USA break home hearts to reach quarter-finals of 2023 WSF Men’s World Team Championship

USA broke home hearts in Tauranga’s Mercury Baypark Arena with a hard-fought victory over New Zealand as they reached the last eight of the championship for the first time since 2011.

The No.5 seeds started well through third string Spencer Lovejoy, with the World No.69 giving his side a platform with an 11-5, 11-4, 11-7 win over Temwa Chileshe.

World No.3 Coll, so often the rock of New Zealand teams and in form after winning the New Zealand Open in four days ago, restored parity for the [9/12] seeds – who were targeting a third-consecutive quarter-final appearance – through a 3-0 win against Timothy Brownell.

In the crucial third match, it was USA’s Shahjahan Khan who was able to provide the telling contribution.

The 28-year-old – who two days ago came in during the third match to clinch victory on a fifth-game tie-break against Czech Republic’s Daniel Mekbib – held his nerve in an entertaining four-game contest with Lwamba Chileshe to take his side through.

“I feel play best under pressure. Playing for the team is different and gets me more motivated,” Khan said afterwards.

USA will face Switzerland in the quarter-final after the No.4 seeds reached the last eight for the first time with a comfortable win against eight-time champions Australia.

Earlier in the day, top seeds and defending champions Egypt continued their serene progress through the competition with a straightforward win over South Africa to set up a quarter-final clash with Scotland, who qualified for the last eight for the third time in succession thanks to a rescue effort from Greg Lobban and Rory Stewart against Hong Kong, China.

Elsewhere, England, France and Germany cruised past Malaysia, Nigeria and Canada, while Wales came through a fiery clash with Czech Republic.

The quarter-finals of the WSF Men’s World Team Championship take place tomorrow, 15 December, from 12:00 (GMT+13).

Today also saw the first round of the 17-24 playoffs take place.Click here to view results and draws for the 2023 WSF Men’s World Team Championship.

For the latest news from the 2023 WSF Men’s World Team Championship, head to the official tournament website or follow the World Squash Federation on Facebook, Instagram, Threads and X (formerly Twitter).

Results: WSF Men’s World Team Championship, Round of 16

[1] EGYPT 2-0 [13/16] SOUTH AFRICA
Youssef Soliman 3-0 Damian Groenewald: 11-8, 11-4, 11-4 (25m)
Mostafa Asal 3-0 Dewald van Niekerk: 11-6, 11-4, 11-5 (22m)
Mazen Hesham MW Jean-Pierre Brits

[7] SCOTLAND 2-1 [8] HONG KONG, CHINA
Alan Clyne 0-3 Chi Him Wong: 10-12, 8-11, 8-11 (43m)
Greg Lobban 3-1 Tsz Kwan Lau: 11-6, 12-10, 8-11, 11-4 (48m)
Rory Stewart 3-1 Henry Leung: 11-4, 11-7, 12-14, 11-9 (57m)

[4] SWITZERLAND 2-0 [13/16] AUSTRALIA
Nicolas Mueller 3-0 Joseph White 3-0: 11-7, 11-2, 11-6 (28m)
Yannick Wilhelmi 3-0 Dylan Molinaro: 11-4, 11-5, 11-5 (27m)
Dimitri Steinmann MW Rhys Dowling

[5] USA v [9/12] NEW ZEALAND
Spencer Lovejoy 3-0 Temwa Chileshe: 11-5, 11-4, 11-7 (36m)
Timothy Brownell 0-3 Paul Coll: 6-11, 2-11, 5-11 (32m)
Shahjahan Khan 3-1 Lwamba Chileshe: 11-4, 6-11, 11-5, 11-7 (54m)

[6] WALES 2-0 [9/12] CZECH REPUBLIC
Owain Taylor 3-1 Daniel Mekbib: 11-4, 8-11, 12-10, 11-6 (55m)
Joel Makin 3-0 Martin Svec: 11-1, 11-3, 11-4 (23m)
Emyr Evans MW Viktor Byrtus

[3] FRANCE 2-0 [13/16] NIGERIA
Gregoire Marche 3-0 Gabriel Olufunmilayo: 11-6, 11-5, 11-5 (29m)
Victor Crouin 3-0 Babatunde Ajagbe: 11-0, 11-5, 11-9 (26m)
Baptiste Masotti MW Adegoke Onaopemipo

[9/12] GERMANY 2-0 [9/12] CANADA
Yannik Omlor 3-0 Liam Marrison: 11-9, 11-4, 11-7 (44m)
Raphael Kandra 3-1 Salah Eltorgman: 11-3, 4-11, 11-8, 11-6 (34m)
Simon Rösner MW Brett Schille

[2] ENGLAND 2-0 [13/16] MALAYSIA 
Patrick Rooney 3-0 Ameeshenraj Chandaran: 11-1, 11-3, 11-5 (23m)
Mohamed ElShorbagy 3-0 Addeen Idrakie: 11-6, 11-4, 11-8 (28m)
Marwan ElShorbagy MW Sanjay Jeeva

Draw: WSF Men’s World Team Championship, Quarter-Final
[1] EGYPT v [7] SCOTLAND
[4] SWITZERLAND  v [5] USA
[6] WALES v [3] FRANCE
[9/12] GERMANY v [2] ENGLAND