Day FIVE, FINALS
England and India shared the Gold medals in Glasgow as Dipika Pallikal & Joshna Chinappa claimed the women’s title, with Pallikal & Saurav Ghosal taking the mixed and Declan James & James Willstrop the men’s.
India win first golds as England claim men’s title
India’s squash players enjoyed a fairytale day as they won India’s first – and then second – ever gold medals in the finals of the WSF World Doubles. The country, the first in Asia to win a World Doubles title, beat England in the mixed and the women’s doubles, with England securing a gold of their own in the men’s doubles final.
Prior to today, India had been beaten finalists in the mixed doubles in 2016 and the men’s doubles in 2004. However, they may have felt confident in the mixed doubles final, with Ghosal and Pallikal Karthik No.2 seeds and their opponents, England’s Adrian Waller and Alison Waters, seeded fourth.
In the mixed final the Indian pair were able to keep their noses ahead for the majority of the deciding game, eventually securing an 11/8 win to take the historic title.
Afterwards, Pallikal Karthik, who returned to the game after three years out and having become a first-time mother to twins last October, said: “It’s just been a long journey for me to be here. And I’m just very, very excited to be playing with Saurav and being with the whole Indian team. There’s a lot of gratitude from me just being here today.
“The plan was to always come back to squash. But in between it didn’t really seem likely. But I think I just had the right people with me, Saurav kept pushing me wherever he was in the world! And then obviously my husband [IPL cricketer Dinesh Karthik], my in-laws, my parents, all just making me be back here and playing again.”
No sooner had Dipika completed her post-match interviews than the 30-year-old was back on court, this time securing India’s second gold medal of all time and of the afternoon, as alongside Joshna Chinappa, Pallikal Karthik once again put England to the sword, beating Sarah-Jane Perry and Alison Waters, also 11-8 in the third.
After two demoralising defeats for England, there was joy for them in the last final of the day, as top seeds Declan James & James Willstrop broke home hearts with a 2-0 win over Scottish sixth seeds Greg Lobban & Rory Stewart.
At 10/8 down in the first game, the prospect of England’s long hunt for a championship gold – which they hadn’t won since 1997 in Hong Kong – seemed looming. James and Willstrop recovered spectacularly, though, saving the game balls and taking the first game 11/10 before winning the second 11/6 to take the title.
“That was tremendous,” Willstrop said after the match. “We knew that we had to just be absolutely on it. We gave them full respect because they deserve it. And hopefully we deserve it. We’re chuffed to bits.
“It’s a huge event, it’s a world title. We’re so grateful to Scottish Squash, to the WSF and for everyone who’s joined together to put this together and make it a huge event.
“It’s a great facility, isn’t it? And it’s good memories from Glasgow [where the 2014 Commonwealth Games were played] for some of the old geezers in the team. So yeah, we’re thrilled with it. And we’re glad to be up here playing!”
Day FOUR : Finalists Decided in Glasgow
A dramatic day in Glasgow saw the World Doubles Finalists decided, with England represented in all three finals, India in two and Scotland in one.
Day THREE : Scots & English advance to Men’s Semis
It was a good day for the hosts in Glasgow as both Men’s pairs – Alan Clyne & Dougie Kempsell and Greg Lobban & Rory Stewart – advance to the semi-finals, where they will face the top seeded English pairs of Declan James & James Willstrop and Daryl Selby & Adrian Waller.
The women’s Pool stages were completed with the top four seeds advancing to the semis, while today’s final Mixed Pool matches saw the quarter-final lineups decided, with all four English and Scottish pairings winning their groups.
Day TWO : Men’s Playoffs decided
After two days of Pool matches the Men’s event has reached the playoff stage, with the top four seeds safely through to the quarters, with the other Pool winners and runners-up contesting four last-16 matches to progress to the quarters.
English pairs Declan James & James Willstrop and Daryl Selby & Adrian Waller are top seeds, with Aussies Zac Alexander & Ryan Cuskelly and Malaysian duo Eain Yow Ng and Ivan Yuen, seeded #3 and #4, are also through.
The Women’s and Mixed Pools are still in progress, with the women’s going straight to semis while the top two in each Mixed poll will progress to quarter-finals.
