Sports Bulletin

Sports Bulletin Report Cairo (Egypt): Although Egypt have won their fifth WSF Women’s World Team Championship title last week, they were far from the only team to record an impressive achievement at the tournament, which successfully returned after four years away due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the Madinaty Sporting Club, Japan were one of a number of teams that impressed, with the Asian nation finishing 10th, one place higher than their previous best. While every member of the Japan team made a valuable contribution, one name stood out repeatedly: Satomi Watanabe. The World No.33 had been making a name for herself on the PSA World Tour recently, with excellent showings at the New Zealand Open and Hong Kong Open, but in Cairo that talent was on full display to the watching world. In a commendable personal achievement, the Japan No.1 won every single one of the six matches she played, with Melissa Alves, Aifa Azman, Emilia Soini, Donna Lobban, Cindy Merlo and Alexandra Fuller all falling to the 23-year-old. In recognition of her form in Egypt, Watanabe was awarded the Most Valuable Player [MVP] of the tournament at the championship closing ceremony. Speaking on the recognition, Watanabe said: “I’m really happy to be awarded! It means a lot for me and I could never have done it alone, so I really appreciate my teammates and those who supported me.” The Yokohama native admits that, although she and her team are proud of what they achieved, they are unapologetic in their ambitions and are setting their sights on improvement in 2023. “It’s always a good experience to play in the Women’s World Teams and I think this was the closest chance the team has had to make it into the top eight. I’m gutted not to make it through but there are so many positives to take for me and the team. We’re all really looking forward to playing again in two years!” Watanabe said. At just 23 years of age, Watanabe will no doubt have plenty of opportunities to help Japan build on their achievement in Egypt. Expect plenty more to come from Japan’s breakout star.

Faisal ISLAMABAD: A 12-member Pakistan squad including nine players and three officials will leave for England on December 30 to participate in the upcoming British Open Juniors’ Squash Championship, which is scheduled to be held from January 4 to 8, 2023 in Birmingham, United Kingdom (UK). According to an official of the Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF), 12 members squad including 8 boys, 3 officials, and 1 girl will visit the UK. Mahnoor Ali will take part in the Girl’s Under-11 discipline for the first time in the history of the British Juniors Squash Championship. Eight boys will represent their country in four different age group categories competitions including Under-13, Under-15, Under-17, and Under-19. In 2020, Mohammad Hamza Khan lifted the gold medal for Pakistan in the Under-15 discipline after an 8-year gap. Pakistan claimed only one British Juniors title in 2003 when Pakistan won three gold medals in Under-13, Under-17, and Under-19. In 2003, Rehmat Khan was the mentor of Pakistani squash lads, who clinched the British Juniors title with three top positions. Aamir Atlas Khan, Yasir Butt, and Safeer-Ullah Khan won the finals of Under-13, Under-15, and Under-19 respectively. Names of players: Under-11: Mahnoor Ali Under-13: Nauman Khan, Ahmed Rayyan Khalil Under-15: Mubeen Khan, Azan Ali khan Under-17: Huraira Khan, Abdullah Nawaz Under-19: Mohammad Hamza Khan, Noor Zaman Khan Officials: Farhan Zaman (coach), Zafaryab Khan (manager), Wasim Ahmed (physical trainer)

Sports Bulletin Report PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhunkawa (KP) Juniors Squash Championship for boys and girls concluded here on Saturday that held under the auspices of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Squash Association. President KP Squash Association and Secretary Higher Education Dawood Khan was chief guest along with squash legend Qamar Zaman, Mohibullah Khan, Shafqatuulah Legend Farmaullah Khan, President Peshawar press club Riaz Khan, Chief Organizer & Directorate Coaches Munawar Zaman, Tahir Iqbal, Mohammad Waseem, Amjad Khan Chief referee Adil Faqir, Executive Member KP SA Fazal Khalil and other personalities were present on this occasion. Results (Finals): Boy's U-11: Malik Mohammad beat Abdul Qabir 3-0 (13-11 11-2 12-10) Boy's U-13: Mohammad Fawad beat Danish Sikandar 3-1 (9-11 11-8 11-5 11-5) Boy's U-15: Mohammad Anis Sijjad beat Raheel 3-0 (11-8 11-6 11-3) Girl's U-15: Rania Qazi Abt beat Wajeeha Altaf 3-0 (11-4 11-9 16-14)

Sports Bulletin Report Cairo (Egypt): Defending champions Egypt retained their of the WSF Women's World Team Championship title after thrashing the United States of America (USA) 2-0 in the final at the Madinaty Sporting Club, Cairo. Top seed hosts were represented by World No.1 Nouran Gohar, World No.2 Nour El Sherbini, World No.3 Hania El Hammamy and World No.6 Nour El Tayeb had reached their sixth final without dropping a match, with Nouran Gohar's 3-1 win over Aifa Azman yesterday representing the only game dropped by the top seeds. The USA, represented by World No.5 Amanda Sobhy, World No.10 Olivia Fiechter, World No.15 - and younger sister to Amanda - Sabrina Sobhy, and World No.20 Olivia Clyne had already made history by reaching the final, with fifth being the No.2 seeds previous best ever finish. In a brilliant opening match, the best contest of the tournament, Gohar was pushed to the very brink by Sobhy. The World No.1 had looked in complete control when she took a 7-0 lead in the first game, only for Sobhy to dig in brilliantly. In front of a raucous crowd, Sobhy began to pull points back. Although it was too late to rescue the first game, which Gohar took 11-7, the American levelled the scores with a well-deserved 11-5 win in the second. The 29-year-old then took a hard-fought and feisty third game 12-10, putting Egypt behind for the first time in the tournament. Now, though, it was Gohar's turn to show her mettle. After falling behind in the fourth game, 'the Terminator' saved two match balls to level the tie with a 13-11 win. Roared on by 1,500 fans and with her opponent beginning to wilt, Gohar pressed her advantage in the decider, firing past Sobhy time and again to hand Egypt a crucial one-match lead with an 11-8 victory in the fifth. In the second match of the tie, El Sherbini quickly snuffed out any hopes of a repeat of the tension that had accompanied the first tie. The 'Warrior Princess', the defending individual as well as team world champion, wasted no time in going after Fiechter, with the American going down 11-3, 11-4, 11-5 in 21 minutes to keep the trophy in Egyptian hands. Results (final): Egypt beat USA 2-0 Nouran Gohar beat Amanda Sobhy (3-2) 11-7, 5-11, 10-12, 13-11, 11-8 (56m) Nour El Sherbini beat Olivia Fiechter (3-0) 11-3, 11-4, 11-5 (21m) Hania El Hammamy v Sabrina Sobhy (w/d) Women's World Team Championship (final standings): 1- Egypt, 2- USA, 3- England & Malaysia, 5- Hong Kong, 6- France, 7- Canada, 8- Scotland, 9- South Africa, 10-Japan, 11- Australia, 12- Switzerland, 13- Germany, 14- Wales, 15- Finland, 16- Chinese Taipei, 17- Ukraine.

Sports Bulletin Report Cairo (Egypt): Scotland, Canada, Malaysia and France have won their matches of the World Women’s Team Event Squash Champion after thrashing their rival teams Germany, Wales, Finland, and Chinese Taipei respectively at Madinaty Sporting Club Cairo, Egypt on Sunday. Canada beat Wales by 2-1 while the rest of the three matches ended in straight matches. Results (Women’s Squash Team Event): SCOTLAND beat GERMANY (3-0): Alison Thomson 3-0 Sharon Sinclair 11-6, 11-5, 12-10 (26m) Georgia Adderley 3-1 Katerina Tycova 9-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-6 (35m) Lisa Aitken 3-2 Saskia Beinhard 4-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-13, 11-8 (50m) CANADA beat WALES (2-1): Nikole Todd 3-0 Stacey Gooding 11-4, 11-3, 11-6 (18m) Nicole Bunyan 2-3 Lowri Roberts 12-10, 11-5, 6-11, 7-11, 8-11 (44m) Hollie Naughton 3-1 Emily Whitlock 11-8, 11-9, 8-11, 11-7 (42m) MALAYSIA beat FINLAND (3-0): Chan Yiwen 3-0 Maarit Ekholm   11-3, 11-2, 11-1 (33m) Rachel Arnold 3-0 Riina Koskinen 11-6, 11-5, 11-6 (19m) Aifa Azman 3-0 Emilia Soini 11-9, 11-4, 11-7 (27m) FRANCE beat CHINESE TAIPEI (3-0): Enora Villard 3-0 Yi-Chun Wu 11-1, 11-0, 11-1 (14m) Coline Aumard 3-0 Taipei Wang Yuan 11-3, 11-4, 11-5 (20m) Melissa Alves 3-0 Lee Yi-Hsuan 11-0, 11-8, 11-3 (17m)  

Sports Bulletin Report Cairo (Egypt): Hosts Egypt and Malaysia snatched victories on the opening day of the World Women’s Team Event Championship that rolled into action at the Madinaty Sporting Club Cairo Egypt on Saturday. Besides defending champions, Egypt, France, England, the United States of America (USA), and Malaysia also won their open-day matches of the World Women’s Team Championship 2022. Results (Day-1): Pool A: [1] EGYPT beat SWITZERLAND (3-0) Nouran Gohar 3-0 Cindy Merlo: 11-4, 11-2, 11-3 (18m) Nour El Tayeb 3-0 Ambre Allinckx: 11-1, 11-2, 11-2 (20m) Hania Hammamy 3-0 Nadia Pfister: 11-8, 11-9, 11-5 (24m) Pool B:  [2] USA beat AUSTRALIA (3-0) Amanda Sobhy 3-0 Jess Turnbull: 11-4, 11-6, 11-7 (21m) Olivia Blatchford Clyne 3-0 Sarah Cardwell: 11-6, 11-8, 11-9 (22m) Olivia Fiechter 3-0 Alex Haydon: 11-4, 11-2, 11-8 (22m) Pool C:  [3] ENGLAND beat SOUTH AFRICA (3-0) Jasmine Hutton 3-2 Alexandra Fuller: 13-11, 7-11, 5-11, 11-8, 11-4 (44m) Julianne Courtice 3-0 Cheyna Wood: 11-0, 11-3, 11-1 (16m) Lucy Turmel 3-0 Lizelle Muller: 11-1, 11-7, 11-7 (11m) Pool D: [4] FRANCE beat JAPAN (2-1) Melissa Alves 1-3 Satomi Watanabe: 4-11, 11-8, 10-12, 5-11 (42m) Coline Aumard 3-1 Risa Sugimoto: 11-4, 6-11, 12-10, 11-6 (40m) Camille Serme 3-0 Akari Midorikawa: 11-4, 11-2, 11-3 (19m) Pool D: [5/6] MALAYSIA beat CHINESE TAIPEI (3-0) Rachel Arnold 3-0 Lee Yi-Hsuan: 11-4, 11-1, 1-2 (15m) Yee Xin Ying 3-0 Wei-Ting Huang: 11-5, 11-4, 11-1 (14m) Chan Yiwen 3-0 Wang Yuan: 11-1, 11-2, 11-5 (13m)  

Sports Bulletin Report KARACHI (December 10, 2022) Pakistan’s top squash player, Nasir Iqbal and Zainab Khan have claimed the men’s and women’s titles of COMBAXX 1st CNS All Pakistan Squash Championship 2022 that concluded here at Pakistan Navy Roshan Khan Jahangir Khan Squash Complex, Fleet Club on Saturday. In the men’s final, Nasir Iqbal of Wapda outclassed Waqar Mehboob of KP in straight games 3-0 with the score-line of 11-5, 11-1 and 11-5 in a one-sided encounter that lasted for 20 minutes. The winner was awarded a cash prize of Rs. 200,000 while the runners-up received a cash prize of Rs. 40,000. Earlier, in the women’s finals, Zainab Khan (Army) beat Noor-ul-Ain (SNGPL) 3-1, as the final score-line was 11-5, 11-4, 10-12, and 11-3. The match lasted for 27 minutes. The winner of the women’s final received Rs. 100,000 while the runners-up got awarded Rs. 70,000 cash prize. Admiral Mohammad Amjad Khan Niazi NI (M) S Bt, Chief of the Naval Staff, who was the chief guest of the prize distribution ceremony, gave away trophies and cash prizes among the athletes. Speaking on the occasion, The Chief of the Naval Staff lauded the holding of such a grand event in which an overwhelming number of young players participated.

Sports Bulletin Report KARACHI: Waqar Mehboob and Nasir Iqbal moved into men’s final while Zainab Khan, Noor-ul-Ain in the women’s final of the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) All Pakistan Squash Championship 2022 after winning semifinals here at Pakistan Navy Roshan Khan Jahangir Khan Squash Complex, Fleet Club on Friday. The finals will be played on Saturday at the same venue. Result (Men’s Semifinals): Waqar Mehboob (KP) beat Naveed Rehman (Sindh) 4-11, 11-8, 11-13, 11-9, 11-9 (56 minutes) Nasir Iqbal (Wapda) beat Sadam Ul Haq (Army) 11-6, 11-9, 11-5 (34 minutes) Result (Women’s Semifinal): Zainab Khan (Army) beat Komal Khan (Wapda) 11-5, 11-4, 11-7 (17 minutes)  Noor Ul Ain (SNGPL) beat Maryam Malik (Army) 6-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-6, 11-8 (40 minutes) Saturday’s Fixtures: Zainab Khan (Army) Vs Noor Ul Ain (SNGPL) at 1200 hours Waqar Mehboob (KP) Vs Nasir Iqbal (Wapda) at 1400 hours

Sports Bulletin Report KARACHI: Waqar Mehboob, Naveed Rehman, Sadam-ul-Haq and Nasir Iqbal qualified for the semifinals of the ongoing COMBAXX 1st CNS All Pakistan Squash Championship 2022 after winning their respective matches at Pakistan Navy Roshan Khan Jahangir Khan Squash Complex, Fleet Club. Result: Men’s Event (Quarterfinals) Waqar Mehboob (KP) beat Mohammad Faraz (Navy) 11-9, 7-11, 11-4, 11-5 (33 mins) Naveed Rehman (Sindh) beat Zahir Shah (KP) 11-9, 11-6, 11-8 (25 mins) Sadam Ul Haq (Army) beat Salman Saleem (Punjab) 11-4, 11-4, 15-13 (35 mins) Nasir Iqbal (Wapda) beat Bilal Zakir (Army) 11-5, 11-3, 11-6 (16 mins) Women’s Event (Quarterfinals): Zynab Khan (Army) beat Ilsa Imran (Sindh) 11-6, 11-6, 11-3 (16 mins) Komal Khan (Wapda) beat Mehwish Ali (Sindh) 4-11, 11-4, 11-8, 5-11, 13-11 (28 mins)  Noor Ul Ain (SNGPL) beat Kainat Amir (KP) 11-2, Retired   Maryam Malik (Army) beat Saima Shaukat (Wapda) 8-11, 11-8, 4-11, 11-3, 11-9 (34 mins) . Today’s Fixtures: Men’s Semifinals Waqar Mehboob (KP) Vs [6] Naveed Rehman (Sindh) at 1145 hours Sadam Ul Haq (Army) Vs [2] Nasir Iqbal (Wapda) at 1500 hours Women’s Semifinals Zynab Khan (Army) Vs [4] Komal Khan (Wapda) at 1100 hours.  Noor Ul Ain (SNGPL) Vs Maryam Malik (Army) at 1415 hours.

Framboise Gommendy It’s less than one week before the women’s Australian team takes to the court at the Madinaty Sport Club, Cairo, Egypt, for the 2022 WSF Women’s World Team Squash Championships. Between 10 to 18 December 2022, the Australian quartet of Donna Lobban, Jess Turnbull, Sarah Cardwell and Alex Haydon will compete alongside 16 other teams in the premier international squash tournament in the women’s game. The biennial event has not been held since 2018 due to COVID-19 and returns with the traditional format of four-player squads from each country battling it out in best-of-three-match clashes. The Australian team placed ninth in 2018, when the Championships were held in Dalian, China. National champion Jess Turnbull is the only new face in the Australian team for 2022 as Lobban, Cardwell and Haydon were on the squad that competed in China. Australia's Jessica Turnbull Despite having already donned the green and gold at two World Doubles Championships, a Commonwealth Games and the recent Nations Cup, Turnbull is making her Women’s World Team Championships debut, continuing on a journey that is seeing her emerge as the leader of the next group of Australian women. “I think this season has prepared me quite well,” Turnbull said. “I have had a few of what I consider to be breakthrough wins recently, so it has boosted my confidence for sure. Having that experience behind me, now for big events, I won't be so shellshocked walking on,” Turnbull said. “I'm honoured to get the opportunity to wear the green and gold again. Nothing better than representing Australia.” Donna Lobban in action at the Commonwealth Games While Turnbull is making her debut at the event,Sarah Cardwell is competing for the fourth time and Donna Lobban is taking to the court at the Women’s World Team Championships for the sixth time. It will be a full circle moment for Lobban, who played in the World Junior event in Cairo, 2003 and also made her senior women’s team debut in Egypt, in 2008. “It’s crazy to think, I remember my first time playing for the Australian senior team in 2008 and it was such an exciting thing to be a part of and something I had been dreaming about,” Lobban said. “Playing for Australia means the world to me and is always a huge honour and probably the most exciting thing about what I get to do playing squash.” “My preparation has been so far so good. I have probably taken a step back from playing as many PSA tournaments as I usually would, however I’ve still had a lot of competitive opportunities, like the Australian Open, French league matches and PSL matches in the UK. “I’m feeling good, my body is feeling good and probably because I haven't been killing myself as usually on the tour. So I’m feeling fit and ready for it.” Australia coach Stewart Boswell believes competing in the environment of a Women's World Team Championship can help the development of young players such as Alex Haydon. Coach Stewart Boswell added that the Australian team is looking forward to competing at the event again, with the three-match format being quite different from that of PSA tournaments. “There’s always an added element of excitement and unpredictability that comes with playing in a team event,” Boswell said. “The main focus for the team will be on each player individually performing at their best, whoever they’re playing. Hopefully in doing so we can pick up some wins, make it difficult for some of the top teams and finish higher than our seeding for the event.” Completing the lineup is Alex Haydon who, at just 21 years old, is the youngest member of the team. Boswell said it’s fantastic that young athletes have the opportunity to compete for the country on the international stage and get to test themselves against the world's best. Despite her young age, Haydon is already competing in her second Women’s World Team Championships. “Being in this type of environment and experiencing the pressure and the buzz of playing for their teammates and Australia can only help them improve as players. Hopefully it also gives them further motivation to strive for future success at the very top level,” Boswell said. (Thanks to Framboise Gommendy)