Silver and two bronzes for battling Scots at WSF World Squash Doubles Championships
Top seeds Declan James and James Willstrop from England broke home hearts with a 2-0 win over Scottish No.6 seeds Greg Lobban and Rory Stewart in the final of the men’s draw.
At 10/8 down in the first game, the prospect of England’s long hunt for a championship gold – which they hadn’t won since 1997 in Hong Kong – seemed looming. James and Willstrop recovered spectacularly, though, saving the game balls and taking the first game 11/10 before winning the second 11/6 to take the title.
“That was tremendous,” Willstrop said after the match. “We knew that we had to just be absolutely on it. We gave them full respect because they deserve it. And hopefully we deserve it. We’re chuffed to bits. It’s a huge event, it’s a world title. We’re so grateful to Scottish Squash, to the WSF and for everyone who’s joined together to put this together and make it a huge event.”
Greg Lobban, meanwhile, reflected on the positives of a week in which Scottish teams played above their seedings and won silver and bronze medals in the men’s draw, a bronze medal in the mixed, and secured impressive fifth-place finishes in the mixed and women’s draws.
He said: “The tournament was fantastic. I had a good run in the men’s with Rory and with Lisa [Aitken] in the mixed draw. Tonight, we came really close.
“It’s tough to take but looking at the bigger picture, getting to the world championships is a big achievement that we’re very proud of. This is the first time Rory and I have played together in a major competition, so to come second in the men’s draw is a great achievement. We knew coming in we were one of the best teams and had a really good chance, so I’m pleased we came away with something.”
Greg and Rory featured in one of the longest games of the tournament, a gruelling 53-minute semi-final where they beat England’s Daryl Selby/Adrian Waller 7/11 11/7 11/5. After going down 1-0 in the first game, the pair dug deep and fought back to square the game before running away with it in the last game 11/5. The pair also enjoyed impressive wins against Singapore, Spain and Hong Kong on their route to the final.
Greg Lobban and Rory Stewart results:
- Men’s Final [1] Declan James/James Willstrop (ENG)(11/10 11/6 51mins [6] Greg Lobban/Rory Stewart (SCO)
- Men’s Semi Final[6] Greg Lobban/Rory Stewart (SCO) (7/11 11/7 11/5 53mins) [2] Daryl Selby/Adrian Waller (ENG)
- Men’s Quarter Final (1-16) [13/15] Tsz Kwan Lau/Henry Leung (HKG) (4/11 11/6 6/11 47mins) [6] Greg Lobban/Rory Stewart (SCO)
- Men’s (Group F) [6] Greg Lobban/Rory Stewart (SCO)(11/3 11/2 14 mins) Aaron Liang/Chua Man Tong (SGP)
- Men’s (Group F) [6] Greg Lobban/Rory Stewart (SCO)(11/8 11/3 26mins) [16/18] Bernat Jaume/Joel Jaume Izcara (ESP)
Scotland also secured a bronze in the second men’s pairing featuring Alan Clyne and Douglas Kempsell who took time out of his day job as a chef to compete in the world championships. The pair beat England’s Daryl Selby and Adrian Waller 11/9 10/11 11/9 in an epic 61-minute clash.
They narrowly lost their semi-final clash against top seeds Declan James and James Willstrop from England in another nail-biting game which finished 11/7 9/11 11/9 and took an incredible 93mins to complete. After losing the first game, the pair didn’t give an inch in the second, with a series of long rallies testing the stamina and wits of both pairs. Alan and Douglas held their nerve to see the game through winning 9/11. The third game was a carbon copy, but this time it was the English pair that came out on top. It was a breathless match and one of the highlights of the championship
Douglas said: “It’s tough to take the semi-final loss yesterday but knew there was potential to get a bronze medal. I was pleased with the way we bounced back. This was our first major tournament together, but I think it was a natural pairing between myself and Alan – we trust each other and backed each other’s game and this served us well.”
Alan: “We were seeded five coming in but we felt we had a good team and could beat anyone out there. It didn’t quite go our way last night. We had our chances but didn’t finish how we wanted. However, we got the bronze medal so we have to be happy with that. Me and Dougie have known each other for so long we know each other’s games, so despite this being our first major tournament playing together, I felt we gelled quickly and played well.”
Alan Clyne and Douglas Kempsell results:
- Men’s – Third/Fourth Playoff [5] Alan Clyne/Douglas Kempsell (SCO)(11/9 10/11 11/9 61mins) [2] Daryl Selby/Adrian Waller (ENG)
- Men’s Semi Final [1] Declan James/James Willstrop (ENG)(11/7 9/11 11/9 93mins) [5] Alan Clyne/Douglas Kempsell (SCO)
- WALKOVER: Men’s (Group E) [5] Alan Clyne/Douglas Kempsell (SCO)walkover Ravindu Laksiri/Shamil Wakeel (LKA)
- Men’s (Group E) [5] Alan Clyne/Douglas Kempsell (SCO)(11/7 11/3 32mins) [7/9] Vikram Malhotra/Ramit Tandon (IND
- Men’s (Group E) [5] Alan Clyne/Douglas Kempsell (SCO) (11/10 11/7) v [16/18] Jean-Pierre Brits/Christo Potgieter (RSA)
Meanwhile, Scotland also picked up a bronze medal in the mixed doubles when Greg Lobban and Lisa Aitken saw off the Welsh pair Joel Makin and Tesni Evans 8/11 9/11 inside of 28mins. The two had a great run through the tournament, narrowly losing to the fourth seeded English pair Adrian Waller and Alison Waters 11/6 10/11 11/10 in the semi-final and a stunning quarter final victory against the number 1 seeds New Zealand featuring world number one Paul Coll, which they won in emphatic fashion 7/11 5/11 inside of 30 minutes. They also beat eventual mixed doubles gold medallists Saurav Ghosal and Dipika Pallikal Karthik from India 6/11 4/11 in their Group B game.
Lisa spoke about her pairing with Greg: “We’ve practiced a lot and we’re really good friends off the court. We have a connection that fills each other with confidence. We’re very sure of what we’re trying to do. I think when you’ve got that sort of trust in your partner, all you need to do is relax and play.”
Greg said after a strong first win against Wales in Group B: “We both said before the tournament that we wanted to set a marker down in the first match of the tournament, we went and did exactly what we set out to do. It’s the perfect start and I’m looking forward to lots more time on court over the next few days!”
Greg Lobban and Lisa Aitken results:
- Mixed Third/Fourth Playoff [5/6] Joel Makin/Tesni Evans (WAL) (8/11 9/11 28mins) [7/8] Greg Lobban/Lisa Aitken (SCO)
- Mixed Semi Final [4] Adrian Waller/Alison Waters (ENG)(11/6 10/11 11/10 40mins) [7/8] Greg Lobban/Lisa Aitken (SCO)
- Mixed Position 01-08 [1] Paul Coll/Joelle King (NZL) (7/11 5/11 30mins) [7/8] Greg Lobban/Lisa Aitken (SCO)
- Mixed (Group B) [7/8] Greg Lobban/Lisa Aitken (SCO)(11/5 11/4 16mins) [9/10/ Mohammad Syafiq Kamal/Aifa Azman (MAS)
- Mixed (Group B) [2] Saurav Ghosal/Dipika Pallikal Karthik (IND) (6/11 4/11 24 mins)[7/8] Greg Lobban/Lisa Aitken (SCO) – beat the eventual winners
- Mixed (Group B) [7/8] Greg Lobban/Lisa Aitken (SCO) (11/2 11/3 13mins)13/16 Peter Creed/Emily Whitlock (WAL)
Scotland also scooped a fifth place in the women’s and mixed doubles draw, with Lisa Aitken and Georgia Adderley beating England’s Georgina Kennedy and Lucy Turmel 5/11 11/3 4/11 inside 25mins and Rory Stewart and Georgia Adderley beating Australia’s Ryan Cuskelly and Rachael Grinham 4/11 11/7 11/8.
Lisa and Georgia competed well as a pair despite this being their first major championship together. Notable results included a great win against the number 1 seeds Joelle King and Amanda Landers-Murphy from New Zealand. After going ahead in the first game 11/7, the New Zealand pair showed their class in the second with some aggressive play to win 8/11. Lisa and Georgia rallied in the third winning in convincing fashion 11/7.
Georgia said: “It’s been a great event – its my first competitive event with Lisa as a partnership so we were excited about what we could do. We knew that we had a lot of potential, we’ve been training hard and we’ve finished fifth beating players seeded higher than us. We had a bit of a shaky start losing our first game but bounced back to win 2-1 which shows our resilience.”
Lisa said: “I think me and Georgia are a good pairing and we got better as the tournament went on. Like a lot of the pairs, it’s our first tournament together and a lot goes into what makes a good partnership, we’re evolving every game.”
Lisa Aitken and Georgia Adderley results:
- Women’s Position 05-08 [5/6] Georgina Kennedy/Lucy Turmel (ENG) (5/11 11/3 4/11 25mins) [7/8] Georgia Adderley/Lisa Aitken (SCO)
- Women’s Position 05-08 [7/8] Georgia Adderley/Lisa Aitken (SCO)(11/4 11/7 17mins) [9/10] Ainaa Ampandi/Yiwen Chan (MAS)
- Women’s (Group A) [7/8] Georgia Adderley/Lisa Aitken (SCO)(11/7 3/11 11/3) 28mins) [9/10] Alex Haydon/Jessica Turnbull (AUS)
- Women’s (Group A) [1] Joelle King/Amanda Landers-Murphy (NZL)(11/5 8/11 11/7 32mins) [7/8] Georgia Adderley/Lisa Aitken (SCO)
- Women’s (Group A [4] Rachel Arnold/Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) (8/11 11/8 11/6 33mins) [7/8] Georgia Adderley/Lisa Aitken (SCO)
- (Group A) [5/6] Georgina Kennedy/Lucy Turmel(ENG) (11/7 11/9 30mins) [7/8] Georgia Adderley/Lisa Aitken (SCO)
- Women’s (Group A) [7/8] Georgia Adderley/Lisa Aitken (SCO)(11/4 11/5 18mins) [11/12] Alexandra Fuller/Cheyna Wood (RSA)
Rory and Georgia had some great results on their way to topping mixed group C, including solid victories against Australia, Wales and England, all of which were seeded above them. The pair gelled well together a found their form early in the tournament.
Rory said: “I’m chuffed to have topped the group. When the seedings came out we were 14th, but it didn’t bother us too much. We knew how good we were and how we could play. We’ve come out and played the way we wanted to and something’s worked along the way!”
Georgia continued: “When the draw came out, we just wanted to take it one match at a time. We know that on our day we can beat anyone. We’re a good team and a good partnership. We’ve figured out how each other work and will continue to do that over the rest of the event and over the next few months. It’s exciting and a great opportunity for us. We’ll follow the group tonight to see who we’re playing, we’re excited.”
Georgia Adderley and Rory Stewart results
- Mixed Position 01-08 [13/16] Rory Stewart/Georgia Adderley (SCO)(4/11 11/7 11/8 43mins) [5/6] Ryan Cuskelly/Rachael Grinham (AUS)
- Mixed Position 01-08 [13/16] Rory Stewart/Georgia Adderley (SCO) (4/11 8/11 33mins) [5/6] Joel Makin/Tesni Evans (WAL)
- Mixed Position 01-08 [7/8] Patrick Rooney/Georgina Kennedy (ENG) (7/11 11/10 7/11 51mins) [13/16] Rory Stewart/Georgia Adderley (SCO)
- Mixed Group C [11/12] Ivan Yuen/Rachel Arnold (MAS) 9/11 7/11 (21mins) [13/16] Rory Stewart/Georgia Adderley (SCO)
- Mixed Group C [3] Zac Alexander/Donna Lobban (AUS) walkover[13/16] Rory Stewart/Georgia Adderley (SCO)
At the medal ceremony, WSF President Zena Wooldridge and Scottish Squash President Mark Adderley thanked the players, partners, volunteers and everyone else who had made the tournament a success.
Mark said: “It’s been a fantastic week of squash and great to bring such a world class event to Glasgow. To have 85 players from five continents and 15 countries is a great representation of world quality squash and we’ve been privileged to see it this week.
The legacy of the Commonwealth Games lives on and I’d like to thank the team at Scotstoun for the work they’ve put into getting these courts ready and looking after us this week. I’d also like to thank our team of volunteers who have worked tirelessly throughout. This week has been a great exhibition of the game of squash to inspire the next generation – I’m very happy with way the game has been portrayed through the streaming service and the way the players have stepped up and delivered top quality squash.
I’d like to say a particular well done to Team Scotland and the Scottish players who have done brilliantly this week – all of our players have finished in the top five so well done to all coaches and the supporters. Also a big thanks to sportscotland, EventScotland, Glasgow Life and Springfield Properties who been particularly helpful in supporting us and our players.”
WSF President Wooldridge added: “I think you’ll agree this has been an absolutely fabulous week of squash. Having been denied World Championships for nearly two and a half years, it’s just fantastic to be back.”
Paul Bush OBE, Director of Events, said: “EventScotland’s funding of the World Squash Doubles Championships was intended to support the first ever broadcast for this event and to help raise it to a world-class standard ahead of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham this summer and I can say with confidence that this was achieved. The Championships not only showcased Scotland’s international reptation as the perfect stage for events but the high calibre of our athletes with Scots taking home silver and bronze medals in Glasgow.”
Billy Garret, Director of Sport and Events at Glasgow Life, said: “It was an honour to host the WSF World Squash Doubles at Scotstoun last week, and we were delighted to see the impressive performances from the home teams.
“As Glasgow works to recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, it was heartening to see athletes and sports fans alike enjoy returning to squash as a live spectator event. The competition was fierce and lucky ticket-holders experienced an incredible show from all involved.
“We’re so happy to start hosting world-class events again, and it was very special to have the WSF World Squash Doubles as one of our first international sporting events in the city this year.”
Results: WSF World Doubles Squash Championships Finals
Mixed Doubles Final: [2] Saurav Ghosal/Dipika Pallikal Karthik (IND) (11/6 11/8 22mins) [4] Adrian Waller/Alison Waters (ENG)
Women’s Final: [3] Joshna Chinappa/Dipika Pallikal Karthik (IND) (11/9 4/11 11/8 40mins) [2] Sarah-Jane Perry/Alison Waters (ENG)
Men’s Final: [1] Declan James/James Willstrop (ENG) (11/10 11/6 51mins) [6] Greg Lobban/Rory Stewart (SCO)
All Other Results
Mixed – Third/Fourth Playoff [5/6] Joel Makin/Tesni Evans (WAL) (8/11 9/11 28mins) [7/8] Greg Lobban/Lisa Aitken (SCO)
Mixed – Position 01-08 [13/16] Rory Stewart/Georgia Adderley (SCO) (4/11 11/7 11/8 43mins) [5/6] Ryan Cuskelly/Rachael Grinham (AUS)
Mixed – Position 09-16 [9/10] Vikram Malhotra/Joshna Chinappa (IND) (4/11 6/11 14mins) [9/10] Mohammad Syafiq Kamal/Aifa Azman (MAS)
Women’s – Position 09-12 [11/12] Alexandra Fuller/Cheyna Wood (RSA) (11/10 10/11 11/10 34mins) [11/12] Abbie Palmer/Kaitlyn Watts (NZL)
Women’s – Position 05-08 [5/6] Georgina Kennedy/Lucy Turmel (ENG) (5/11 11/3 4/11 25mins) [7/8] Georgia Adderley/Lisa Aitken (SCO)
Men’s – Third/Fourth Playoff [5] Alan Clyne/Douglas Kempsell (SCO) (11/9 10/11 11/9 61mins) [2] Daryl Selby/Adrian Waller (ENG)
Men’s – Position 01-16 [10/12] Rhys Dowling/Rex Hedrick (AUS) (11/9 9/11 11/10 63mins) [13/15] Tsz Kwan Lau/Henry Leung (HKG)
Men’s – Position 01-16 [16/18] Jean-Pierre Brits/Christo Potgieter (RSA) (10/11 11/7 11/3 33mins) Bernat Jaume/Joel Jaume Izcara (ESP)
Men’s – Position 01-16 [7/9] Peter Creed/Emyr Evans (WAL) (11/5 11/5 23mins) [13/15] Addeen Idrakie/Sai Hung Ong (MAS)
Men’s – Position 01-16 [3] Zac Alexander/Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) (11/7 11/8 23mins) [4] Eain Yow Ng/Ivan Yuen (MAS)
Men’s – Position 17-32 [7/9] Vikram Malhotra/Ramit Tandon (IND) (11/7 11/10 37mins) Elliot Morris/Owain Taylor (WAL)
Final Standings
Mixed
1 Saurav Ghosal & Dipika Pallikal Karthik (IND)
2 Adrian Waller & Alison Waters (ENG)
3 Greg Lobban & Lisa Aitken (SCO)
4 Joel Makin & Tesni Evans (WAL)
5 Rory Stewart & Georgia Adderley (SCO)
6 Ryan Cuskelly & Rachael Grinham (AUS)
7 Patrick Rooney & Georgina Kennedy (ENG)
8 Paul Coll & Joelle King (NZL)
9 Mohammad Syafiq Kamal & Aifa Azman (MAS)
10 Vikram Malhotra & Joshna Chinappa (IND)
Women’s
1 Joshna Chinappa & Dipika Pallikal Karthik (IND)
2 Sarah-Jane Perry & Alison Waters (ENG)
3 Rachel Arnold & Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS)
4 Joelle King & Amanda Landers-Murphy (NZL)
5 Georgia Adderley & Lisa Aitken (SCO)
6 Georgina Kennedy & Lucy Turmel (ENG)
Men’s
1 Declan James & James Willstrop (ENG)
2 Greg Lobban & Rory Stewart (SCO)
3 Alan Clyne & Douglas Kempsell (SCO)
4 Daryl Selby & Adrian Waller (ENG)
5 Zac Alexander & Ryan Cuskelly (AUS)
6 Eain Yow Ng & Ivan Yuen (MAS)
7 Peter Creed & Emyr Evans (WAL)
8 Addeen Idrakie & Sai Hung Ong (MAS)
9 Rhys Dowling & Rex Hedrick (AUS)
10 Tsz Kwan Lau & Henry Leung (HKG)
11 Jean-Pierre Brits & Christo Potgieter (RSA)
12 Bernat Jaume & Joel Jaume Izcara (ESP)
13 Vikram Malhotra & Ramit Tandon (IND)
14 Elliott Morris & Owain Taylor (WAL)
