MIXED FORTUNES
Victorious in women’s doubles but find mixed doubles defending champs too strong
DEVINDER SINGH devinder@nst.com.my
DEFENDING champions Saurav Ghosal and Dipika Pallikal of India proved too strong for mixed doubles pair Syafiq Kamal and Rachel Arnold at the World Doubles Squash Championships in Manchester yesterday.
Syafiq and Rachel, who are using the tournament as a warm-up for the Kuala Lumpur Sea Games, lost the Group B match 11-7, 11-4 in 20 minutes.
The Malaysian pair made a great start on Tuesday after beating Canada’s Shawn Delierre and Samantha Cornett 9-11, 11-2, 11-7 in their opening Group B match.
But Syafiq and Rachel still have a chance of making the quarterfinals with matches against Peter Creed and Tesni Evans of Wales and Dutch pair Dylan Bennett and Milou Van Der Heijden to come.
Rachel also enjoyed another win on Tuesday playing alongside eight-time world champion Nicol David in the women’s doubles, in which she who won a bronze medal last year with her sister Delia Arnold.
Nicol and Rachel upset 2016 runners-up Rachael Grinham and Donna Urquhart of Australia, 11-10, 9-11, 11-8 in a Group C match.
“Rachel and I had a good day 1!” Nicol posted on Twitter after beating the third-seeded Australian pair.
Victory over another Australian pair, Sarah Cardwell and Christine Nunn, in a late match yesterday would secure a berth in the quarter-finals for Nicol and Rachel, who were paired off with next year’s Commonwealth Games in mind.
But Nafiizwan Adnan and Ivan Yuen are out of the running to reach the men’s doubles quarterfinals after suffering two defeats in Group A on Tuesday.
Piedro Schweertman and Bennett upset the Malaysians 11-7, 111, 11-7 before defending champions Alan Clyne and Greg Lobban of Scotland scored an 11-3, 118 win over Nafiizwan-Ivan.
The same fate befell Ng Eain Yow and Syafiq Kamal, who will also team up for the Sea Games, in Group C.
England’s Tom Richards and Daryl Selby won 11-7, 11-4 over Eain Yow-Syafiq, who then lost 411, 11-6, 11-7 to Colombians Andres Herera and Juan Camilo Vargas.