Hosts New Zealand begins WSF Men’s World Team Championship in style

The WSF Men’s World Team Championship made a triumphant return today, with eight ties taking place in Tauranga at the Mercury Baypark Arena and the Devoy Squash and Fitness Centre.

Hosts New Zealand got the biennial event off to an exciting start with a hard-fought win over Republic of Korea.

With New Zealand No.1 and World No.3 Paul Coll rested after winning the New Zealand Open yesterday, it was up to World No.104 Lwamba Chileshe to lead the team.

The 24-year-old made the worst possible start against Dongjun Lee, with the Korean taking the first game 11-8.

Chileshe levelled with an 11-5 win in game two, but fell behind once more after game three, as unranked Lee sensed an upset.

Fortunately for the home crowd, Chileshe was able to regather himself, taking the next two games 11-5, 11-6, with his teammate and brother Temwa Chileshe then sealing the win with a 3-0 victory over Hyeonbeom Kang, before Elijah Thomas added the extras with a win in straight games against Ji Donghyun.

Afterwards, Lwamba Chileshe said: “It was fun at times but quite stressful!

“Up first, I think that’s why I struggled a bit, I felt under pressure and.a bit nervous.

“But I’m just really happy to get the win for the team.”

Also at the Devoy Centre, Australia and Malaysia came from behind to avoid upsets to the Netherlands and Ireland, respectively.

For Australia – the most successful team in competition history – Rhys Dowling and Dylan Molinaro proved to be the heroes against Thijs Roukens and Sam Gerrits after Joseph White’s defeat to 2022 World Junior Champion Rowan Damming.

For Malaysia, it was Sanjay Jeeva and Ameeshenraj Chandaran to the rescue, with the pair beating  Sean Conroy and Oisin Logan after Addeen Idrakie’s defeat to Sam Buckley.

Elsewhere, four teams made their championship debuts.

In the Mercury Baypark Arena, event newcomers Cook Islands and Tahiti went down to Czech Republic and Germany, while in the Devoy Centre, Philippines and Samoa lost out to South Africa and Canada.

Cook Islands’ Brian Tapurau said afterwards: “It feels very good – but a bit of an eye opener.

“It’s cool being out on the world stage with everyone.”

The WSF Men’s World Team Championship resumes tomorrow, 12 December, from 12:00 (GMt+13)

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, Group Stage

Group A: MALAYSIA 2-1 IRELAND
Addeen Idrakie 0-3 Sam Buckley 9-11, 4-11, 6-11 (37m)
Sanjay Jeeva 3-0 Sean Conroy 11-9, 11-7, 11-3 (30m)
Ameeshenraj Chandaran 3-0 Oisin Logan 11-9, 11-4, 11-4 (49m)

Group B: SOUTH AFRICA 3-0 PHILIPPINES
Dewald van Niekerk 3-0 Robert Andrew Garcia: 11-8, 11-6, 11-8 (30m)
Jean-Pierre Brits 3-0 David Pelino: 11-5, 11-6, 11-4 (25m)
Tristen Worth 3-0 Reymark Begornia: 11-6, 11-6, 11-9 (29m)

Group C: AUSTRALIA 2-1 NETHERLANDS
Joseph White 0-3 Rowan Damming: 11-13, 5-11, 4-11 (47m)
Rhys Dowling 3-0 Thijs Roukens: 11-2, 11-7, 12-10 (27m)
Dylan Molinaro 3-1 Sam Gerrits: 11-9, 9-11, 11-9, 11-8 (50m)

Group D: NIGERIA 3-0 JAPAN
Babatunde Ajagbe 3-2 Shota Yasunari: 11-7, 9-11, 11-6, 12-14, 11-4 (50m)
Adegoke Onaopemipo 3-2 Yujin Ikeda: 11-8, 8-11, 11-8, 7-11, 14-12 (55m)
Gabriel Olufunmilayo 3-1 Yuta Ando: 9-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-9 (37m)

Group E: CZECH REPUBLIC 3-0 COOK ISLANDS
Viktor Byrtus 3-0 Dylan Russell: 11-2, 12-10, 11-1 (20m)
Daniel Mekbib 3-0 Brian Tapurau: 11-3, 11-3, 11-3 (15m)
Jakub Solnicky 3-0 Manu Priest 11-1, 11-0, 11-1 (14m)

Group F: NEW ZEALAND 3-0 REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Lwamba Chileshe 3-2 Dongjun Lee: 8-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-5, 11-6 (65m)
Temwa Chileshe 3-0 Hyeonbeom Kang (KOR): 11-3, 11-9, 11-2 (33m)
Elijah Thomas 3-0 Ji Donghyun: 11-7, 11-7, 11-5 (32m)

Group G: CANADA 3-0 SAMOA
Salah Eltorgman 3-0 Leo Fatialofa: 3-0: 11-4, 11-1, 11-6 (21m)
Brett Schille 3-0 Onesemo Old:11-2, 11-2, 11-4 (18m)
Liam Marrison 3-0 Donald Marfleet 11-1, 11-5, 11-1 (20m)

Group H: GERMANY 3-0 TAHITI
Raphael Kandra  3-0 Laurent Loudier: 11-3, 11-2, 11-5 (16m)
Simon Rösner 3-0 Kevin Pons: 11-4, 11-4, 11-5 (18m)
Yannik Omlor 3-0 v Adrien Maury: 11-6, 11-5, 11-4 (21m)