Cameron Pilley and David Palmer pose with their gold medals at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
Australia have become the latest nation to confirm their team for the upcoming World Doubles Squash Championship with World No.14 Cameron Pilley spearheading the defending champion’s attempts to retain their title between August 15-18 in Darwin, Australia.
Pilley, a two-time Commonwealth Games Doubles gold medalist, will line up with 2007 World Champion Rachael Grinham in the Mixed Doubles event, while World No.16 Ryan Cuskelly will team up with ‘Pistol Pilley’ in the Men’s event.
Two-time World Champion David Palmer will also compete for Australia alongside World No.21 Donna Urquhart in the Mixed Doubles, while World No.57 Rex Hedrick will join Palmer in the Men’s Doubles.
The Women’s Doubles will see Grinham and Urquhart partner up, while World No.38 Christine Nunn and World No.46 Sarah Cardwell will also join forces.
Australia’s extensive experience, which sees five Commonwealth Games gold medals shared between the team, will be backed up by three-time Women’s World Champion Michelle Martin, who will be travelling with the team in a coaching capacity.
“We are very excited about the teams we have been able to put together for this prestigious event,” said Squash Australia High Performance Manager Stewart Carson.
“We had such a successful Glasgow Commonwealth Games campaign, and it’s fantastic that all of our gold medalists will be playing on home soil against the world’s best.”
Paul Coll in action
New Zealand, meanwhile, have entered World No.31 Paul Coll, World No.42 Campbell Grayson, World No.9 Joelle King and World No.67 Amanda Landers-Murphy.
Coll will pair up with King in the Mixed event, with Grayson joining Landers-Murphy.
Scotland have also announced their team after a Scottish Doubles Selection process that saw Alan Clyne, Greg Lobban, Douglas Kempsell and Kevin Moran chosen to represent their country.
The selection process saw six teams enter the tournament, with two pools of three teams. Clyne and Lobban took the title courtesy of a 2-0 final win over Kempsell and Moran.
“I’m very happy to win this first tournament with my new partner, Greg,” Clyne said.
“I am happy with the way that we played and we worked well as a team. This all bodes well for Australia and we can’t wait to get going. There will be some good teams in this event but I am really delighted to be playing.”
Meanwhile, Peter Creed, Joel Makin, Tesni Evans and Jenny Haley will perform for Wales, with Creed and Evans teaming up in the Mixed Doubles alongside Makin and Haley, who will provide the other pair.
'Colombian Cannonball' Miguel Angel Rodriguez will feature for Colombia
India boast top 20 players Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa, who won gold in the Women’s Doubles event during the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and they will aim to be India’s first ever squash World Champions.
World No. 17 Saurav Ghosal, the man who recently broke the record for 11 Indian National title wins, is paired up with Pallikal in the Mixed event, while Chinappa will team up with Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu.
Malaysia are also taking part, with Nafiizwan Adnan and Mohd Syafiq Kamal forming one partnership in the Men’s event, while Ivan Yuen and Sanjay Singh Chal will also be involved.
The Women’s event sees the Arnold sisters, Delia and Rachel, team up, with Aika Azman and Teh Min Jie also in action.
A pairing of Delia and Singh Chal will feature in the Mixed event, with Rachel and Kamal joining forces.
Andres Herrera and Juan Camilo Vargas form a pairing in the Men’s event for Colombia, while Catalina Pelaez and Laura Tovar will team up in the Women’s.
Fan-favourite and World No.5 Miguel Angel Rodriguez will also be appearing in Darwin and he will partner Pelaez in the Mixed event.
Men's Doubles
Pool A:
[1] Ryan Cuskelly & Cameron Pilley (AUS)
[4] Rex Hedrick & Dav
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