India Strike Back To reach last eight at World Team Championship

Report by Howard Harding

India ensured a top eight finish in the biennial WSF Men’s World Team Championship by beating Germany, the No.7 seeds, in the last 16 round in Marseille.

Germany suffered a setback overnight when squad number two Raphael Kandra, was taken ill. So, with the day’s playing order being 2,1,3, it was the country’s third string Rudi Rohrmuller, an unranked 26-year-old, who took to the court to face India’s World No.69 Vikram Malhotra.

Underdogs India duly took the lead when Malhotra beat Rohrmuller 11-8, 11-1, 11-8 in 27 minutes – but in the following battle between top strings Saurav Ghosal and Simon Rösner (both pictured above), it was Rösner who prevailed 9-11, 11-4, 5-11, 11-6, 3-11 in a dramatic 57-minute clash which saw Germany draw level.

India took full advantage of their weakened opponents in the decider when World No.73 Mahesh Mangaonkar defeated Valentin Rapp 11-6, 11-8, 11-4 to claim victory for the eighth seeds.

Elsewhere at Modern Squash, another tie went the full distance when fifth seeds Hong Kong China had to recover from the loss of the second match to beat USA 2-1.

Hong Kong champion Leo Au put his side ahead after beating former US champion Christopher Gordon in four games. But the 11th seeds bounced back when top string Todd Harrity played the game of his life to see off world No.28 Max Lee 7-11, 11-4, 7-11, 9-11 (both pictured above) and claim perhaps the best scalp of his career.

To the delight of his team-mates, Yip Tsz Fung restored order for the fifth seeds to beat Chris Hanson 11-9, 11-7, 11-4 and put Hong Kong into the quarter-finals.

One of the most popular sporting confrontations in the southern hemisphere will take place at Modern on Friday when Australia and New Zealand face each other for a place in the semi-finals. Australia, the No.4 seeds, beat 14th seeds Canada 3-0, while sixth seeds New Zealand defeated 12th seeds Spain 2-1.

The event’s top three seeds were in action on the all-glass showcourt at Salle Vallier in Marseille. Favourites Egypt comfortably claimed their place in the quarter-finals after beating Finland 3-0, while in the evening tie, hosts France dispatched Wales by the same score.

There was drama in the England v Switzerland clash when, after James Willstrop put title-holders England ahead, team-mate Nick Matthew faced his first ever defeat to Nicolas Müller (both pictured below) when the Swiss number one built up a 2-0 and 8-7 lead and was just three points away from an historic upset.

With three world individual titles to his name and more than 100 caps for England, 37-year-old Matthew called upon his vast experience in the game to weather the storm and assert his authority on his opponent to close out the match 9-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-7 in 53 minutes to carry England into the last eight.

“The team stuck with me mentally,” said the relieved World No.5 after the match.

“I wasn’t feeling confident and Nicolas played really well. The coach and the guys helped me stay positive. I was moving a little bit slowly and Nicolas is a very quick and dangerous player. I need to improve for tomorrow!”

Back at Modern, day four finished in dramatic style when 10th seeds Scotland fought out a shock 2-1 win over Malaysia, the ninth seeds.

When squad second string Greg Lobban defeated Malaysian Eain Yow Ng 11-9, 5-11, 11-9, 11-7 and team number one Alan Clyne forged a 2/1 lead over Nafiizwan Adnan, it looked as if Scotland were heading for a straightforward 2-0 upset over their more fancied opponents.

But Adnan, who had a superior head-to-head record over the Scot, regained control to overcome Clyne 7-11, 11-1, 11-8, 3-11, 8-11 in 74 minutes.

So it was left to the decider for Scotland to clinch victory when third string Douglas Kempsell beat Mohd Syafiq Kamal 11-3, 3-11, 11-5, 10-12, 11-6.

Results – WSF World Team Squash Championship
Last 16 round

[1] EGYPT bt [15] FINLAND 3-0
Ali Farag bt Jami Äijänen 11-5, 11-9, 11-6 (25m)
Karim Abdel Gawad bt Miko Äijänen 6-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-9 (41m)
Marwan Elshorbagy bt Matias Tuomi 11-6, 11-3 (16m)

[10] SCOTLAND bt [9] MALAYSIA 2-1
Greg Lobban bt Eain Yow Ng 11-9, 5-11, 11-9, 11-7 (50m)
Alan Clyne lost to Nafiizwan Adnan 7-11, 11-1, 11-8, 3-11, 8-11 (74m)
Douglas Kempsell bt Mohd Syafiq Kamal 11-3, 3-11, 11-5, 10-12, 11-6 (69m)

[3] FRANCE bt [13] WALES 3-0
Mathieu Castagnet bt Peter Creed 11-6, 11-4, 11-9 (36m)
Gregory Gaultier bt Joel Makin 11-6, 11-9, 12-10 (54m)
Lucas Serme bt David Haley 11-6, 11-4 (19m)

[5] HONG KONG CHINA bt [11] USA 2-1
Leo Au bt Christopher Gordon 11-4, 11-6, 9-11, 11-4 (43m)
Max Lee lost to Todd Harrity 7-11, 11-4, 7-11, 9-11 (45m)
Yip Tsz Fung bt Chris Hanson 11-9, 11-7, 11-4 (40m)

[6] NEW ZEALAND bt [12] SPAIN 2-1
Campbell Grayson bt Iker Pajares Bernabeu 11-8, 8-11, 11-5, 11-6 (65m)
Paul Coll bt Borja Golan 8-11, 11-9, 13-11, 11-1 (76m)
Evan Williams lost to Carlos Cornes 11-5, 8-11, 8-11 (27m)

[4] AUSTRALIA bt [14] CANADA 3-0
Cameron Pilley bt Shawn Delierre 11-3, 11-3, 11-7 (28m)
Ryan Cuskelly bt Nick Sachvie 11-8, 11-4, 11-9 (49m)
Rex Hedrick bt Michael McCue 11-9, 11-3 (27m)

[8] INDIA bt [7] GERMANY 2-1
Vikram Malhotra bt Rudi Rohrmuller 11-8, 11-1, 11-8 (27m)
Saurav Ghosal lost to Simon Rösner 9-11, 11-4, 5-11, 11-6, 3-11 (57m)
Mahesh Mangaonkar bt Valentin Rapp 11-6, 11-8, 11-4 (31m)

[2] ENGLAND bt [16] SWITZERLAND 3-0
James Willstrop bt Dimitri Steinmann 11-6, 11-9, 11-3 (32m)
Nick Matthew bt Nicolas Müller 9-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-7 (53m)
Adrian Waller bt Reiko Peter 9-11, 14-12, 11-1 (33m)

Quarter-final line-up:
[1] EGYPT v [10] SCOTLAND
[3] FRANCE v [5] HONG KONG CHINA
[4] AUSTRALIA v [6] NEW ZEALAND
[2] ENGLAND v [8] INDIA

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