute final. The UK-based 16-year-old from Alexandria ended domestic
interest in the event after beating British National junior champion Adrian
Waller in the previous round - and has now recorded his third successive
British Junior Open triumph.
In the only final without Egyptian interest, French favourite Camille Serme
fought back from two games down to overcome Hong Kong's No2 seed Annie Au
7-9, 2-9, 9-3, 9-3, 9-7 in 69 minutes to win the Girl's U19 crown for the
first time after finishing as runner-up in 2007.
Karim Abdel Gawad produced one of the three upsets of the day in an
all-Egyptian Boy's Under 17 final. The 5/8 seed, in his first appearance in
a final, beat top seed Amr Khalid Khalifa - last year's U15 champion - 10-8,
9-7, 9-7 in 54 minutes.
It was 'fifth time lucky' and 'fifth time unlucky' in the climax of the
Girl's U17 event. On course for her fifth British Junior Open title in a
row, top-seeded Egyptian Heba El Torky crashed out 9-6, 5-9, 9-6, 1-9, 9-5
to India's Dipika Pallikal, a 5/8 seed.
"I've been coming for five years and never got past the quarter-finals, so
to win the title is just unbelievable," the 16-year-old from Chennai told
reporters.
Pakistan's only finalist Nasir Iqbal went down in the Boy's Under 15 final.
The 3/4 seed, winner of the U13 trophy last year, was beaten 9-2, 9-6, 9-1
by Egypt's top seed Karim Ali Fathi, the U13 champion two years ago.
The all-Egyptian Girl's Under 15 climax also produced a win for a former U13
champion when second seed Nour El Tayeb beat 3/4 seed Menat Allah Naser
10-8, 9-0, 9-2.
The Boy's Under 13 final revealed the biggest upset of the day when Osama
Khalid Khalifa defeated fellow Egyptian Shehab Essam, the top seed, 9-5,
9-0, 9-7. Khalifa, whose older brother was runner-up in the U17 final, was
only seeded to reach the last 16 - but also despatched the event's No2 seed
Dylan Murray on his way to the final.
The Girl's Under 13 final saw the swiftest win of the day when Egypt's top
seed Nour El Sherbeny despatched compatriot Nouran Ibrahim, a 3/4 seed, 9-4,
9-1, 9-2 in just 20 minutes.
Tecnifibre British Junior Open Squash Championships
Sheffield, England
Final Results:
Boy's Under 19
1* Mohamed El Shorbagy {Egypt} bt 5/8* Gregoire Marche {France}
9-6, 9-7, 9-1 {50m}
Boy's Under 17
5/8* Karim Abdel Gawad {Egypt} bt 1* Amr Khalid Khalifa {Egypt}
10-8, 9-7, 9-7 {54m}
Boy's Under 15
1* Karim Ali Fathi {Egypt} bt 3/4* Nasir Iqbal {Pakistan}
9-2, 9-6, 9-1 {29m}
Boy's Under 13
9/16* Osama Khalid Khalifa {Egypt} bt 1* Shehab Essam {Egypt}
9-5, 9-0, 9-7 {27m}
Girl's Under 19
1* Camille Serme {France} bt 2* Annie Au {Hong Kong}
7-9, 2-9, 9-3, 9-3, 9-7 {69m}
Girl's Under 17
5/8* Dipika Pallikal {India} bt 1* Heba Alaa El Torky {Egypt}
9-6, 5-9, 9-6, 1-9, 9-5 {48m}
Girl's Under 15
2* Nour El Tayeb {Egypt} bt 3/4* Menat Allah Naser {Egypt}
10-8, 9-0, 9-2 {31m}
Girl's Under 13
1* Nour El Sherbeny {Egypt} bt 3/4* Nouran Ibrahim {Egypt}
9-4, 9-1, 9-2 {20m}
Just Call Me Dr. Jahangir
Jahangir Khan, President of the World Squash Federation, has been awarded an
honorary Doctor of Philosophy degree from London Metropolitan University.
The legendary squash figure joins a wide range of public figures from the
world of business, sport, the arts, politics and public administration in
receiving honorary degrees from the University this year - including Lord
Moynihan, the former British Sports Minister and Chairman of the British
Olympic Association since 2005; Manny Lewis, Chief Executive of the London
Development Agency, which contributed greatly to London's 2012 Olympic bid;
and Philip Lane, CEO of the British Paralympic Association and a member of
the London 2012 Olympic Board Strategy Group.
"It's a privilege and an honour for me to receive this Honorary Degree,"
said Khan in his acceptance speech. "I would like to thank the Board of
Governors and Jury for honouring my services to the sport and the community.
The UK is my second home - the people in the UK have always been very
supportive to me."
Born on the 10th December 1963 in Karachi, Pakistan, Jahangir showed a clear
interest and talent for squash from a young age. He was coached by his
father Roshan Khan, the 1957 British Open Champion - and when Jahangir
claimed his British Open crown in 1982, this made them the only father and
son to win the prestigious title.
In 1979, Jahangir Khan became the youngest player ever to win the World
Amateur title - at only fifteen years old. Two years later, he became the
youngest player (at 17) to claim the World Open Championship, beating
Australia's Geoff Hunt in the final.
Jahangir went on to win the British Open title a record ten times and the
World Open trophy six times. Furthermore, he established an unprecedented
unbeaten record for an incredible five years and eight months - an
achievement unsurpassed in any other equivalent sport. Jahangir not only
dominated international squash, but also North American hardball squash.
Jahangir retired from competitive squash in 1993, after helping Pakistan win
the World Team Championships for the sixth time. In 1984 the government of
Pakistan honoured him by putting his image on a postage stamp and presenting
him with the President's Award and the civil award of Bilal-e-Imtiaz.
Jahangir has also been named as one of Asia’s Heroes by Time Magazine.
Jahangir had become a household name throughout the world - and later was
voted the greatest ever male player by a poll on the World Squash Federation
website.
In 1990 he was elected Chairman of the Professional Squash Association (PSA)
and Vice President of the Pakistan Squash Federation in 1998. In November
1998 he was elected Vice President of the World Squash Federation - and he
was made President four years later on 26 October 2002.
Jahangir Khan lives in Karachi with his wife Rubina, his two daughters and
his son Omar Jahangir. He has already predicted that Omar will be a World
Champion of the future!
"London Metropolitan University is delighted to honour Mr Khan for his
services to the field of sport," said a spokesman for the University. "We
look forward to continuing our close links with him in the future."
Nicol Is Asian Sportswoman Of The Year
Malaysian squash star Nicol David has been named Asian Sportswoman of the
Year in the inaugural awards launched by the Asian Sports Press Union (ASPU)
in collaboration with Stropt & Sports Limited (Hong Kong).
A panel of judges comprising of leading sports journalists and
administrators across Asia vetted through the nominees. In order to be
eligible for the awards, nominees must meet a certain criteria. They should
have excelled in their disciplines for the particular year and be the best
in Asia, with a minimum entry requirement of being Asian Games gold medal
winners.
Commenting on the results, Vice President of ASPU, George Das said:
"Congratulations to these men and women who have inspired and sparked the
imaginations of millions across Asia. I hope by winning these awards, they
will continue to not only be the best that they can be but also to do the
whole of Asia proud.
"We received over 100 nominations from 25 sporting bodies and National
Olympic Councils from 15 Asian countries," added Das. "Cutting the list down
to the final three for each category was easy but selecting the winners
really made us judges think."
Nicol David, who has held the women's world No1 squash ranking unopposed
since August 2006, enjoyed a distinguished year in 2007 - in which she
established a 50-match unbeaten run and won eight WISPA World Tour titles,
more than in any other year. After clinching the final two major trophies of
the year, the Qatar Classic and Hong Kong Open, Nicol went on to be voted 'WISPA
Player of the Year' by members of the association for the third year in a
row.
For the Asian Sportswoman of the Year award, Nicol David was shortlisted
with Thailand Weightlifter Paweena Thongsuk and South Korean Winter Sports
star Jin Sun Yu.
"I'm well happy about this award," said David from her home in Penang. "It
was already huge news for me being in the nominations amongst other top
athletes in Asia, especially contending with China, Japan and Korea - but
winning it is a real surprise for me.
"Hopefully, with this honour, squash can be widely spread throughout Asia
and can generate more interest for other Asians to compete on the
professional circuit sometime soon," added the 24-year-old, who has won five
Asian Championship and two Asian Games gold medals since 1998.
Andrew Shelley, Chief Executive of the Women's International Squash Players'
Association (WISPA) enthused: "What a result for squash: what a result for
Nicol personally: and what a wonderful ambassador for the sport our world
number one is! Recognition like this for Nicol David is a real boost as we
strive to place ourselves on the major sports map."
WSF Backs World Junior Rankings
Delegates attending the 37th Annual General Meeting of the World Squash
Federation in Bermuda have backed an initiative to introduce a world junior
ranking scheme, thus unifying the current highly successful junior
competition programmes at regional and national level.WSF Member National
Federations from all five regions attended the three-day Conference and AGM
held on the North Atlantic island during the Endurance World Open Squash
Championship Bermuda 2007.
ash has boasted biennial world individual and team championships for both
boys and girls since the early 1980s. In addition, there are flourishing
junior circuits in Europe, Asia, Oceania and Pan America which attract
Under-11 to Under-19 players from both within and outside the regions.
a mark of the sport's universality, all continents were represented in the
top 10 of the last World Junior Men's Championships, and in the top 7 of the
most recent Junior Women's Championships. Furthermore, there have been
notable recent transitions from the junior to senior circuit, with
Malaysia's Nicol David following her historic double world junior title win
with supremacy in the senior game, and Egypt's Ramy Ashour - also a two-time
world junior champion - already at No2 in the men's senior rankings.
Junior Squash is thriving globally and we are investing more resources than
ever to accommodate this growth," said WSF President Jahangir Khan. "We
already have competitions at National, Regional and World level at U-19 so
the growth is coming from increasing draw sizes, new age categories and more
frequent events.
"During the AGM, we discussed various new initiatives to nurture and support
this growth - among which is a proposal to create a World Junior Ranking
System. Furthermore, we are considering making the World Junior Individual
Championship an annual event; creating an Asia-Pacific Junior Circuit; and
introducing webstreaming.
"We already know that our Junior Programme is very strong as evidenced by
the meteoric rise of Nicol David and Ramy Ashour within the Professional
Tours and the spread of talent across regions. It is very exciting to see
this trend continuing," added Khan.
Super Series Goes Back To Broadgate
There is no event as significant as a tour-end championship. By providing a
finishing tape it makes the World Tour a race, creates a home straight, and
links the world from New York's Grand Central Terminal to the shimmering
Gulf of Arabia and beyond. The Super Series Finals, bringing together the
top eight qualifiers from the annual Professional Squash Association Super
Series Tour to compete in a week-long event, are thus simultaneously one of
the Tour's best ingredients and its glossy wrapping.
Fears for the future of the championships were allayed earlier in the year
by the revelation that the PSA had concluded a seven-year agreement which
will see the prestigious annual event re-launched under the
joint-stewardship of Ziad Al-Turki, Vice-President of the ATCO Group, and
Paul Walters, founder of the internationalSPORTgroup.
Following a highly successful staging of the event hosted by Manchester in
August, which saw Ramy Ashour win the prestigious championships on his
debut, the joint promoters have announced that the ATCO Super Series Finals
will return next year to the Broadgate Arena in the heart of London's Square
Mile from the 19th to 23rd May.
First staged in Switzerland in 1992, the championships first moved to the
unique location of Broadgate Arena in 1999. The five-day ATCO Super Series
Finals - London 2008 will feature two pools of four players, leading to
finals which will produce a 1-8 finish, and will boast one of the richest
prize funds in the sport.
"Since acquiring the rights to this major event, we have been working very
hard at finalising a solid and sustainable commercial platform from which
the championships can prosper over the short, medium and long-term," said
Ziad Al-Turki.
"This year's championships in Manchester were one of the most exciting and
eagerly contested in Super Series Finals history and provided the perfect
kick start to a very exciting period for the event. London has been chosen
for its significance in helping the Finals attract commercial partners,
combined with additional marketing, PR and promotional opportunities which
would obviously help drive the success of the championships at all levels,"
added the promoter of the Saudi International, the world's richest men's
prize money event.
Paul Walters of internationalSPORTgroup added: "The Super Series Finals is
without question one of the most important events on the Men's World Tour
and Ziad and I are very grateful for the support of Visit London, the
official visitor organisation for the UK's capital, who shown a great deal
of interest in bringing the event back to London."
"The ATCO Super Series Finals - London 2008 will offer one of the richest
prize funds in the sport and a comprehensive programme of TV coverage will
ensure that the event is distributed to the largest possible global
audience."
Professional Squash Association Chief Executive, Gawain Briars concluded:
"The return of the Super Series Finals to London is a natural fit. Ziad Al
Turki and Paul Walters are demonstrating their forward vision in bringing
the event back to the English capital, whose squash market will soak up the
dynamic match play of this pinnacle eight-man event of the PSA world tour.
"In particular, the Broadgate Arena - which has hosted so many spectacular
finals - will resume its historic relationship with the tournament and bring
the world's best players back to the heart of one of the world's leading
financial centres. The fans here are tried and tested and love watching top
class squash."
Natalie Wins Grinham Final In Monte Carlo
Australia's Natalie Grinham successfully defended her title in the Women's
Monte Carlo Squash Classic - and her straight games victory in the final of
the $31,500 WISPA World Tour Silver squash event in the Monaco capital was
sweet revenge for the loss to her older sister Rachael Grinham in the final
of the World Open in Madrid in October.
The clash was the Queensland siblings' 17th WISPA Tour meeting since their
first in 2001 - their third in a final and their seventh this year!
But it also followed a string of three successive wins by Cairo-based
Rachael - despite the Netherlands-based Natalie being ahead in the world
rankings over the period.
Rachael led 7-2 in the first game and 7-3 in the third: But on both
occasions Natalie, who had not dropped a game leading to the final, regained
control before clinching the match 9-7, 9-6, 9-7 in 49 minutes.
"After winning in Seoul (in April), I hurt my foot, and then later on my
wrist," explained Natalie, the world No2. "I am still having treatment for
that and getting a little pain. But though I am not quite 100% I am well on
the way," added the 29-year-old from Toowoomba who started the year with a
win and ended it on a similar high.
But the two-time Monte Carlo champion acknowledged her slow start: "Rachael
had been beating me and I was unsure how to play her - and I was too
defensive and not confident enough. Then I relaxed and changed my game."
Rachael Grinham, who beat Natalie en-route to both her World Open and
British Open triumphs in 2007, was delighted to have made her 45th WISPA
final: "I was trying hard but not making smart shot decisions. I was pleased
enough to make the final but maybe Natalie was more up for it."
Rodriguez Beats Galvez For Mexico City Title
Miguel Angel Rodriguez defeated local hero Eric Galvez in the final of the
Cuauhtémoc Mexico City Squash Open at Squash Cuauhtémoc in Mexico City to
round off a sensational year in which he has won three PSA Tour titles and
become the highest-ranked Colombian of all-time.
The 21-year-old top seed from Bogotá overcame fierce resistance from
Brazilian Rafael F Alarcon, the third seed, in the semi-finals of the
$20,000 PSA Tour event in Mexico before taking his anticipated place in his
sixth Tour final of 2007.
Galvez, the second seed from Puebla, battled for 57 minutes before
prevailing against Jorge Isaac Baltazar Ferreira in an all-Mexican
semi-final.
Much to the crowd's delight, the final proved to be the longest match of the
event - with South American champion Rodriguez, ranked 36 in the world,
ultimately coming through 11-8, 7-11, 11-5, 11-6 in 82 minutes.
The win marks Miguel Angel Rodriguez's first title triumph in Mexico, but
the sixth PSA Tour title success of his career.
Byrne & Blatchford Win Irish Juniors
Irishman Rory Byrne and USA's Olivia Blatchford emerged triumphant in the
U19 finals of the Irish Junior Open Squash Championships - Byrne providing
long-awaited domestic success in the boy's event of this European Squash
Federation Junior Circuit championship, while 14-year-old Blatchford was
recording one of the youngest ever successes in the women's category.
Top seed Byrne, a promising 18-year-old from Carlow who plays his Squash at
the prestigious Fitzwilliam LTC in Dublin, survived a tough five-game
semi-final against England's 17-year-old Anthony Graham before lining up
against another Englishman Oliver Dixon in the final.
Again, Byrne recovered from a game down before beating Dixon - a 17-year-old
5/8 seed from Bishop's Stortford. Making up for his defeat in last year's
final, Byrne triumphed 4-9, 9-2, 9-3, 9-4.
Olivia Blatchford, a 3/4 seed, made her breakthrough in the girl's
semi-finals, where she upset second-seeded Irish opponent Roisin Brennan.
The young Halifax star, who plays her squash at Queens Club, England, then
faced top seed Milou van der Heijden, a 16-year-old from the Netherlands who
is already into her second year on the WISPA World Tour.
But, defying the two-year age difference, New York-born Blatchford - the
reigning British Junior U15 Open champion - coasted to a 9-6, 9-3, 4-9, 9-6
victory to record her first U19 title triumph in Europe.
The event which was hosted by the Westwood Club at Leopardstown race course
and Mount Pleasant LTC was a huge success, with over 160 entries from all
across Europe and beyond.
Amr Swelim Takes African Open
Egypt's Amr Swelim lifted the trophy in the African Open after upsetting
both of the top two seeds in the first PSA Tour squash event ever to be held
in Nigeria.
The 23-year-old fourth seed from Cairo made his breakthrough in the
semi-finals of the $23,250 event in Lagos when he despatched top-seeded
Harrow Player Omar El Borolossy 10-11 (0-2), 11-10 (5-3), 11-7, 11-4.
In the final, Swelim faced Aaron Frankcomb, the No2 seed from Australia.
Frankcomb, 22, from Hobart and ranked ten places higher than his opponent,
took the opening game. But Swelim fought back to win 7-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-7.
The success marked the Egyptian's second PSA Tour title triumph, following
his maiden win three months ago in Spain where he claimed the Ciutat de
Barcelona Open crown.
Ford Wins Turin Open
England's Ben Ford scored the second PSA Tour title of his career when he
upset fellow countryman Jonathan Harford in the final of the Turin Open
Squash Championship at the Squash Point Fitness Club in the Italian city of
Turin.
The 32-year-old No7 seed from Kent made his breakthrough in the
quarter-finals when he fought back from two games down to beat second-seeded
Italian Luca Mastrostefano.
After despatching Austrian Aqeel Rehman, the fourth seed, in the
semi-finals, Ford faced favourite Harford in the final.
With more than 40 world ranking positions separating the pair, it was the
higher-ranked Harford, from Leeds in Yorkshire, that took the opening two
games.
But Ford fought back, winning the third for the loss of just a single point
before going on to clinch the match 8-11, 9-11, 11-1, 11-10 (2-0), 11-2 in
58 minutes.
Kronemeyer Wins Again !!
In a surprise final of the Women's Squash Hillegom Flowerbulb Open, third
seed Karen Kronemeyer defeated England's Vicky Hynes to keep the WISPA World
Tour title in its second year at Squash Hillegom, in the Netherlands city of
Hillegom, in Dutch hands.
The former Australian got off to a good start against Hynes, taking the
first game 9-4. However, the sixth seed from England fought back to level
the match. From that point onwards, 26-year-old Kronemeyer started
controlling the T, racing to a 2/1 lead and match ball in the fourth at 8-2.
Hynes was not to be denied, however. The 26-year-old former British Junior
champion from Birmingham staged a mini comeback to come within two points of
her opponent - saving four match balls in the process. The third seeded
Dutch girl finally capitalised on her fifth attempt to close out the match,
to win 9-4, 3-9, 9-3, 9-6 in 44 minutes - much to the delight of the vocal
home crowd.
"A successful tournament ended with a worthy final and a great champion!"
said tournament organiser Tommy Berden.
The victory stretched Kronemeyer's unbeaten run on the WISPA World Tour to
eight matches and two tournaments - and also keeps the trophy in Dutch hands
after Annelize Naude won the inaugural event in 2006. A month ago,
Kronemeyer also proved the strongest during the Didacticum Rotterdam Open
2007.
Hynes' appearance in the Tour final marked her first since winning the
Carcassone City Open in France in 2001.
Another Year At The Top For Nicol David
Nicol David has begun her third year as world number one, according to the
January Women's World Squash Rankings, published by the Women's
International Squash Players' Association.
The 24-year-old Malaysian first topped the list in January 2006 - and has
now moved into her 18th successive month as No1. David enjoyed the best year
of her career in 2007, winning eight WISPA World Tour titles from ten final
appearances, despite the World Open eluding her grasp.
Recognised within the sport as the WISPA Player of the Year last month for
the third year in a row, Nicol David achieved perhaps her most notable
accolade at the end of 2007 when voted Asian Sportswoman of the Year in the
inaugural awards launched by the Asian Sports Press Union.
Australia's Grinham sisters are behind David - Netherlands-based Natalie
Grinham at two, and the 2007 British Open and World Open champion Rachael
Grinham, based in Cairo, in third place.
Natalie Grinham finished the year on a high - avenging her defeat by Rachael
in October's Madrid World Open final to beat her older sibling in the climax
of the Monte Carlo Classic in Monaco in December.
It was the 29-year-old Queenslander's first WISPA Tour title success since
capturing the $50,000 Seoul Open crown in South Korea in April: “After
winning in Seoul, I hurt my foot, and then later on my wrist," said Grinham
junior after her Classic triumph. "I am still having treatment for that and
getting a little pain. But though I am not quite 100%, I am well on the
way."
Harrow Player Natalie Grainger held onto fourth position in the New Year
list as she registered the beginning of her tenth year in the world top ten.
The 30-year-old made her top ten debut in January 1999 as a South African,
converting to English allegiance later in the year. But this year,
Washington DC-based Grainger cemented her status as a US citizen by winning
the US National title, the Pan American Games gold medal, as well as five
WISPA World Tour titles on her new 'home' soil.
English players occupy the next three positions - with Lincolnshire's Harrow
Player Tania Bailey at No5; Manchester's Vicky Botwright at No6; and
Yorkshire's Jenny Duncalf at No7. Egypt's Harrow Player Omneya Abdel Kawy
rose one place to No8. There is English movement just outside the top ten
where Harrow Player Laura Lengthorn-Massaro overtook fellow countrywoman
Alison Waters to move into 11th place.
Holding her place at No16 in the new list is Engy Kheirallah, the
26-year-old Egyptian who celebrated her marriage to compatriot Karim Darwish,
the world No8, last month.
Dutch interest in the world top 20 was doubled by the return of Annelize
Naude. The 31-year-old from Amsterdam rises two places to 19.
World Top Twenty Women
From WISPA
1 [1] Nicol David MAS
2 [2] Natalie Grinham AUS
3 [3] Rachael Grinham AUS
4 [4] Natalie Grainger USA
5 [5] Tania Bailey ENG
6 [6] Vicky Botwright ENG
7 [7] Jenny Duncalf ENG
8 [9] Omneya Abdel Kawy EGY
9 [8] Vanessa Atkinson NED
10 [10] Shelley Kitchen NZL
11 [12] Laura Lengthorn-Massaro ENG
12 [11] Alison Waters ENG
13 [13] Madeline Perry IRL
14 [14] Rebecca Chiu HKG
15 [15] Kasey Brown AUS
16 [16] Engy Kheirallah EGY
17 [17] Isabelle Stoehr FRA
18 [18] Jaclyn Hawkes NZL
19 [21] Annelize Naude NED
20 [19] Dominique Lloyd-Walter ENG
Shabana Extends World No1 Reign
Egypt's Amr Shabana began the New Year as World No1, extending his reign
into a 22nd successive month at the top of the PSA Men's World Squash
Rankings, according to the January list published by the Professional Squash
Association.
The 28-year-old from Giza, near Cairo, recorded his best ever year in 2007 -
winning six PSA Tour titles, all of which were Super Series events,
culminating in the Endurance World Open in Bermuda, where he became the
first player to win the sport's most prestigious trophy three times since
the legendary Jansher Khan.
Left-hander Shabana first topped the rankings in April 2006 - and was
honoured in December as the PSA Player of the Year for the second successive
year.
Despite being out of action for the final two major events of last year
(nursing a foot injury), fellow Egyptian Ramy Ashour remained at No2 in the
world rankings.
A second successive runner-up berth in last month's World Open failed to
lift Gregory Gaultier above third place in the New Year list. The Frenchman
is ahead of Australia's David Palmer and England's Nick Matthew, at four and
five, respectively.
James Willstrop, who beat compatriot Matthew in the final of last month's
Mamut English Open, remained at No6 in an unchanged top eight listing.
Englishman Peter Barker, the 24-year-old left-hander from Essex who clinched
victory for his country in December's final of the World Team Championships,
marked his fourth 'personal best' ranking in six months with a rise to No12
in the January list.
Lower in the standings, Dutchman Laurens Jan Anjema also registered a
career-high world ranking at 19. The 25-year-old from The Hague picked up
two Tour titles in the year in the USA, at the Oregon Open and Baltimore
City Open.
And veteran campaigner Alex Gough marked a welcome return to the top twenty
after almost a year out of it. The 37-year-old Welshman reached the Bermuda
World Open quarter-finals unseeded - his best result in the event since 1998
- and is rewarded with a world No20 ranking.
Also of note in the New Year rankings is the growth of the geographical
spread of the players: Ten nations are represented in the world top 20 (an
increase on one from the January 2007 list) - while players in the PSA world
top 50 hail from a total of 20 countries (three more than twelve months
ago).
World Top Twenty Men
From PSA
1 [1] Amr Shabana EGY
2 [2] Ramy Ashour EGY
3 [3] Gregory Gaultier FRA
4 [4] David Palmer AUS
5 [5] Nick Matthew ENG
6 [6] James Willstrop ENG
7 [7] Thierry Lincou FRA
8 [8] Karim Darwish EGY
9 [10] John White SCO
10 [9] Wael El Hindi EGY
11 [12] Lee Beachill ENG
12 [13] Peter Barker ENG
13 [15] Stewart Boswell AUS
14 [14] Mohammed Abbas EGY
15 [18] Mohd Azlan Iskandar MAS
16 [16] Ong Beng Hee MAS
17 [17] Olli Tuominen FIN
18 [19] Adrian Grant ENG
19 [20] Laurens Jan Anjema NED
20 [25] Alex Gough WAL
Ends
4.1.08. |