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Players, minus Power, back in Doubles Action

by Collin Mcquillan in Manchester, August 1 2002

[last update was 4-aug-02 ]

Colin Mcquilllan, live from Manchester on Thursday Night

No Rest For the Weary

Jonathon Power Has Left The Building
There is no rest for the successful at The Commonwealth Games in Sportcity, Manchester, England, unless you happen to be a Montreal based Gold Medal winner who is determined to recuperate at home before going off to fight again at the Hong Kong Open in three weeks time. Jonathon Power humbled world champion Peter Nicol 9-4 4-9 9-3 9-0 in the 66 minute Commonwealth Games singles final on Wednesday evening, then left the rest of the gathering to the doubles competition while he turned his new self-designed shoewear immediately in the direction of home comforts.

And, when the schedule became operational today for the first round doubles qualifiers, his decision began to make a certain amount of sense. There is no time in Commonwealth Games squash for either celebration or commiseration, it seems.

Graham Ryding and Shahier Razik picked up the load for Canada, beating Baitsi Motsamai and BK Taoana of Lesotho 15-5 15-3 in the Pool E men's doubles qualifying rounds today, but Melanie Jans and Margo Green went down by a similar margin to the mixed doubles third seeds, Sarah Fitz-gerald and Liz Irving of Australia.

Already the women's singles Gold medallist from last night, Fitz-Gerald was on court again pretty early today, playing with Liz Irving to defeat Jans and Green 15-6 15-10 in Pool B of the women's doubles, and on yet again later with Paul Price beating Gavin Jones and Karen Hargreaves of Wales 15-4 15-7 in Pool C of the mixed doubles.

Carol Owens, who lost 9-5 9-0- 2-9 10-9 in the 58 minute women's singles final, was out playing in the mixed doubles with Daniel Sharplin. "It is hard to make the instant adjustment from high profile prime time singles play on the glass showcourt to almost anonymous doubles play on a side court straight out of bed the next day," Fitz-Gerald said.

"Last night was mostly a relief for me after months of preparation and expectation. But it was such an important win for me, the last remaining target on my professional career list, that I am a bit frustrated that there has been no time or place for a celebration.

"I think my mind is still on last night's court, but luckily I am the straight man in this partnership and Liz is the funny man, the shotmaker. I am just required to run around the court and get everything back, so I can do that for a while without thinking.

Irving pointed to the experience they can bring into play for Australia. " We have more than 30 years of court work between us, and a combined age of 70 plus, so we ought to have a few tricks that others haven't got to yet. They are only second seeded, however, behind Queensland's Grinham sisters, Rachael and Natalie, who have yet to appear in Pool A, and ahead of Cassie Jackman and Tania Bailey of England, who defeated Marlene West and Karen Andersen of Jamaica 15-4 15-7 in Pool C.

Fitz-Gerald finished out of both finals in the World Invitation Doubles played on the same Manchester courts last April after the British Open Championship. The Grinham's won then, with Palmer and Price taking the men's title and the mixed doubles title going to Chris Walker and Fiona Geaves from an all-England final.

Walker and Geaves today defeated Guyana's Luke Fraser and Nicolette Fernandes 15-8 15-8 and Malaysia's Kelvin Ho Sharon Wee 15-12 15-11 in Pool A. Another Malaysian pairing, Ong Beng Hee and Nicol David, is seeded between the English and Australian pairs. Today they won twice in Pool B.

Nicol was back on court too for England at Midday today partnering Lee Beachill in a 15-5 15-8 men's doubles qualifying win over Kenya's Bains brothers, Hartaj and Rajdeep. "I didn't sleep much last night," admitted Nicol. "I suppose I was evaluating the loss of one Gold medal and anticipating the pursuit of another. I have to focus now with Lee on winning this competition. We have practiced together a lot and we must be among the pairings that can take the medals."

Later the England pairing were back to knock off Murray Martin and Jesse Engelbrecht of Zimbabwe 15-9 15-9 and effectively take control of the Pool C leadership. "I think mentally I needed this after last night," Nicol said. "Physically it has been a bit tough, but I am now really looking forward to the rest of the tournament. I think Lee and I have a real chance at this Gold."

Beachill went further. "We are favourites for the title in our own eyes," he said. "Palmer and Price are our main threat. But we have been working together since we lost in the semi-finals of the World Invitation Doubles last April and over the past six weeks we have concentrated on getting our tactics gelled.

David Palmer and Paul Price have moved to a similarly strong position in Pool A with a 15-10 15-7 win over Regan Pollard and Luke Fraser of Guyana and a 15-10 15-7 win over Havin Samarasinghe and Saman Thilakarathna of Sri Lanka. The defending men's doubles titleholders, Mark Chaloner and Paul Johnson of England, have yet to make an appearance in Pool B, having received a walkover from the Monnapula brothers from Lesotho.

Commonwealth Games Squash Doubles Sportcity, Manchester, England. First Qualifying Round Results:

Men's Doubles: Pool A;
[1] David Palmer/Paul Price (AUS) bt Regan Pollard/Luke Fraser (GUY) 15-10, 15-7
Farrukh Zaman/Shamsul Islam Khan (PAK) bt Regan Pollard/Luke Fraser (GUY) 15-14, 15-5 Farrukh Zaman/Shamsul Islam Khan (PAK) bt Navin Samarasinghe/Saman Thilakarathna (SRI) w/o
[1] David Palmer/Paul Price (AUS) bt Navin Samarasinghe/Saman Thilakarathna (SRI) w/o

Pool B;
[2] Mark Chaloner/Paul Johnson (ENG) bt Kaebetsoe & Lentsoe Monnapula (LES) w/o

Pool C; Patrick Chifunda/Ernest Chisenga (ZAM) bt Hartaj & Rajdeep Bains (KEN) 17-16, 11-15, 15-10
Murray Martin/Jesse Engelbrecht (ZIM) bt Patrick Chifunda/Ernest Chisenga (ZAM) 10-15, 15-8, 15-13
[3] Lee Beachill/Peter Nicol (ENG) bt Hartaj & Rajdeep Bains (KEN) 15-5, 15-8
[3] Lee Beachill/Peter Nicol (ENG) bt Murray Martin/Jesse Engelbrecht (ZIM) 15-8, 15-9

Pool D;
Jason Nicolle/Gareth Webber (GUE) bt James Bullock/Wayne Prescod (JAM) 15-6, 15-4 [4] Stewart Boswell/Anthony Ricketts (AUS) bt James Bullock/Wayne Prescod (JAM) 15-7, 15-8

Pool E;
Mansoor Zaman/Shahid Zaman Khan (PAK) bt Derek Hunter/Damien Tam (PNG) 15-9, 15-9 [5] David Evans/Alex Gough (WAL) bt Derek Hunter/Damien Tam (PNG) 15-3, 15-7

Pool F;
Graham Ryding/Shahier Razik (CAN) bt Baitsi Motsamai/BK Taoana (LES) 15-5, 15-3
[6] Neil Frankland/Martin Heath (SCO) bt Baitsi Motsamai/BK Taoana (LES) 15-9, 15-3

Women's Doubles:
Pool B;
[2] Sarah Fitz-Gerald/Liz Irving (AUS) bt [7] Margo Green/Melanie Jans (CAN) 15-6, 15-10

Pool C;
[3] Cassie Jackman/Tania Bailey (ENG) bt Marlene West/Karen Anderson (JAM) 15-4, 15-7 [6] Shelley Kitchen/Lara Petera (NZL) bt Marlene West/Karen Anderson (JAM) 15-8, 15-12

Mixed Doubles:
Pool A;
Kelvin Ho/Sharon Wee (MAS) bt Scott Fitzgerald/Katrina Hogan (WAL) 15-7, 15-11
[8] Glen Wilson/Leilani Rorani (NZL) bt Luke Fraser/Nicolette Fernandes (GUY) 15-5, 15-3 [1] Chris Walker/Fiona Geaves (ENG) bt Scott Fitzgerald/Katrina Hogan (WAL) 15-5, 15-10 [8] Glen Wilson/Leilani Rorani (NZL) bt Scott Fitzgerald/Katrina Hogan (WAL) 15-11, 15-6 [1] Chris Walker/Fiona Geaves (ENG) bt Luke Fraser/Nicolette Fernandes (GUY) 15-8, 15-8 [8] Glen Wilson/Leilani Rorani (NZL) bt Kelvin Ho/Sharon Wee (MAS) 15-7, 15-10
[1] Chris Walker/Fiona Geaves (ENG) bt Kelvin Ho/Sharon Wee (MAS) 15-12, 15-11
Scott Fitzgerald/Katrina Hogan (WAL) bt Luke Fraser/Nicolette Fernandes (GUY) 15-9, 15-8

Pool B;
[7] Joseph Kneipp/Robyn Cooper (AUS) bt James Bullock/Marlene West (JAM) 15-0, 15-13 [2] Ong Beng Hee/Nicol David (MAS) bt James Bullock/Marlene West (JAM) 15-3, 15-7
[7] Joseph Kneipp/Robyn Cooper (AUS) bt Steve Richardson/Madeline Perry (NIR) 15-8, 15-10
[2] Ong Beng Hee/Nicol David (MAS) bt Steve Richardson/Madeline Perry (NIR) 15-12, 15-13

Pool C;
[6] Martin Heath/Pamela Nimmo (SCO) bt Derek Hunter/Naluge Guy (PNG) 15-8, 15-7 Gavin Jones/Karen Hargreaves (WAL) bt [6] Martin Heath/Pamela Nimmo (SCO) 15-12, 17-15
[3] Paul Price/Sarah Fitz-Gerald (AUS) bt Gavin Jones/Karen Hargreaves (WAL) 15-4, 15-7

Pool D;
Neil Frankland/Wendy Maitland (SCO) bt Wayne Prescod/Karen Anderson (JAM) 15-5, 15-1 [5] Daniel Sharplin/Carol Owens (NZL) bt Wayne Prescod/Karen Anderson (JAM) 15-0, 15-4 [5] Daniel Sharplin/Carol Owens (NZL) bt Neil Frankland/Wendy Maitland (SCO) 15-10, 15-6 [4] Paul Johnson/Stephanie Brind (ENG) bt Neil Frankland/Wendy Maitland (SCO) 15-7, 15-10
Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games

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