Sports Bulletin

Sports Bulletin Report Nancy (France):-English national Finnlay Withington overcame top seed Mohammad Hamza Khan 3-2 in the first semifinal of the World Juniors’ Squash Championship 2022 at Nancy France on Monday. The final score-line was 11-2, 11-9, 5-11, 11-13and 11-2. Withington was in total control in the first, and took an early lead in the second before a series of errors allowed Khan to bounce back in the match. Withington just about held on to go two games up, but the momentum was with Khan now and the top seed dominated the third and led for most of a closer fourth. Withington played three strong rallies to go 10-8 up, but found the tin on both match balls – and again at 11-10 – before Khan took the next three points to set up a decider. The fifth was a repeat of the opening game as Withington dominated to become the first Englishman to reach the final since the all-English final of 2002. Salma topples top seed Kenzy First up was one of two all-Egyptian women’s semis as top seed Kenzy Ayman met 5/8 seed Salma El Tayeb. El Tayeb was on top in the first game, and took an early lead in the second before Ayman fought back to level the match. A 6-0 start in the third was enough for El Tayeb to hold off another Ayman comeback and retake the lead, and the underdog kept ahead through the fourth to claim a place in the final 11-9, 7-11, 11-7, 11-6. The second women’s semi was a thriller, with second seed Amina Orfi coming from two games down and taking the decider in extra points. Fayrouz Abouelkheir had egded the first two games both 11-9, but Orfi stormed back to go 10-4 up in the third, taking it 11-9, and racing through the fourth 11-2. The fifth was close all the way and at 8-8 it was anyone’s. Orfi moved to 10-8, Abouelkheir saved both of those but couldn’t do it on the third attempt as the 15-year-old took it 12-10 to go through to the final. Results (Semifinals): Women’s Salma El Tayeb(Egy) beat 3-1 Kenzy Ayman (Egy) 11-9, 7-11, 11-7, 11-6 Amina Orfi (Egy) beat 3-2 Fayrouz Aboulkheir(Egy) 9-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-2, 12-10 Men’s Finnlay Withington (Eng) beat 3-2 Mohammad Hamza Khan (Pak) 11-2, 11-9, 5-11, 11-13, 11-2 Rowan Damming (Ned) beat 3-1 Mohamed Zakaria(Egy) 11-13, 17-15, 11-8, 11-8  

Sports Bulletin Report Nancy (France):-Top seed Pakistani squash lad, Mohammad Hamza Khan moved into the quarterfinals of the ongoing World Juniors’ Squash Championships 2022 after beating Ameeshenraj from Malaysia in straight games 3-0 at Nancy France. The final score-line was just 11-8, 11-6 and 11-6. Local junior guy Brice Nicolas from France ousted second seed Pakistan player Noor Zaman 3-1 at the same stage of the championship with the score-line of 11-5, 11-8, 9-11 and 11-4.  Results (Men’s Competitions): Mohammad Hamza Khan (Pak) beat 3-0 Ameeshenraj Chandran 11-8, 11-6, 11-6 Mohammed Nasser (Egy) beat 3-1 Jonah Bryant (Eng) 11-6, 11-5, 8-11, 11-9 Sam Osborne-Wylde (Eng) beat 3-2 Joachim Chuah (Mas) 11-3, 7-11, 3-11, 11-1, 11-9 Finnlay Withington (Eng) beat 3-0 Arnaav Sareen (Ind) 12-10, 11-9, 11-7  Juan Torres Lara (Col) beat 3-0 Krishna Mishra (Ind) 13-11, 11-7, 11-3 Rowan Damming (Ned) beat 3-0 [9/16] Denis Gilevskiy (Irl) 11-9, 11-5, 11-8 Mohamed Zakaria (Egy) beat 3-1 Salman Khalil (Egy) 7-11, 11-3, 11-9, 13-11 Brice Nicolas (Fra) beat 3-1 Noor Zaman (Pak) 11-5, 11-8, 9-11, 11-4 Results (Women’s Competitions): Kenzy Ayman (Egy) beat 3-0 Asia Harris (Eng) 11-2, 11-6, 11-5 Saran Nghiem (Eng) beat 3-1 Xin Ying Yee (Mas) 7-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-7 Salma El Tayeb (Egy) beat 3-0 Nardine Garas (Egy) 11-4 , 11-7, 11-2 Aira Azman (Mas) beat 3-1 Sehveetraa Kumar (Mas) 11-6, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7 Fayrouz Aboulkheir (Egy) beat 3-0 Lucie Stefanoni (USA) 11-4, 11-3, 11-9 Anahat Singh (Ind) beat 3-1 Torrie Malik (Eng) 11-5, 11-5, 6-11, 11-7 Malak Khagafy (Egy) beat 3-1 Kirstie Po (Hkg) 11-5, 9-11, 11-5, 11-5 Amina Orfi (Egy) beat 3-0 Caroline Fouts (Usa) 11-6, 11-8, 11-5

Sports Bulletin Report Cochabamba (Bolivia):-Colombia picked up three gold medals at the recently-concluded 2022 Pan American Junior Squash Championships that took place between from July 31 to August 6 at Cochabamba, Bolivia. This year’s edition of the championships ended a three-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with Under 19 athletes being given the opportunity to battle for medals for the first time since the 2019 event in Toronto, Canada. Colombia were victorious in both the individual events, with Juan Torres beating Javier Romo of Ecuador to the men’s gold medal, while Maria Ramirez took out USA’s Caroline Eielson to prevail in the women’s final. Torres captured a second gold medal when he teamed up with Juan Irisarri to take gold in the men’s doubles, while Ecuador took the honours in the women’s doubles. Romo went one better than his individual silver as he claimed gold in the mixed doubles, together with compatriot Ariana Alava. Meanwhile, the team’s event was dominated by USA, who won both the men’s and women’s event. The fair play award went to USA’s Hollis Robertson and Bolivia’s own Andrea Fuertes. Colombia ended up top of the medals table with a trio of gold medals, alongside three silvers and a bronze. Meanwhile, USA had three silvers and three bronze medals to go with their two golds, while Ecuador also took two gold medals, alongside a silver medal and four bronzes.

Sports Bulletin Report ISLAMABAD:-Pakistan’s two players Hamza Khan and Noor Zaman got bye in the first round of the World Juniors’ Squash Championship 2022, which will be kicked off on Thursday (August 11) at Nancy, France. According to an official of Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF), the WSF Mens’ World Junior Individual and Team Squash Championship will be held at Nancy, France from August 11 to 21, 2022. The Individual Event has a draw of 128 players and will be played from August 11 to 16, 2022 while Team Event would be played from August 17 to 21. Pakistan squash contingent comprising 04 players, Mohammad Hamza Khan, Noor Zaman, Mohammad Ashab Irfan and Anas Ali Shah and two officials a coach and the manager to take part in the championship. In the 1st round matches, Hamza Khan and Noor Zaman have been given bye while Mohammad Ashab Irfan will play against Titouan Isambard from France and Anas Ali Shah will face Denis Gilevskiy from Ireland.

Sports Bulletin Report Birmingham (UK):-England’s Georgina Kennedy and New Zealand’s Paul Coll became the Commonwealth Games 2022, singles champions after they beat Canada’s Hollie Naughton and Wales’ Joel Makin in front of a sell-out crowd of 2,000 inside the University of Birmingham Hockey and Squash Centre. Appearing in her debut Commonwealth Games, 3/4 seed Kennedy put in yet another remarkable performance to cap a year in which she has risen from a relative-unknown World No.185 to World No.8 and a national star, drawing comparisons with clubmate Emma Raducanu. Kennedy, as she had in victories over Yeheni Kuruppu, Nicole Bunyan, Rachel Arnold and compatriot Sarah-Jane Perry in Birmingham, today blew 5/8 seed Naughton away with her devastating speed and court coverage. There was an intriguing clash of styles in game one, with Naughton’s power and Kennedy’s pace well matched as the scores reached 6-6. Kennedy, though, soon kicked on and took the first game 11-7 before doubling her advantage with a dominant 11-5 win in the second. Naughton responded well in the third and blasted her way to a 10-4 lead, before Kennedy incredibly saved all six game balls to force a tie break. Kennedy had one hand on the gold medal when she had match ball at 11-10, before a determined Naughton pulled the game back with a 14-12 win. Somehow, Kennedy moved even faster in the fourth game and went on the attack as she raced away to a 6-1 lead. This time, Naughton was unable to recover, and Kennedy took the title with a 11-5 victory. More history was made in the men’s final, as Coll became the first Kiwi to win a singles gold medal after twice coming from behind in an epic encounter with Makin. Coll went into the match with an 11-2 head-to-head record over Makin, including a victory from two games down in the semi-finals of the 2018 Games. It was the University of Birmingham graduate Makin, though, who began quicker and the World No.7 made the ideal start to the match when his attacking strategy caught Coll off guard as he won the first game 11-3. Makin continued to show excellent ball control in a tight second game, but was unable to prevent an improving Coll – who was ranked World No.1 between March and May of this year – from edging the contest 11-9. Makin, who enjoyed the vast majority of the crowd’s support, responded fantastically in the third game. The 27-year-old attacked the front of the court with relish to reclaim the lead with an 11-8 win, as the incredible athleticism of both men drew gasps and applause from the fans. Neither player elected to change the ball for the fourth game, which became a shootout as both men played thrilling squash. Coll, though, was able to keep his nose ahead throughout and took the match into a fifth game with an 11-8 win. Although Makin continued to throw everything at Coll in the final game, the 2018 runner up looked ice cold in his bid to erase the pain of four years ago. The Kiwi began to dominate the court and had five gold medal balls at 10-5. Makin went all out and saved two, but Coll eventually brought a thrilling match to an end with an 11-7 win. In the women’s final, England’s Sarah-Jane Perry avenged her defeat in the 2018 Gold Coast final with a brilliant comeback to beat New Zealand’s 2018 champion Joelle King. Birmingham-born Perry was in a desperate situation at two games down and trailing 8-4 in the third. The 32-year-old, though, showed remarkable mental strength to come back and take the game 12-10, before levelling the match with an 11-6 win in the fourth. In an absorbing fifth game, Perry saved two bronze medal balls and then had one of her own saved, before eventually taking the match with a 14-12 victory to the roars of the crowd. Results (Commonwealth Games Squash Finals): Men’s Singles: Paul Coll (NZL) beat [2] Joel Makin (WAL) 3-2: 3-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7 (102m) Women’s Singles: Georgina Kennedy (ENG) beat Hollie Naughton (CAN) 3-1: 11-7, 11-5, 12-14, 11-5 (56m) Men’s Bronze Medal Match: Saurav Ghosal (IND) beat James Willstrop (ENG) 3-0:11-6, 11-1, 11-4 (42m) Women’s Bronze Medal Match: Sarah-Jane Perry beat Joelle King (NZL) 3-2: 6-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-6, 14-12 (76m).

Sports Bulletin Report Birmingham (UK):-Pakistan’s only hope in squash, Nasir Iqbal lost his match 3-0 against James Willstrop in the 3rd round match of Men’s Squash fixture of the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022 on Sunday. The final score-line was 11-6, 11-4 and 11-7. Results (Men’s Round-III): Joelle King (Nzl) 3-0 [9/16] Georgia Adderley (Sco) 11-3, 11-5, 11-5 Lucy Turmel (Eng) 3-1 [9/16] Jess Turnbull (Aus)11-1, 13-11, 9-11, 11-4 Paul Coll (Nzl) 3-1 Emyr Evans (Wal) 8-11, 11-0, 11-5, 12-10 Adrian Waller (Eng) 3-0 Chris Binnie (Jam) 11-7, 11-4, 11-4 Hollie Naughton (Can) 3-0 [9/16] Aifa Azman (Mas) 11-6, 11-7, 16-14 Joshna Chinappa (Ind) 3-1 Kaitlyn Watts (Nzl) 11-8, 9-11, 11-4, 11-6 Greg Lobban (Sco) 3-2 [9/16] Ivan Yuen (Mas) 11-3, 9-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-7 James Willstrop (Eng) 3-0 Nasir Iqbal (Pak) 11-6, 11-4, 11-7

Sports Bulletin Report Birmingham (UK):-Day one of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games got off to a flying start across 28 matches on day one at the University of Birmingham Hockey and Squash Centre. Results (Round-1 Men’s Singles): Niall Engerer (MLT) bt Kijan Sultana (MLT) 3-1: 11-7, 15-13, 9-11, 12-10 (51m) Emyr Evans (WAL) bt Luca Reich (IVB) 3-0: 11-1, 11-3, 11-0 (20m) Mohd Syafiq Kamal (MAS) bt Madako Suari (PNG) 3-0: 11-2, 11-3, 11-2 (17m) Christopher Binnie (JAM) bt Evans Ayih (GHA) 3-0: 11-1, 11-1, 11-3 (16m) Jake Kelly (CAY) bt Marika Matanatabu (FIJ) 3-2: 8-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-9 (54m) Ravindu Laksiri (SRI) bt Shomari Wiltshire (GUY) 3-1: 11-2, 11-1, 7-11, 11-3 (33m) Rhys Dowling (AUS) bt Jason Doyle (VIN) 3-0: 11-1, 11-2, 11-5 (18m) Ivan Yuen (MAS) bt Khamal Cumberbatch (BAR) 3-0: 11-9, 11-9, 11-9 (26m) David Baillargeon (CAN) bt Chayse McQuan (TTO) 3-0: 11-3, 11-4, 11-3 (24m) Peter Creed (WAL) bt Othneil Bailey (VIN) 3-0: 11-1, 11-4, 11-5 (16m) Shamil Wakeel (SRI) bt Shawn Simpson (BAR) 3-2: 6-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-1 (40m) Julian Jervis (CAY) bt Clement Anafo (GHA) 3-0: 11-1, 11-1, 11-2 (16m) Temwa Chileshe (NZL) bt Jules Snagg (VIN) 3-0: 11-2, 11-3, 11-3 (17m) Rory Stewart (SCO) bt Muqtadir Sadruddin Nimji (KEN) 3-0: 11-7, 13-11, 11-4 (22m) Nasir Iqbal (PAK) bt Julian Morrison (JAM) 3-0: 11-5, 11-4, 11-3 (18m) Christian Navas (GIB) bt Jace Jervis (CAY) 3-1: 9-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-8 (38m) Jason-Ray Khalil (GUY) bt Paul Kadoma (UGA) 3-2: 12-14, 11-9, 9-11, 11-4, 11-8 (54m) Nick Sachvie (CAN) bt Kundanji Kalengo (ZAM) 3-1: 11-2, 10-12, 11-2, 11-1 (37m) Lwamba Chileshe (NZL) bt Feonor Siaguru (PNG) 3-0: 11-4, 11-3, 11-4 (17m) Abhay Singh (IND) bt Joe Chapman (BVI) 3-0: 11-5, 11-5, 11-5 (25m) Michael Raymond Kawooya (UGA) bt Marcus Allen Adela (SEY) 3-0: 11-8, 11-1, 11-3 (12m) Results (Women’s Singles, Round-1): Leungo Katse (BOT) bt Zulema Chisenga (ZAM) 3-0: 11-9, 11-4, 11-9 (18m) Lijana Sultana (MLT) bt Charlotte Knaggs (TTO) 3-2: 9-11, 11-3, 11-3, 7-11, 12-10 (40m) Meagan Best (BAR) bt Khaliqa Sadrudin Nimji (KEN) 3-0: 1-1, 11-0, 11-0 (12m) Yeheni Kuruppu (SRI) bt Ashley Khalil (GUY) 3-2: 11-4, 11-9, 9-11, 3-11, 11-4 (33m) Amanda Haywood (BAR) bt Naomi Neo Phatsima (BOT) 3-0: 11-3, 11-3, 11-9 (15m) Anahat Singh (IND) bt Jada Ross (VIN) 3-0: 11-5, 11-2, 11-0 (15m) Jade Pitcairn (CAY) bt Jada Smith-Padmore (BAR) 3-0: 11-5, 11-5, 11-2 (19m) Results (Men’s Singles Round-2): Joelle King (Nzl) 3-0 Leungo Katse (Bot) 11-1, 11-4, 11-3 (15m) Georgia Adderley (Sco) 3-0 Emma Keane (Ber) 11-1, 11-3, 11-1 (20m) Jess Turnbull (Aus) 3-0 Collette Sultana (Mlt) 11-4, 11-7, 11-7 (33m) Lucy Turmel (Eng) 3-0 Amity Alarcos (Png) 11-5, 11-1, 11-1 (15m) Paul Coll (Nzl) 3-0 Niall Engerer (Mlt) 11-4, 11-2, 11-4 (16m) Emyr Evans (Wal) 3-1 Mohd Syafiq Kamal (Mas) 11-8, 11-7, 7-11, 11-7 (46m) Chris Binnie (Jam) w/o [9/16] Ramit Tandon (Ind) Ramit w/d injured Adrian Waller (Eng) 3-0 Jake Kelly (Cay) 11-4, 11-3, 11-3 (25m) Hollie Naughton (Can) 3-0 Lijana Sultana (Mlt) 11-2, 11-1, 11-2 (16m) Aifa Azman (Mas) 3-0 Sunayna Kuruvilla (Ind) 11-7, 11-7, 11-7 (25m) Kaitlyn Watts (Nzl) 3-0 Mary Fung-a-Fat (Guy) 11-2, 11-6, 11-423m) Joshna Chinappa (Ind) 3-0 Meagan Best (Bar) 11-8, 11-9, 12-10 (34m) Greg Lobban (Sco) 3-0 Ravindu Laksiri (Sri) 11-9, 11-4, 12-10 (37m) Ivan Yuen (Mas) 3-1 Rhys Dowling (Aus) 11-9, 9-11, 11-5, 11-4 (42m) David Baillargeon (Can) 3-1 Peter Creed (Wal) 11-8, 8-11, 1-6, 11-4 (48m) Saurav Ghosal (Ind) 3-0 Shamil Wakeel (Sri) 11-4, 11-4, 11-6 (24m) Donna Lobban (Aus) 3-1 Rachael Grinham (Aus) 6-11, 11-4, 11-7, 11-7 (32m) Nicole Bunyan (Can) 3-0 Chanithma Sinaly (Sri) 11-1, 11-8, 11-4 (20m) Rachel Arnold (Mas) 3-0 Amna Fayyaz (Pak) 11-3, 11-2, 11-5 (14m) Tesni Evans (Wal) 3-0 Amanda Haywood (Bar) 11-5, 11-3, 11-2 (18m) Patrick Rooney (Eng) 3-0 Julian Jervis (Cay) 11-2, 11-6, 11-6 (28m) Rory Stewart (Sco) 3-1 Temwa Chileshe (Nzl) 8-11, 11-4, 11-4, 11-4 (45m) Nasir Iqbal (Pak) 3-0 [9/16] Tayyab Aslam (Pak) 11-5, 9-3 rtd (16m) James Willstrop (Eng) 3-0 Christian Navas (Gib) 11-1, 11-2, 11-6 (26m) Women’s (Round-2) Emily Whitlock (Wal) 3-1 Anahat Singh (Ind) 11-7, 11-7, 4-11, 11-6 (43m) Gina Kennedy (Eng) 3-0 Yeheni Kuruppu (Sri) 11-1, 11-1, 11-1 (16m) Chan Yiwen (Mas) 3-0 Faiza Zafar (Pak) 11-3, 11-6, 11-5 (18m) Sarah-Jane Perry (Eng) 3-0 Jade Pitcairn (Cay) 11-1, 11-3, 11-5 (16m) Eain Yow Ng (Mas) 3-0 Jason-Ray Khalil (Guy) 11-4, 11-2, 11-4 (17m) Nick Sachvie (Can) 3-2 Lwamba Chileshe (Nzl) 11-6, 6-11, 5-11, 11-8, 11-4 (70m) Alan Clyne (Sco) 3-0 Abhay Singh (Ind) 11-3, 9-2 rtd (12m) Joel Makin (Wal) 3-0 Mike Kawooya (Uga) 11-1, 11-2, 11-2 (24m)

Abdul Jabbar Faisal ISLAMABAD:-Pakistan’s four players team will participate in the two fixtures of the WSF World Juniors Squash Championship 2022, which will be kicked off from August 11 in Nancy, France, as official of Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) told www.sports-bulletion.com on Friday. “Pakistan will take part in individual and team events of the World Squash Federation’s (WSF) top junior showpiece, as Noor Zaman, Mohammad Hamza Khan, Ans Ali Bokhari and Irfan Arshed will represent Pakistan in the both events. Boys are well prepared and will produce notable performances, “he hoped. It is important to mention here that Jansher Khan had won the world junior title in 1986 for Pakistan in Brisbane, Australia. Later on Yasir Butt and Aamir Atlas Khan reached the finals but failed to win the title. Sohail Qaiser had won the first title for Pakistan in 1982. Pakistan won the team event’s title in 2016 after beating Egypt in the final. Young athletes from 36 countries will head to Nancy, France, when this year’s edition of the WSF World Junior Squash Championships gets underway from August 11 to 21, this year 2022. Athletes from countries in every populated continent will take part in the World Junior Championships, which will feature a junior men’s and women’s individual event and a men’s team event. Hosts France will be hoping they can claim a first ever title, with Victor Crouin and Grégory Gaultier finishing as runners up in 2017 and 2000 and Camille Serme and Isabelle Stoehr achieving the same in 2007 and 1997. Egypt had also had the most success in recent years, alongside the traditionally dominant Pakistan.  They are certain to face strong opposition in all events from recent powerhouses Egypt, though. No non-Egyptian has won the women’s individual title since the USA’s Amanda Sobhy in 2010, with current World No.3 Hania ElHammamy the defending champion. While Egypt do not have quite the same stranglehold on the men’s title, they have won the last three tournaments, with men’s World No.3 Mostafa Asal the defending champion. The men’s events will see 119 players competing as individuals, with 92 players across 23 squads competing in the team event. Meanwhile, in the women’s event, 90 players will compete. Names of participating countries (Men’s Singles): Australia, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Egypt, Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Germany, England, Guyana, Hong Kong, China, Greece, India, Ireland, Korea, Kuwait, Italy, Malaysia, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Luxembourg, Scotland, Norway, South Africa, Papua New Guinea, Spain, Poland, Switzerland, Romania, Ukraine, USA, Sweden, Wales Names of participating countries (Women’s Singles): Australia, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Egypt, Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Germany, England, Guyana, Hong Kong, China, Greece, India, Ireland, Korea, Kuwait, Italy, Malaysia, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Scotland, Norway, South Africa, Papua New Guinea, Spain, Poland, Switzerland, Romania, Ukraine, USA, Sweden, Wales  Names of participating countries (Team Event): Australia, Canada, Colombia, Egypt, France, Germany, England, Guyana, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine, USA.

Sports Bulletin Report Birmingham (UK):-New Zealand duo Paul Coll and Joelle King will headline the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games draws after being designated top seeds in the men’s and women’s draws, respectively. Defending Commonwealth Games singles and women’s doubles champion World No.5 King is a three-time gold medal winner at the Games, winning a women’s doubles gold in the Delhi 2010 Games and the Gold Coast 2018 Games, where she also won the women’s singles gold. Since 2010, the 33-year-old has also won bronze and silver medals in the mixed doubles and a bronze medal in the singles. World No.2 Coll, who in March 2022 became the first ever male from New Zealand to reach World No.1, was a beaten singles finalist in the Gold Coast 2018 Games, where he also won a mixed doubles bronze alongside King. “I think anyone from a Commonwealth country would say it’s the pinnacle for our sport,” King said. “It’s the biggest opportunity in terms of mainstream media for people seeing you out on that stage. I think it’s an opportunity  to show them what you’re made of. For me, personally, and for a lot of Commonwealth Games athletes, it’s definitely the pinnacle to try and bring home gold medals to your country. “I don’t think, at 21 and going into my first Commonwealth Games in India, I could have imagined I’d be at my fourth here in 2022. To be going back, just to compete, let alone as the defending champion in the singles, which was a dream come true, I’m looking forward to being the ‘old head’ in the team!” Both No.2 seeds have strong ties to this year’s Commonwealth Games, which will be held in Birmingham, England from 28 July to 8 August 2022. In the men’s draw, Wales’ World No.7 Joel Makin is a long-time resident of Solihull, less than eight miles from the courts he will soon be playing on. Similarly, England’s Sarah-Jane Perry is from the nearby town of Kenilworth and will be hoping to add to the singles silver medal she won in 2018. “It’s got a huge amount of importance,” Makin said. “Especially being at home, I’ve got a lot of good support from my friends and family. Everyone’s going to be there and getting behind it. “We travel all over the world, you might be playing somewhere like America or Egypt,  and no one’s there with you a lot of the time. It will be nice to actually have that home support where everyone’s there and everyone’s behind you. “It’s especially exciting to be playing in Birmingham. There’s a lot of buzz about it.”

Sports Bulletin Report Birmingham (USA):-France’s Victor Crouin and Belgium’s Tinne Gilis are the new The World Games champions after they beat France’s Grégoire Marche and Great Britain’s Lucy Beecroft, respectively, while Colombia’s Miguel Rodriguez and France’s Coline Aumard won bronze. 3/4 seed Crouin came into the final having impressed in victories over Yannick Wilhelmi, 5/8 seed Shahjahan Khan and 3/4 seed Miguel Rodriguez. Today, just as in his quarter-final win over the USA’s Khan, Crouin was forced to call on his reserves of willpower and fight back from losing the first game. After top seed Marche took an even first game 11-9, World No.18 Crouin was in a challenging situation when Marche had two game balls at 10-8 in the second. The 23-year-old, though, was able to stay calm and saved both game balls before eventually levelling the tie with a 14-12 victory. This time, it was Marche’s turn to respond and the 32-year-old regained the lead with a razor-tight 12-10 win. From this point on, though, the World No.13 struggled, and Crouin was able to secure a first men’s squash gold at The World Games since Gregory Gaultier in 2013 with comfortable 11-3 and 11-2 wins. Afterwards, Crouin said: “I’m so happy! My goal was to win a medal at this event and I return home with the gold! To beat Miguel and Greg back to back is huge for me. I did my best to recover from yesterday’s brutal semi-final but still had a rough night due to soreness. So, to win today means a lot to me! “Winning the gold is a huge achievement for my country and myself and I am proud to have fought all the way until the end. So happy” Result (Men’s Final): [3/4] Victor Crouin (FRA) beat [1] Grégoire Marche (FRA) 3-2: 9-11, 14-12, 10-12, 11-3, 11-2 (66m) Gilis celebrates her win In the women’s final, top seed Gilis put in a mature performance to beat 5/8 seed Lucy Beecroft in straight games. The World No.13 was made to work hard for her wins in all three games by Beecroft who, like Gilis, had reached the final without dropping a game. After going 7-5 down in the first game, Gilis found her accuracy to put together a scoring run of five unanswered points to earn three game balls. Although Beecroft managed to save two of these, Gilis was able to convert the third as she took the first game 11-9. The second and third games followed a similar script to the first, with Beecroft more than holding her own before succumbing to a late scoring charge from the Belgian. In the second game, the 24-year-old accelerated away from 5-5 to 11-7, before a brilliant spell took her from 6-5 down in the third to an 11-6 winner. I’m really, really happy with my gold medal today,” Gilis said afterwards. “I hope I made my country proud, my family proud and everyone proud! I’m so, so happy, for sure!” Result: (Women’s Final): [1] Tinne Gilis (BEL) beat [5/8] Lucy Beecroft (GBR) 3-0: 11-9, 11-7, 11-6 (30m) Rodriguez (right) serves against Steinmann. Elsewhere, there were bronze medals for Colombia’s Rodriguez and France’s Aumard after they beat Dimitri Steinmann of Switzerland and Haley Mendez of the USA. 3/4 seed Rodriguez, who also won the bronze medal in 2013, began his hunt for a second World Games medal with a fairly comfortable 11-5 win in the first game before being pegged back 11-4 by 5/8 seed Steinmann in the second. The fiercely tight games then followed, with Rodriguez saving two game balls to take the third game 12-10 and then edging the crucial fourth 13-11. Reacting after his win, Rodriguez said: “It is always really special to represent my country. For us, getting a medal at The World Games is as important as an Olympic medal or World Championship event. “After nine years, I am getting my second bronze at The World Games and I feel proud of the way I fought mentally to stay at the podium. Besides, we will keep our funding for our sport in Colombia and personally adding a bronze to the Colombian delegation total is enormous.” 3/4 seed Aumard, meanwhile, played a back-and-forth encounter with 5/8 seed Haley Mendez. Aumard took the first game 11-6 before Mendez responded with an 11-5 in game two. Aumard replied with an 11-9 in the third game to reclaim the lead, only for Mendez to once again level with an 11-6 win in the fourth. In the decisive fifth game, Aumard was able to keep ahead of Mendez, finally edging the encounter with an 11-8 win to earn France’s first of three medals that day. Result: (Men’s Bronze Medal Match): [3/4] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) beat [5/8] Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) 3-1: 11-5, 4-11, 12-10, 13-11 (64m) Result: (Women’s Bronze Medal Match): [3/4] Coline Aumard (FRA) bt [5/8] Haley Mendez (USA) 3-2: 11-6, 5-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-8 (43m).