Whitebait patties on the menu for Coll
Touching down at Auckland Airport after nearly four years away, Paul Coll’s thoughts turned towards scoffing a whitebait pattie.
Plenty has changed since the Kiwi squash star and world No 2 was last in the country.
Global pandemic aside, Coll, a proud West Coaster, has enjoyed a stunning time on the professional circuit. He has won multiple trophies, including the last two British Opens, and created history in March, becoming the first New Zealand male to be ranked No 1 in the PSA world rankings.
Embracing parents Mike and Julie on Wednesday at the arrivals terminal, who he hasn’t seen in person since 2019, was full of emotion.
The 30-year-old, who is based in the Netherlands, is back in New Zealand for a whirlwind visit.
He’s missed a lot about his homeland – the people, the culture, and the food.
‘‘Obviously the whitebait back home [on the Coast] is pretty exceptional. I was at the Viaduct and it was about $40 a whitebait fritter, so I might wait until I get home to tuck into that.’’
Coll will compete in the national championships in Tauranga this weekend, alongside fellow pro Joelle King – the first time he’s featured at the event since 2019.
He’ll return to Greymouth for nine days, spending some overdue time with family and friends and will even get the racket out at his old club.
Next weekend, Coll will go from the bright lights of the world’s most prestigious tournaments to the Greymouth Open – where it all started.
From there, Coll will be off to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in late July, as a member of New Zealand’s sevenstrong squash contingent.
It will be his third Games and he’s hungry for gold after claiming silver in the men’s singles and bronze in the mixed with King in 2018.
Fresh off stellar results on the pro circuit, Coll is tipped for gold with Welshman Joel Makin, the world No 7, the next top ranked player in the Commonwealth.
Former world No 1 Mohamed ElShorbagy (now ranked third) has switched allegiance from Egypt to England, but won’t participate at the Games.
Coll labelled the Commonwealth Games his favourite event and loved
‘‘Flying business class is bloody nice, but I don’t want it to change myself in any way.’’
Paul Coll
being able to mix with Kiwi athletes from other sports, given the largely individual nature of squash.
‘‘It’s almost even more special, even after the last four years not being home in New Zealand. To just have that many New Zealand athletes around and the whole New Zealand culture around it’s almost the most special one for me, to be honest.’’
Coll’s world has altered vastly since last being in New Zealand in 2019. Rising to the top of the PSA rankings and triumphing at the last two British Opens, and a bunch of other top tournaments, will do that.
He now flies business class, rather than making ‘‘seven or eight stops’’ and no longer has to sleep on friends’ couches before tournaments like he once did.
Despite all his accolades, Coll remained the same bloke.
‘‘Flying business class is bloody nice, but I don’t want it to change myself in any way. I’ve tried to stay myself and obviously my life has changed. Things are very different, but the most important thing for me is remember who’s helped me and who I am.
‘‘I don’t really want to change for anyone. I just want to be Paul Coll, no matter where I am in the world.’’
Being unveiled as world No 1 on March 1 this year, the first New Zealand male to do so, was a day Coll would never forget. He received a phone call before the PSA rankings were made public and cried for half an hour digesting the news.
Kiwis Dame Susan Devoy, Leilani Rorani and Carol Owens were ranked women’s No 1.
‘‘I was there at my house by myself and I was just going over my whole journey and remembering the hard times and experiencing that was really emotional. A lot of emotions came out. A weight fell off my shoulders and it was a really emotional and special time.’’
Coll’s Egyptian rival Ali Farag returned to top spot in June after a run of strong results. The duo have endured some epic finals over the past year with both athletes prevailing at different times. Coll had an enormous amount of respect for Farag, who triumphed at the 2022 world squash championships.
Coll credited his outstanding performances over the last few years to improvements both technically and mentally. Renowned for his amazing fitness, he said the mental aspect was just as important.
Working with renowned English coach Rob Owen since 2019, who Coll reached out to via Facebook, had been pivotal.
‘‘He’s been life-changing. He’s taught me so much about squash. It’s unbelievable. I think I started working with him when I was eight in the world and how much he’s taught me has been quite incredible.
‘‘I thought I was all right, but he’s taught me so much about squash. I owe him a lot. He’s probably been one of the biggest impacts on my life as a squash player and as a person.’’
Earlier this year, Owen said the key to Coll’s success was there were no weaknesses in his game – physically, mentally or technically.
Coll, who was a Halberg Awards finalist this year in the sportsman category, which was won by Black
Caps captain Kane Williamson, believed his 2021 British Open victory was a defining result for him.
It was the biggest win of his career and only fuelled his self belief and desire for greatness. He had gone on to capture the Canary Wharf Classic in London in November, the Black Ball Open in Cairo in December, and the Windy City Open in Chicago in March.
Defending his British Open title in April, where he knocked over Farag in the final, was another huge fillip – establishing himself as the player to beat in men’s squash.
‘‘There were a lot of external pressures on me [as defending champion and world No 1] and I was really proud of the way I handled that pressure and still was able to perform.’’
An elusive Commonwealth Games gold medal isn’t the only thing Coll is chasing. He’s yet to capture the US Open, and the Holy Grail of squash – a first world championship title.
‘‘The world champs is something I haven’t won and something I really want to win.’’
First though, it’s family time in Greymouth and a well-earned whitebait pattie.