Commonwealth
Games 2002:
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2002 Commonwealth Games - Bronzed Aussies
by Joe and Dan Kneipp, August 6, 2002
[last update was 9-aug-02 ]

Player Perspective
with

Joe and Dan Kneipp

The Australian team prepares for Manchester's unreliable weather(photo © 2002 Dan Kneipp)

Australia has achieved the bag of medals they hoped from the Commonwealth Games with one gold, one silver and six bronzes.

I played in the mixed doubles with fellow Queenslander Robyn Cooper. We made it through the pool matches and met Paul Johnson and Stephanie Brind in the quarter finals, aware that the loser would leave empty handed and the winner would have at least a bronze medal. This was a strange feeling because of the emphasis Australia places on the importance of these medals, and because of the reliance the male players have to place on the female players during mixed doubles.

I would be lying if I said doubles squash was a good game to watch or even participate in compared to singles. Geoff Hunt assures me that it was the doubles game that was the deciding factor that allowed squash to be included in the Commonwealth Games (this is only its second inclusion). The people responsible for the sport’s inclusion saw doubles squash as a game that was better for television (relative to singles) and would level the playing field and allow the weaker squash nations a chance to win medals.

Level Playing Field?

As far as allowing the weaker nations a chance to win medals that hasn’t happened in Manchester. Both the men’s and women’s singles medals went to the top four seeds with Rachel Grinham’s upset over Leilani being the only exception (and not that surprising considering the injury battles Leilani has had to overcome). In the doubles the only players to take home a medal that had a ranking outside the top twenty were my partner in crime Robyn Cooper and New Zealand’s mixed double gold medalist Glen Wilson. Robyn has had a career high ranking of 12 and Glen got to 16 so we’re not exactly talking about a couple of Kenyan players who practised by themselves for three years and took the squash world by surprise. To reiterate this all the medal were shared between Australia, New Zealand and England with Malaysia and Canada both getting a solitary medal.

Australia won four medals of a possible twelve during the doubles matches. This is from a nation that only has two doubles court in the whole country and they’re mostly used for singles as they have moveable walls. I have only ever played in two doubles tournaments, the other being the recent World Invitational doubles. Doubles is not a game that is common, popular or accessible. Unlike the hardball version it’s not a game that has a following or dedicated group of participants. Softball doubles is a game that has been adapted mostly because other sports play doubles and squash was missing out.

When I’m watching a game of doubles I have an overwhelming urge to either go and play a game of singles, or make the doubles court at least two metres wider. The court is too small for most of the subtleties of the singles game to be played. It’s very rare to see a boast or a drop shot played as a winning shot in doubles. Two players are able to cover the space too well. This means that the during the men’s doubles matches both teams are usually hesitant to play short as it’s very difficult to hit a winner and it gives the opponent a chance to go for a short nick shot. So you get unbelievably long and often boring rallies down the wall that more often than not end in lets. The mixed doubles is the same except the women are hitting all of the balls with the men going for winners on the rare occasion that they get the ball. It is a hard lesson to learn having to sit back and rely so overwhelming on your female partner to have a good game. Of course your play is still crucial, but not able to make or break the team in the same way the women’s performance is.

The importance of the Commonwealth Games meant that the pro players gave the doubles competition the respect and attention it deserved with some very heated and passionate games. Squash players don’t get to play for their country that often and it’s very interesting to see rivalries unfolding that just aren’t evident during the solo and comparatively impersonal PSA tournament.

The Bronze medal that I have won with Robyn will remain a highlight of my squash career for the rest of my life. Just to give you an idea of its significance in Australia, there’s a ticker tape parade organised for the Commonwealth Games athletes IN EACH STATE CAPITAL CITY! It’s the only time that squash manages to get telecast during prime time and on the news. My mum broke down crying when she found I had won bronze and the press in my home town will be going crazy. It has been a great experience.

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