King beats world champion in classic final
New Zealand squash professional Joelle King has beaten the current world champion Raneem El Welily, of Egypt, to win the title at the US$50,000 ($69,000) Cleveland Classic in the United States 11-8 11-8 11-8
King is ranked No 8 in the world, while El Welily is the current world No 2.
‘‘She [El Welily] has been playing some amazing squash, but I was a bit hungry today,’’ King said.
‘‘I had felt a little flat in my last couple of tournaments and I just wanted to play my best squash and see where it took me and it gave me a 3-0 win today.
‘‘If the last match we had is anything to go by it was 16-14 in the last set or something like that. It was brutal.
‘‘She is someone I’ve idolised even though we’re the same age [29], she’s been someone I’ve looked up to as she was always so good, to come away with a win over someone of that calibre is a great feeling.
The result was particularly pleasing to King, who felt she wanted to get her season back on track.
‘‘The worst I’d done this year is finishing out to my seeding and losing to Nicol David this year, it’s nice to finish off a block of three tournaments,’’ she said.
King’s next tournament is the US$250,000 ($345,000) Windy City Open in Chicago 22-28 February.
The New Zealand squash team for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games will be named today.