England’s James Willstrop Upends Top-Seed Karim Darwish in World Squash Open
The third round of the World Squash Open in Kuwait saw two highly fancied players going head-to-head on the glass court that resulted to an upset of sorts. Number one seed, Egyptian player Karim Darwish was vanquished by England’s James Willstrop who came into the event seeded 11 overall.
The 6-4 Willstrop showed brilliance and expert match play, dominating Darwish in a classic battle with the Egyptian managing to win only a single set. The final score was 11-7, 11-7, 3-11, 11-9. This is the fifth time in a row this year that the Englishman beat the highly-regarded Darwish.Willstrop started the match off with a win in the first set, 11-7. He was clearly trying to use his superior reach to his advantage to cancel out Darwish’s superior retrieval reputation. The second set was a repeat of the initial set, Willstrop eking out a win in similar fashion, 11-7.
Third set saw Darwish turning up the heat, opening up with a 6-1 lead and was clearly the dominant force as he finished the game with a lopsided score -- 3-11.The fourth match was a thriller with both players showing aggressiveness, executing brilliant plays and firing heavy artillery. Towards the end, Darwish was leading 9-8 and the horizon started to look grim for Willstrop. The lead was a confidence builder for the Egyptian and it was starting to look as if the game would go to a fifth deciding match.
Willstrop refused to buckle down to pressure and displayed tremendous resiliency and composure at this juncture. He felt that if Darwish won the set, it would give him a psychological edge going into the fifth set. In the end, Wilstrop was able to pull a hat trick, winning the fourth set with the slimmest of margins, 11-9. After the match, Wilstrop raced to his proud father who is also his coach. Wilstrop will now face Frenchman Thierry Lincou in the last eight.
Squash News – Where to find the latest stats and reports
The game of squash is fast and constantly changing. Some times keeping in tough with squash news can be very difficult especially if you haven’t had the time to watch a few games. Missing a game is definitely bad but if you can catch up on the latest squash news then it will probably make things better. There are a number of places on the internet that provide squash fans with up to the minute latest squash news, interviews, and other squash related information.
When looking to keep up with the latest squash news the squash federation’s own website is a great resource : World Squash. Here you will find the latest squash related news, information as well as stats, and other squash related information. Here you will also find many useful links to other websites depending on what type of squash news you are looking for. This website will also give you all the details of upcoming games and events.
For people looking for raw squash news and information, SquashInfo is a great resource. This is a great place to start if you are looking for stats on either a current game or on a game you might have missed. This is a great place for those people who don’t want to bother them selves with reading to find what they are looking for. The website is easy to navigate making find what you are looking for very easy and hassle free.
East Midlands Newsletter
Apologies for not being in touch with you a lot sooner. Things are finally starting to settle down after the restructure of England Squash & Racketball and I thought I'd let you know where we stand in the East Midlands region.
As far as gaining more Development Coaches I was successful in gaining one for Lincolnshire but I have inherited a South Yorkshire coach who was operating on behalf of the North East region. He will be delivering in Grimsby and a few other leisure centres/clubs in the far north of Lincolnshire county. Whilst I desperately wanted my own choice in this region it was either "take this option or nothing at all". This doesn't preclude other coaches and volunteers in the region from my bigger picture. I have had a significant increase in my area budget and as a result I can start to pay coaches & volunteers for their time who will be doing various deliveries in the region. Basically I have to get an increase in participation figures in leisure centres, clubs, schools, universities, work based squash/racketball leagues as well as talent development. Another of my targets I need help to achieve is getting everyone to play Squash or Racketball more than once a week. This can be achieved through any avenues of participation - league or team matches, coaching, training, mix-ins, club nights, tournaments, competitions
If you have any ideas for future delivery regarding how & where we can deliver more Squash & Racketball at a junior and senior level please let me or Julie know as you are my eyes and ears on the ground and know your areas far better than I ever will. Without your invaluable input I cannot do my job and deliver my targets which in turn will mean the potential withdrawal of Sport England funding!
I will also be holding a Coaching Forum on the following date/venue:
Thursday 2nd July 2009 - 6pm-10pm
Nottingham Squash Rackets Club
Tattershall Dr
Nottingham, NG7 1BX
0115 941 7022
An agenda will be sent out a few days beforehand - anyone wishing to bring up any issues they feel would be worthwhile discussing regarding coaching issues in our region, please feel free to email me or Julie with the details.
The basic format for the evening will be 6-7pm on court - fun games, three quarter court etc. and just a low key 'getting to know each other' session. Then 7-10pm in the conference room upstairs - buffet will be provided for all attendees and it's not compulsory to stay until the end - although there will be some really useful discussions and networking opportunities.
I'll be in touch again soon everyone - please forward this email on to any other coaches you feel would benefit in the region and invite them along.
We do need to gauge an idea for numbers for the buffet so please let me know if you intend to come or not.
Bye for now - look forward to seeing you on the 2nd July.
Kind Regards,
Pete
Squash News – Where to find the latest stats and reports
The game of squash is fast and constantly changing. Some times keeping in tough with squash news can be very difficult especially if you haven’t had the time to watch a few games. Missing a game is definitely bad but if you can catch up on the latest squash news then it will probably make things better. There are a number of places on the internet that provide squash fans with up to the minute latest squash news, interviews, and other squash related information.
When looking to keep up with the latest squash news the squash federation’s own website is a great resource: World Squash. Here you will find the latest squash related news, information as well as stats, and other squash related information. Here you will also find many useful links to other websites depending on what type of squash news you are looking for. This website will also give you all the details of upcoming games and events.
For people looking for raw squash news and information, SquashInfo is a great resource. This is a great place to start if you are looking for stats on either a current game or on a game you might have missed. This is a great place for those people who don’t want to bother them selves with reading to find what they are looking for. The website is easy to navigate making find what you are looking for very easy and hassle free.
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