.....An iDEASCOPE MEDIA

30 Nov 2018

NSF President Visits HS Media, Seeks Cooperation For Squash Revival

Boye Oyerinde is working, Squash sport in Nigeria is working.
Since the emergence of Boye Oyerinde as the president of Nigeria Squash Federation at a  time when most wouldn't have love to fill that space due to various challenges and the level of decadence that has characterized the sport(SQUASH) in Nigeria, Mr Boye Oyerinde has been up and doing great works, loads of tournaments year in year out with positive feedbacks from the players involved and officials compared to what we had in the past. personally, i celebrate this great man. may God continue to increase you in strength and wisdom.
.....OMOTADE Isaac

Nigeria-Squash-Federation-President-Boye-Oyerinde-Visits-HS -Media
President of the Nigeria Squash Federation (NSF), Boye Oyerinde has appealed to corporate bodies and individuals to join hands in reviving the game of squash in the country.

Oyerinde stated this on Wednesday when he paid a courtesy call to the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of HS Media Group, Mr. Taye Ige, as part of his efforts to parley with the media to promote squash in Nigeria.
Boye Oyerinde; President of Nigeria Squash Federation (NSF),  Taye Ige; CEO HS Media Group, Felix Ideh; Executive Director HS Media Group and Robert Paltiel; Chief Operating Officer HS Media Group during a courtesy visit of the NSF President to HS Media Group on Wednesday in Oregun Lagos.

The Nigeria Squash Federation (NSF) was founded in 1974 as the governing body that oversees the administration of squash, but little is known about the game which the president described as one of the most interesting sports that can shoot Nigeria into fame in the world if proper awareness is created with the help of the media.

“Our plan and strategy is to rebrand the game of squash in Nigeria and the sport really needs a lot of attention,” he said.

“We took stock of all the squash courts in the country and we realized that we have over 300 squash courts in this country but less than 10 percent of them are being used. Some of them have been converted to living rooms, stores and churches”

“We also took stock of our players and we realized also that we have over 400 registered players in our database and we know they will keep coming once we have lots of competitions”

“As I speak we don’t have a squash national team but we have very good players that could play in any competition in the world and come out in flying colours.

“I know squash facilities and equipment are not cheap to purchase or maintain so we actually struck a deal with a company called Black Knight who promised to provide us with the basic equipment at a subsidized rate to encourage us”

“So we want to see how we can have a various training program to revive the sport in this country. Our target is to build a new set of players who can represent Nigeria in squash competitions across the globe”

“ As you know all this cannot be achievable without you the media to properly project the game to Nigerians so that  they can key into it and by so we will be growing the sport and also create and an avenue for people to leave the streets and become useful in the country.” He added.

In his response, the CEO of HS Media Group thanked the president for his foresight in reviving the game of squash and promised he will try his best to ensure that they assist in whatever ways to ensure the sport receive the needed awareness.
CREDIT:hotsports

Global Squash Rackets Market Survey 2018 – Industry Development by 2023, Detailed Analysis Research Report


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LOCAL TRIO CLAIM WINS ON OPENING DAY OF PAKISTAN OPEN



Pakistani trio Tayyab Aslam, Amna Fayyaz and Madina Zafar all claimed victories on the opening day of the Golootlo Pakistan Open Squash Championships held at the DA Creek Club in Karachi.

Aslam, the Pakistan No.1, came back from two finally see off the country’s No.3 player Asim Khan, winning 11-13, 9-11, 12-10, 11-8, 11-6 to set up a second round match with top seed and former World No.1 Karim Abdel Gawad in the men’s PSA World Tour Bronze event.

A trio of Egyptian winners also made their mark in round one of the men’s event, with Shehab Essam upsetting Auguste Dussourd and World Junior Champion Mostafa Asal defeating Kuwait’s Ammar Altamimi by a 3-1 margin.

Wildcards Ahsan Ayaz and Noman Khan exited the tournament at the hands of Ivan Yuen and Iker Pajares Bernabeu, respectively, while there were also wins for Spain’s Edmon Lopez and Englishman Joshua Masters.

Masters will line up against No.2 seed and World No.11 Diego Elias for a place in the quarter-finals.

The women’s PSA Challenger Tour event saw wildcard Amna Fayyaz claim an upset win over Serbia’s Jelena Dutina.

At just 16 years of age, Fayyaz is the youngest player involved in either draw and she dismantled Dutina 3-0 in just half an hour to progress to the last 16, where she will play No.1 seed Yathreb Adel.

Fayyaz will be joined in round two by fellow Pakistani player Madina Zafar, who downed Zoya Khalid to set up a second round fixture with Japan’s Satomi Watanabe.

Farah Momen – the sister of men’s World No.4 Tarek Momen – also claimed an opening day win as she defeated fellow Egyptian Salma Youssef and she will play No.2 seed Nadine Shahin in the next round.

Results – Men’s First Round: 2018 Golootlo Pakistan Open Squash Championships
[9/16] Tayyab Aslam (PAK) bt Asim Khan (PAK) 3-2: 11-13, 9-11, 12-10, 11-8, 11-6 (74 mins)
[9/16] Mazen Gamal (EGY) bt Mohd Syafiq Kamal (MAS) 3-0: 11-7, 11-8, 14-12 (35 mins)
[9/16] Ivan Yuen (MAS) bt [WC] Ahsan Ayaz (PAK) 3-0: 11-8, 11-6, 11-2 (29 mins)
Shehab Essam (EGY) bt [9/16] Auguste Dussourd (FRA) 3-1: 11-8, 10-12, 11-7, 11-9 (50 mins)
[9/16] Mostafa Asal (EGY)  bt Ammar Altamimi (KUW) 3-1: 11-5, 11-9, 11-13 11-4 (38 mins)
[9/16] Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP) bt [WC] Noman Khan (PAK) 3-1: 11-6, 9-11, 11-3, 11-3 (33 mins)
[9/16] Edmon Lopez (ESP) bt Baptiste Masotti (FRA) 3-2: 8-11, 11-3, 11-8, 3-11, 11-6 (52 mins)
[9/16] Joshua Masters (ENG) bt Ahmed Hosny (EGY) 3-0: 11-8, 11-4, 11-7 (25 mins)

Draw – Men’s Second Round
[1] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) v Tayyab Aslam (PAK)
Mazen Gamal (EGY) v [6] Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY)
[8] Mohamed Reda (EGY) v Ivan Yuen (MAS)
Shehab Essam (EGY) v [4] Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS)
[3] Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT) v Mostafa Asal (EGY)
Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP) v [5] Arturo Salazar (MEX)
[7] Karim El Hammamy (EGY) v Edmon Lopez (ESP)
Joshua Masters (ENG) v [2] Diego Elias (PER)

Results – Women’s First Round: 2018 Golootlo Pakistan Open Squash Championships
[WC] Amna Fayyaz (PAK) bt [9/16] Jelenia Dutina (SRB) 3-0: 11-6, 13-11, 12-10 (30 mins)
[9/16] Wen Li Lai (MAS) bt Anam Mustafa Aziz (PAK) 3-0: 11-2, 11-4, 11-5 (11 mins)
[9/16] Enora Villard (FRA) bt [WC] Noor ul Huda (PAK) 3-0: 11-8, 11-3, 11-4 (14 mins)
[9/16] Aika Azman (MAS) bt Sadia Gul (PAK) 3-0: 11-4, 8-2 ret. (11 mins)
[9/16] Eva Fertekova (CZE) bt Riffat Khan (PAK) 3-0: 11-5, 11-7, 11-4 (26 mins)
[9/16] Ooi Kah Yan (MAS) bt Arezoosadat Mousavizadeh (IRI) 3-0: 11-3, 11-3, 11-4 (17 mins)
[9/16] Madina Zafar (PAK) bt Zoya Khalid (PAK) 3-0: 11-5, 11-6, 11-6 (16 mins)
Farah Momen (EGY) bt [9/16] Salma Youssef (EGY) 3-1: 11-8, 11-8, 3-11, 11-8 (30 mins)

Draw – Women’s Second Round
[1] Yathreb Adel (EGY) v [WC] Amna Fayyaz (PAK)
Wen Li Lai (MAS) v [7] Rachel Arnold (MAS)
[8] Tong Tsz-Wing (HKG) v Enora Villard (FRA)
Aika Azman (MAS) v [3] Zeina Mickawy (EGY)
[4] Liu Tsz-Ling (HKG) v Eva Fertekova (CZE)
Ooi Kah Yan (MAS) v [5] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS)
[6] Satomi Watanabe (JPN) v Madina Zafar (PAK)
Farah Momen (EGY) v [2] Nadine Shahin (EGY)

11/28/2018 Dunlop College Squash Team Rankings Released


Image result for dunlop squash logoImage result for dunlop squash logo


The College Squash Association has released the second Dunlop College Squash Team Rankings of the 2018-2019 season.  The rankings will be released one more time this calendar year after all of the matches are complete for the first semester.

The biggest movement in the rankings compared to the initial version occurred on the men’s side in positions No. 8 through No.19.  The U.S. Naval Academy caused the biggest stir with a couple of upset wins on their way to a 10-0 record.  The Midshipmen had the biggest jump, moving six spots to No. 10 in this week’s rankings.  Heading in the opposite direction were Princeton University and George Washington University, dropping five spots each to No. 13 and No. 14, respectively.

In that same range of rankings, Virginia climbed one position to No. 12 despite a set of up-and-down results.  The Cavaliers lost to Navy, then turned around quickly to beat Princeton in their next match.  Bates also won a big match against Dickinson, leapfrogging the Red Devils to No. 18.

The other notable movers on the men’s side were Tufts University, moving up four spots with a nice early-season win over then-No. 23 Colby, and Connecticut College, which swapped places with Hamilton College.

The CSA women’s team rankings were much quieter during this early period of play.  Only five of the top 28 teams moved position in this week’s version of the rankings.

The University of Pennsylvania’s 5-0 start included a big win over then-No. 4 Stanford, propelling them two spots up the rankings.  The Princeton University women also beat Stanford in the No. 3 versus No. 4 match-up and maintained their place.  The Dickinson College women’s team were the other squad to move up, switching places with Bates to No. 17 after a close 5-4 victory.

For the first time this season, several club teams have joined the rankings after playing enough early-season matches to qualify.  Boston College, Bucknell University, and Georgetown University check in at Nos. 29, 30, and 31 in the women’s rankings, while University of California-Berkeley, Stanford University, and Bucknell University lead the way at Nos. 34, 35, and 36 for the men.

To view the full list of rankings, please visit the Dunlop College Squash Rankings page.

2018-19 Men's Squash Season Preview

Junior captain Jacob Ellen and his teammates start their season on Friday at home with Navy.
Led by an experienced group of returning players in addition to a solid incoming class, the Middlebury men's squash program has high expectations headed into the 2018-19 season. Last winter, the men posted a record of 9-12 against a very difficult schedule and finished the year ranked 19th nationally and third in the NESCAC.

Guided by two-time NESCAC Coach of the Year Mark Lewis, who earned the honor last winter, he enters his fourth year with a deep and seasoned lineup.

The squad will be led by juniors William Cembalest, Jacob Ellen and Jack Kagan in the upper-third of the ladder. Cembalest, a First-Team All-NESCAC selection last winter, tallied a 7-14 record in the top spot of the ladder and competed at the CSA Individual Championships.

A two-time Second-Team All-NESCAC honoree, Ellen is one of this year's captain after posting a 10-10 mark in the No. 2 slot a season ago. He started the season with five victories in his first six matches, posting a 5-2 record during the seven NESCAC contests.

Kagan concluded his second season with a 14-10 record mainly in the third spot, including a trio of victories during the CSA Team Championships. He also represented Middlebury at the CSA Individual Championships. Kagan will join the team in January after spending the fall semester studying abroad.

Sophomore Wiatt Hinton put together an 11-10 record a season ago in the middle of the ladder, winning all three of his matches during the CSA Team Championships. Classmate John Epley was second on the team in wins a season ago, ending his first campaign with a 13-7 mark in the sixth position, claiming victories in the final three contests of 2017-18.

Second-year Panther Alex Merrill went 6-9 during his first season at No. 7, going 2-1 during his last three matches. Junior captain Thomas Wolpow played in four different spots at the bottom of the lineup with a 9-12 mark a season ago.

Junior captain Nick Bermingham and sophomore Finlay McInerney, along with some first-year players will fight for ladder spots this winter.

The Panthers' slate opens with a home weekend featuring matches against Navy on Friday, November 30 and Tufts on Saturday, December 1. Middlebury plays a total of 10 matches during the month of January, with five of them at home and five on the road. Another key date on the schedule is the NESCAC Championships, hosted by the Panthers from Friday, February 1 through Sunday, February 3.

Oyerinde laments conversion of squash courts to churches

President of the Nigeria Squash Federation, Boye Oyerinde, has appealed to corporate bodies and individuals to join hands in reviving squash in the country.

Oyerinde stated this on Wednesday when he paid a visit to the Chief Executive Officer of HS Media Group, Taye Ige, as part of his efforts to parley with the media to promote squash in Nigeria.

“Our plan and strategy is to rebrand the game of squash in Nigeria and the sport really needs a lot of attention,” he said.



“We took stock of all the squash courts in the country and we realised that we have over 300 courts but less than 10 per cent of them are being used. Some of them have been converted to living rooms, stores and churches.

“We also took stock of our players and we realised also that we have over 400 registered players in our database and we know they will keep coming once we have lots of competitions.

“As I speak, we don’t have a squash national team but we have very good players that can play in any competition in the world and come out with flying colours.

“I know squash facilities and equipment are not cheap to purchase or maintain, so we actually struck a deal with a company called Black Knight, who promised to provide us with the basic equipment at a subsidised rate to encourage us.

“So we want to see how we can have various training programmes to revive the sport. Our target is to build a new set of players who can represent Nigeria in squash competitions across the globe.”

  Credit - PUNCH.             

28 Nov 2018

New Zealand's King Qualifies for PSA World Tour Finals


New Zealand’s Joelle King has qualified for the season-ending PSA World Tour Finals after she beat Egypt’s Raneem El Welily in Saturday’s Everbright Sun Hung Kai Hong Kong Squash Open final to lift her first ever PSA World Tour Platinum title.

The PSA World Tour Finals will take place next June and will feature both a men’s and women’s tournament. The reigning World Champions and all seven Platinum winners will qualify for the prestigious event - meaning King has joined U.S. Open champion El Welily in booking a coveted spot at the finals.

The other qualifying spots will go to the next highest-ranked players on the PSA World Tour Finals Leaderboard.

King moves up to third on the women’s leaderboard with 3,720 points, behind England’s Sarah-Jane Perry in second. El Welily, who will go to World No.1 on December 1, has 7,115 points to her name.

France’s Camille Serme drops a place to fourth, while current World No.1 Nour El Sherbini, World No.3 Nour El Tayeb, World No.9 Tesni Evans and World No.8 Nouran Gohar take the final spots inside the top eight.

Men’s Hong Kong Open winner Mohamed ElShorbagy stays in second place on the men’s leaderboard behind runner-up Ali Farag, whose title win at the Qatar Classic earlier this month saw him qualify automatically.

Qatar Classic finalist Simon Rรถsner comes next in third ahead of World No.4 Tarek Momen, World No.8 Paul Coll, World No.10 Mohamed Abouelghar, World No.9 Karim Abdel Gawad and World No.12 Diego Elias, who make up the rest of the top eight.

The next Platinum tournament will be the men’s CIB Black Ball Squash Open, which takes place in Cairo between December 3-9.
PSA WORLD TOUR FINALS LEADERBOARD
MEN’S LEADERBOARD
WOMEN’S LEADERBOARD

RANK
NAME
POINTS
RANK
NAME
POINTS

[Q]
1
Ali Farag (EGY)
8,560.000
1
Raneem El Welily (EGY)
7,115.000
[Q]
[Q]
2
Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY)
7,585.000
2
Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
4,005.000


3
Simon Rรถsner (GER)
5,850.000
3
Joelle King (NZL)
3,720.000
[Q]

4
Tarek Momen (EGY)
5,055.000
4
Camille Serme (FRA)
3,225.000


5
Paul Coll (NZL)
4,030.000
5
Nour El Sherbini (EGY)
3,185.000


6
Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY)
3,350.000
6
Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
2,660.000


7
Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
3,160.000
7
Tesni Evans (WAL)
1,985.000


8
Diego Elias (PER)
2,890.000
8
Nouran Gohar (EGY)
1,780.000


9
Saurav Ghosal (IND)
2,460.000
9
Alison Waters (ENG)
1,730.000


10
Joel Makin (WAL)
2,355.000
10
Laura Massaro (ENG)
1,675.000


11
Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
2,290.000
11
Amanda Sobhy (USA)
1,482.500


12
Omar Mosaad (EGY)
2,005.000
12
Joshna Chinappa (IND)
1,465.000


13
Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
1,805.000
13
Salma Hany (EGY)
1,425.500


14
Tom Richards (ENG)
1,760.000
14
Nicol David (MAS)
1,390.000


15
Daryl Selby (ENG)
1,635.000
15
Yathreb Adel (EGY)
1,197.500


16
Greg Lobban (SCO)
1,620.000
16
Joey Chan (HKG)
1,185.000

Equal Money Allam British Open Set For Brand New University of Hull Showcase In 2019

The Allam British Open, the oldest and most established professional squash tournament in the world, will have a new home from 2019 after an agreement was reached today that will see the iconic event take place in its entirety in a brand new sports complex at the University of Hull between 20-26 May, 2019.



The brand new state-of-the-art facility, designed to attract world-class athletes and events to the city, will open in full in April 2019 with the Allam British Open becoming the first major international sporting event to call the facilities home. An all-glass court, complete with spectator seating, will be erected solely for the tournament and will see the University, which has been host to qualification and first round matches for the past five years, expand its support of the prestigious tournament.


Thousands of fans from all over the world will descend on Hull to witness the action unfold at the glass court arena in what will be the final major Platinum level tournament of the 2018/19 PSA World Tour season. Millions more will be able to follow the prestigious event through television, digital broadcasts and social media - with the 2018 edition of the Allam British Open reaching over 10 million people, consuming close to ten million minutes of content, across social media platforms alone


The 2019 Allam British Open also sees Dr. Assem Allam reconfirm his commitment to helping grow squash in the region with a renewed title sponsorship deal, with the event offering a $330,000 prize fund split equally between men and women - with both draws set to attract almost 100 of the world’s best squash players to the city.



Joining Dr. Allam in supporting the event are England Squash, the Professional Squash Association and the University of Hull, with the 2019 edition of the tournament marking what is expected to be a long term collaboration between the four parties aimed at developing and aligning both the professional and community squash programs in the Hull region.



Steve Curtis, Partnership and Project Manager for Sport at the University of Hull, said: “Over the past five years we have enjoyed working with all parties involved with the Allam British Open and have experienced great interest in the early rounds which have been played here in recent years. We are a university which is passionate about sport and to bring the entire event, including the spectacular all-glass court, under one roof is something that we are tremendously excited by and we look forward to delivering a world class event in May 2019. We hope the event can inspire the region to pick up a racket and give squash a go, we will be working in local schools to provide opportunities to try squash and to attend the championships on campus.”



Speaking after a meeting of all key stakeholders in Hull today, title sponsor Dr Assem Allam said: “I am very happy to continue to support the Allam British Open and extend my backing of this great tournament. The British Open is a ‘national treasure’ and it is fantastic that we are continuing to build on the legacy of staging the event completely at the new sport development on the University of Hull campus and continuing to inspire new generations to become involved with the sport in the region. I hope that we can attract many young students to discover squash for the first time in 2019 and look forward to working together with England Squash, the PSA and the University of Hull to develop the sport in the region in the years to come.”



Keir Worth, Chief Executive of England Squash said: “We are thrilled that Dr. Allam is continuing his exceptional support for squash and the Allam British Open and are excited to stage the event in what promises to be a world class facility.”



Alex Gough, PSA Chief Executive, added: “The Allam British Open is the oldest and one of the most iconic events in squash and Hull has proven to be a fitting home for the tournament during the past six years. For an event of this stature to have longevity and stability is a huge bonus for our players and our sport and we look forward to working with all parties involved to help ensure the next edition delivers an exceptional experience at the University of Hull.”

World No.1 ElShorbagy To Face Hong Kong’s Lee in Black Ball Opener



World No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy, winner of last week’s Hong Kong Open, will look to keep his winning streak going when he opens up his CIB Black Ball Squash Open campaign against Hong Kong’s World No.14 Max Lee when the first ever edition of the PSA World Tour Platinum tournament takes place between December 3-9 at the Black Ball Sporting Club in Cairo.



The CIB Black Ball Open will be the first major tournament to take place in Egypt’s capital since the men’s 2016 PSA World Championships and Alexandria-born ElShorbagy will look to extend his run of successive wins over Lee to three matches after both players receive a bye into round two of the event.



ElShorbagy is on the same side of the draw as World No.4 Tarek Momen, who ended a four-year PSA Tour title drought when he won the Channel VAS Championships earlier this season, while Karim Abdel Gawad, winner of the 2016 World Championship, will also feature in the top half of the draw.


Ramy Ashour, the man Gawad beat in that 2016 final, fails to feature at the event after withdrawing due to a persistent knee-injury which has prevented him from appearing at any tournaments this season so far while Mexican Cesar Salazar and Spaniard Borja Golan are also absent due to injury.



Meanwhile, just days after meeting in the final of the Hong Kong Open, World No.2 Ali Farag is seeded to meet ElShorbagy in the title decider once again but faces a number of difficult challenges en route, with the likes of World No.5 Simon Rรถsner, World No.7 Miguel Angel Rodriguez and World No.8 Paul Coll all featuring on the lower half of the draw.



Matches held on the glass court will be shown live on SQUASHTV (Rest of World) and Eurosport Player (Europe only).



Entry to the first day of the tournament on Monday December 3 will be free of charge. Tickets for the rest of the tournament are available from TicketsMarche.



A women’s Black Ball Open will take place in March 2019. The PSA World Tour Gold tournament will be staged at the Black Ball Sporting Club between March 11-15.



Main Draw - 2018 CIB Black Ball Squash Open

[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) [bye]

[9/16] Max Lee (HKG) [bye]

[17/32] Cameron Pilley (AUS) v Eain Yow Ng (MAS)

Olli Tuominen (FIN) v [17/32] Campbell Grayson (NZL)

[9/16] Nicolas Mueller (SUI) [bye]

[9/16] Diego Elias (PER) [bye]

[17/32] Tsz Fung Yip (HKG) v Nathan Lake (ENG)

[7] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) [bye]

[8] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY)

[WC] Shehab Essam (EGY) v [17/32] Greg Lobban (SCO)

[17/32] Mazen Hesham (EGY) v Karim El Hammamy (EGY)

Peter Creed (WAL) v [17/32] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA)

[9/16] Raphael Kandra (GER) [bye]

[WC] Shady El Sherbiny (EGY) v [17/32] Tom Richards (ENG)

[916] Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) [bye]

[3] Tarek Momen (EGY) [bye]

[4] Simon Rรถsner (GER) [bye]

Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY) v [17/32] Alan Clyne (SCO)

[17/32] Gregoire Marche (FRA) v Mohamed Reda (EGY)

George Parker (ENG) v [17/32] Leo Au (HKG)

[17/32] Zahed Salem (EGY) v Mazen Gamal (EGY)

Edmon Lopez (ESP) v [17/32] Chris Simpson (ENG)

[17/32] Adrian Waller (ENG) v Todd Harrity (USA)

[6] Paul Coll (NZL) [bye]

[5] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) [bye]

[9/16] Omar Mosaad (EGY)

[17/32] Karim Ali Fathi (EGY) v Tayyab Aslam (PAK)

[9/16] Saurav Ghosal (IND) [bye]

[9/16] Declan James (ENG) [bye]

Mostafa Asal (EGY) v [17/32] Youssef Soliman (EGY)

[17/32] Lucas Serme (FRA) v Joshua Masters (ENG)

[2] Ali Farag [bye]

27 Nov 2018

Peter Bastow beats Troy Mountford in NSW Masters squash final

Sydney’s Peter Bastow lived up to his No.1 seeding, taking out the final in a tense battle against Illawarra rival Troy Mountford.
Final battle: Troy Mountford and Peter Bastow before Sunday's NSW Masters squash final at Dapto. Picture: Robert Peet
 Final battle: Troy Mountford and Peter Bastow before Sunday's NSW Masters squash final at Dapto. Picture: Robert Peet

Bastow prevailed three sets to one in a final which took more than an hour.

“It was pretty close, I managed to push him a bit,” Mountford said.

“It was a good tournament, I was really happy with how I played and there were some great players were involved.”

Bastow is the reigning Australian 45-49 years masters champion.

Mountford moved through to the final with a straight sets victory over Shane Byrne, who has recently moved to the Illawarra scene from Sydney. Bastow outclassed Canberra’s Mick Bayley in the semi-finals, also in straight sets.

Meanwhile, long-serving squash member Jim Walton was presented with the Col Mower Memorial award, for his dedication to the sport, which includes travelling to several major tournaments in NSW every year.

The next major NSW masters tournament will be held in Newcastle in February.

The Illawarra season will end with the spring pennant grand finals, starting on Tuesday night.


The Illawarra Premier League decider will be held on Wednesday, between the top two teams this campaign, Raptors and Superoos.

Raptors, led by Ray Payne, the top ranking player, finished on top of the competition on 154 points, before Superoos edged out Mountford’s Eagles in the preliminary final. The Roos have boasted impressive depth, with Rob Pezzutto and Nathan Quill among the most improved in Illawarra squash.

Joelle King joins illustrious Kiwi club with Hong Kong Open victory


New Zealand's world number seven Joelle King has won the women's Hong Kong Open championship by beating new world number one Raneem El Welily in a thrilling final.

The win marks the Kiwi's first Platinum Professional Squash Association (PSA) title and also means that she has automatically qualified for the season-ending PSA World Tour finals.

The number five seed got off to a flying start to take the first game 11-4 in just nine minutes, as El Welily appeared sluggish in the beginning as she struggled to back up her epic five-game battle with compatriot Nouran Gohar.

Thirty-year-old King who has beaten reigning World Champion El Welily in their last two meetings continued to dominate and proved she was back to playing her best squash as she doubled her lead by taking the second, 12-10.

The third game saw El Welily push to get herself back into the match as she threw everything at King.

The Kiwi managed to keep her composure, despite failing to convert five championship balls, she got lucky on her sixth attempt, and won the third game 19-17 for an overall match time of 48 minutes to claim her first major title and become the first Kiwi PSA Platinum winner since 2003 when Carol Owens won the Tournament of Champions.

"I just kept thinking that it's the last match of the tournament - just leave it all out there," said King.

"Raneem is such a tough competitor and she showed in the third why she is number one. She just kept coming back at me and never let it go until the end.

"I guess if you've beaten a player before then it gives you a bit of confidence, but every day is a new day and she's not number one for no reason, so I knew she was never going to let it go. I'm just extremely happy to win my first platinum event ever.

 "It hasn't really sunk in yet, but to be on a stage like this, with such great fans means a lot. I just want to go on from here and keep playing good squash."

The victory means King becomes the fourth New Zealand woman to win the prestigious title in Hong Kong. She joins Dame Susan Devoy, Leilani Rorani and Owens as winners.

Newshub.

26 Nov 2018

Meet squash player Noorena Shams from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa who's fighting gender discrimination

Noorena Shams is a good squash player and a confident speaker.
รข€œI moved to the Mohibullah Squash Academy and started playing with boys there.รข€
This multi-talented sportsperson ended up playing squash after trying her hand at cycling, cricket (in the guise of a boy) and athletics, despite living in a very conservative environment.

She overcame a number of hurdles to represent the country at many international sporting and social forums with the distinction of being the first female athlete from Pakistan to have spoken at the Human Rights Council of the United Nations about issues of harassment in sports.

Born on October 10, 1997 in Lower Dir, Noorena started cycling in her neighbourhood at the age of 10. She would go out with her younger brother and cycle for hours. All of this was possible while her father, Shams-ul-Qamar, a local politician and businessman, would be away for work. It wasn’t easy for a girl in that conservative society to roam around freely. One day her father came to know about Noorena’s activities; fortunately, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise for her.

“My father scolded me a little but later allowed me to participate in local cycling events,” Noorena says. “I gradually climbed the ladder of success to emerge as a prominent local cyclist. That was when I also started eyeing an international cycling competition in the US.”

In 2008, Noorena was gearing up for an amateur junior cycling event in Boston, USA organised by the IOC, but news of her father’s sudden demise disturbed the entire family.

“It was obviously very tough for me. But my mother and a few of my father’s friends encouraged and supported me to carry forward my late father’s wishes. I entered the championship and won the silver medal,” she says.
Noorena during a squash competition. Photo: Facebook/NoorenaShams
Noorena during a squash competition. Photo: Facebook/NoorenaShams
Later, Noorena gave up sports to focus on her studies. Her mother was looking after her late father’s business. This was also the time when turbulence started in Lower Dir and a lot of families migrated from the area. However, Noorena’s family chose to stay back. Bomb blasts were not uncommon in those days.

“My school was bombed as well, resulting in the discontinuing of our education,” she says. “I spent a year at home and started playing cricket with my brother and cousins. I have also played cricket with army soldiers in our compound,” she says, adding that Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi and Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga are her favourite cricketers, although she is an off-spinner.

Those troubled days came to an end, and Noorena was sent to Peshawar for studies. She stayed with her maternal aunt in Peshawar. While travelling between school and home she would watch boys playing at a cricket academy. “One day I visited that academy to seek admission and I somehow convinced the coach who, after giving me a boy’s haircut, introduced me to the other boys there as Noor-ul-Islam.

“My teammates started calling me Noori. Even after they realised that I was a girl, nobody there made fun of me or humiliated me and I kept on playing cricket for nine to 10 months while touring various cities for matches,” she says.

But in 2011, when she wanted to appear for trials to be selected in a district-level women’s cricket team, her mother put her foot down and objected to her ambitions — her mother had heard too many stories about harassment.

“Still, I continued playing in school and took part in athletics. By the time I finished my O-levels, I had bagged 63 medals in different athletics disciplines at school-level competitions. A few from district, national and international competitions, too,” she says.
Noorena's inspiration? She's her own superhero. Photo: Facebook/NoorenaShams
Noorena's inspiration? She's her own superhero. Photo: Facebook/NoorenaShams
Her love for sports kept on pushing Noorena. She thought about swimming as well, but had to surrender that thought. “Squash was the next thing that I was attracted to. In 2014, I got myself registered at the PAF Squash Academy in Peshawar. During this time I was continuously being told that I had crossed the learning age and couldn’t play. There was no coach, no facility whatsoever but I didn’t give up.”

Once she saw Amir Atlas being warmly greeted upon winning an Asian title. That standing ovation which he got motivated her deeply. “I wanted to do the same for my country,” she says.

Noorena started participating in local events but her performance was not too impressive. She next set her sights on the Hong Kong Junior event, for which she was sponsored by the famous singer and actor Ali Zafar. “I didn’t perform well at the event and couldn’t go beyond the first round. Still, the experience was worthwhile. I realised the gap between our training system and that of the international players,” she says.

Upon her return to Pakistan, Noorena was not allowed to continue her activities at the PAF Squash Academy because she had gone to the Hong Kong event without due permission. The objection was soon considered invalid because it was her right to compete there. Through this step she also opened the doors for local players to go and participate in events abroad.

In the meantime, she was invited to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women for the 2017 edition in New York. “Malala Yousufzai was invited to the CWS-61 but she wasn’t available due to her academic engagements. Then I was recommended by the Malala Fund,” she says.
Noorena invited to the BBC to speak many issues that sports face in Pakistan and their solutions. Photo: Facebook/NoorenaShams
Noorena invited to the BBC to speak many issues that sports face in Pakistan and their solutions. Photo: Facebook/NoorenaShams
“I moved to the Mohibullah Squash Academy and started playing with boys there. In 2016, after acquiring a Professional Squash Association [PSA] membership, I submitted an entry for the PSA Malaysian circuit-1 in Kuala Lumpur. I had to face a lot of hardship in getting a visa as my passport got misplaced during the process. I somehow got the new passport made, and later, after getting the visa, reached only a couple of hours before the first-round match of the tournament. Of course, I lost,” she says. At that time she was financially supported by singer Zeb Bangash.

Noorena’s next international tournament was Bendigo Squash in Australia that was held in July 2017. Here she managed to improve on her record and reached the quarter-final stage, only to lose to Australia’s number one player. She says that she sold her photographic work to generate funds for the tour while Pakistan Super League’s franchise Peshawar Zalmi also chipped in for her visa expenses.

“I had had a considerable amount of experience by then and I understood the shortcomings in my training and playing regime. I went to Australia again in November 2017 to participate in the Australian Open. I was then sponsored by an Islamabad-based businessman. From then on I started feeling at ease about my finances and was able to concentrate on my game,” she says.

In the meantime, she was invited to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women for the 2017 edition in New York. “Malala Yousufzai was invited to the CWS-61 but she wasn’t available due to her academic engagements. Then I was recommended by the Malala Fund,” she says. She was a panelist in a discussion where she spoke about women’s rights and problems in sports.
Noorena at the UN. Photo: Facebook/NoorenaShams
Noorena at the UN. Photo: Facebook/NoorenaShams
In December 2017, Noorena participated in the Pakistan Open Squash Championship in Islamabad where a majority of the Pakistani players, including Noorena, were knocked out in the first round. “That was surprising for me. Then I thought about the gap between the training and practice of Pakistani and international players. I approached the top professional coach Amir Wagih and sought admission to his academy in Washington DC. I reached the US in February 2018,” she says.

“Those six months were really tough. I didn’t have any proper accommodation. I stayed with friends I made through Facebook. I played four tournaments and also made some money to travel to different cities to feature in local events there. I returned to Pakistan with phenomenal experience and an improvement in my world ranking, from 230 to 130,” she says.

In July 2018, Noorena travelled to Bristol to attend the Elite Squash Academy and spend about one-and-a-half month there. “The time at the academy was remarkable. I learnt a great deal under the top coach Hadrian Stiff. I had had a rollercoaster journey but my self-confidence was boosted. Right now my entire focus is on the national championship next year. I will make a mark at the national circuit this time round,” Noorena says.

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