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Official website:
http://wmt2007.com
12,Dec,
FINAL
(playing
order 1-2-3):
Full playoff results
[2] ENGLAND beat [4] AUSTRALIA 2-1
[1] Nick Matthew lost to
David Palmer
9/11, 9/11, 11/7, 11/2, 4/11 (82m)
[2] James Willstrop beat
Stewart Boswell 11/8, 11/7, 12/10
(65m)
[3] Peter Barker beat Cameron
Pilley
11/6, 11/3, 11/8 (60m)
England Beat Australia To Retain
World Team Title In India
In a dramatic climax
to the ICL
World Men's Team Squash Championship
- the 21st staging of the biennial event since 1967 -
defending champions England fought back from a match
down to beat long-time rivals Australia 2/1 in today's
final at the
ICL Squash Academy
in
Chennai, India.
 The
triumph marked the first final between Australia and England
since 1991 - and the first ever England win over Australia in
a world final! The victory also takes England's title tally
to four since 1995, and stopped their rivals from extending
their record to nine trophy triumphs.
The opening
encounter was a battle between the teams' number ones, with
Australia's former world champion David Palmer, ranked
four in the world, facing Nick Matthew, the world No5
from Sheffield in Yorkshire. Their previous head-to-head
tally showed Palmer 11-5 ahead, and the 31-year-old from New
South Wales duly took the opening two games.
But the Englishman
struck back to draw level - winning the fourth game for just
two points. However, the experienced Aussie rediscovered his
form and eventually ran out an 11-9, 11-9, 7-11, 2-11, 11-4
winner in 82 minutes.
 Almost
exactly five years ago,
James Willstrop
won the
world junior individual championship on the same courts in
Chennai. And, in his first time back in the former Madras
since that success, the 24-year-old Englishman beat Stewart
Boswell to level the tie.
But it was a tense and tight tussle, in which the world No6
from Yorkshire needed 65 minutes to overcome his lower-ranked
opponent before prevailing 11-8, 11-7, 11-10 (2-0).
And the decider was
no less dramatic - and only marginally shorter. But
Englishman Peter Barker, in his maiden appearance in a
world team championship, delivered an assured performance as
he defeated Cameron Pilley - also a world championship
newcomer - 11-6, 11-3, 11-8 in 60 minutes to clinch the title
for England.
 "We
were represented by an exceptional group of players," said
England Squash Chief Executive
Nick Rider
after the team's success. "Winning a world championship is
difficult enough - and retaining it so convincingly is
testament to the courage and determination of these
world-class guys. We are immensely proud of them."
In the play-off for
third place, third seeds
France
beat favourites
Egypt
2/0, and
Malaysia
recorded
their best ever finish by beating
Canada
2/0 in the fifth
place play-off. Hosts
India
marked their best
finish since 1979, despite losing to
Netherlands
in the seventh
place play-off.
Event newcomers
Sri Lanka,
Venezuela
and
Chinese Taipei finished in 26th, 27th and 29th places,
respectively.
***
Commitments to their 'day jobs' on the
PSA Tour
mean that England
heroes Nick Matthew,
James Willstrop
and
Peter Barker will delay their celebrations until next
week. The trio return to the UK to compete in the five-star
Mamut English Open in Sheffield, Yorkshire, beginning
on Saturday. Willstrop is top seed and is expected to face
local boy Matthew in the final - unless fourth seed Barker
stops him in a predicted semi-final!
The victorious England team with WSF vice-president Heather
Deayton, SRFI President N Ramachandran, Els van Breda Vriesman
- IOC Member, Netherlands (centre holding trophy) and Sarah
Springman - President, British Triathlon (far right)
11-Dec, Semi-finals
(playing order
3-1-2):
[4] AUSTRALIA bt [1]
EGYPT 2-1
Cameron Pilley lost
to Mohammed Abbas 11-7, 7-11, 4-11, 8-11 (62m)
David Palmer bt Amr
Shabana 11-8, 11-6, 6-11, 11-6 (55m)
Stewart Boswell bt
Karim Darwish 11-7, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8 (73m)
[2] ENGLAND bt [3]
FRANCE 2-1
Peter Barker bt
Renan Lavigne 11-6, 11-6, 11-6 (42m)
Nick Matthew bt
Gregory Gaultier 11-3, 11-6, 11-4 (41m)
James Willstrop lost
to Thierry Lincou 10-11 (0-2), 8-11 (25m)
Defending Champions England To Face
Australia In World Final In India
England
will face
Australia
in a surprise
final of the
ICL World Men's Team
Squash Championship
after title-holders
England, the second seeds, romped to victory over European
rivals France, the third seeds, and eight times
champions Australia upset hot favourites
Egypt
in the semi-finals
in the Indian city of
Chennai.
It will be the
championships' first Australia/England final since 1991 - and
the first meeting between the two mighty squash nations since
2001 when Australia beat England in the semi-finals on home
soil en-route to winning the title for the seventh time.
 Top
seeds Egypt took the early lead in the first semi-final when
third string Mohammed Abbas beat Australia's world
championship debutant Cameron Pilley 7-11, 11-7, 11-4,
11-8.
But experienced
number one David Palmer brought Australia back into the
tie in powerful style when he beat Egypt's world number one
and world champion Amr Shabana 11-8, 11-6, 6-11, 11-6
in 55 minutes.
 The
victory not only avenged Palmer's loss to the Egyptian earlier
this month in the World Open semi-finals in Bermuda -
but it also brought to an end Shabana's remarkable 24-match
unbeaten run since October, in which he won four
PSA Super Series
titles,
each of which included wins over the Australian!
Australia celebrated
their victory - and a place in the biennial event's final for
the 11th time - when Canberra's world No15 Stewart Boswell
beat Karim Darwish, ranked seven places higher,
11-7, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8 in 73 minutes.
"We had no pressure being No 4 seeds,"
Palmer told
www.squashsite.co.uk
later. "At Bermuda he (Shabana) played well, and I didn't.
Here I played well and he looked tired. Anyone who has won
four titles would be. I am surprised Egypt used him in every
match. You need a break. The mental tiredness is terrible -
more than physical."
Later, England
produced an impressive performance to beat France 2/1.
Already celebrating a record 14th successive appearance in the
event's last four, the three times champions are now looking
forward to their third successive final - and their seventh
appearance in the climax since making their debut in the
championship in 1981.
 Peter
Barker,
the world No13 from Essex, gave England a decisive lead after
the opening rubber, beating France's third string Renan
Lavigne 11-6, 11-6, 11-6.
 But
it was the England No1 Nick Matthew who played one of
the matches of his life to clinch victory for his country.
The 27-year-old from Sheffield crushed France's in-form world
No3 Gregory Gaultier, runner-up in the World Open less
than two weeks ago, 11-3, 11-6, 11-4.
It was a stunning
performance by US Open champion Matthew, who ended a
four-match losing sequence to the Frenchman this year.
In the final 'dead'
rubber between the second strings, Yorkshireman
James Willstrop
went down
10-11 (0-2), 8-11 to former world champion
Thierry Lincou
as France
gained a consolation win.
"It was certainly
one of the best England performances I have seen," said
National Coach David Pearson. "Peter, who is making
his first appearance in a World Team Championship here, played
a confident opening match to give us the lead and then Nick
attacked right from the start and really didn't give Greg a
look in.
"It was a great
performance from Nick, and one which will no doubt give him a
lot of confidence in his top string match against Australia's
former world champion David Palmer tomorrow," added Pearson.
 In
the lower position play-offs,
Malaysia
beat
Netherlands
3/0 and will now take on
Canada
in the play-off for
fifth place. Victory for Malaysia would be the nation's best
finish in 13 appearances in the event since 1979.
Despite losing 2/1
to Canada today - in which the country's number one Saurav
Ghosal beat Canadian top string Shahier Razik in 91
minutes, the longest match of the tournament - hosts India
can record their best finish in the event since 1979 if
they beat Netherlands in the play-off for 7th place.
10-Dec,
Quarter-finals
(playing order
2-1-3):
[1] EGYPT bt [10]
INDIA 3-0
Wael El Hindi bt
Ritwik Bhattacharya 11-10 (3-1), 11-4, 11-8 (44m)
Amr Shabana bt
Saurav Ghosal 11-5, 11-8, 11-9 (30m)
Mohammed Abbas bt
Siddharth Suchde 11-6, 11-8 (22m)
[4] AUSTRALIA bt [6]
CANADA 3-0
Stewart Boswell bt
Matthew Giuffre 11-4, 11-8, 11-4 (33m)
David Palmer bt
Shahier Razik 10-11 (0-2), 11-7, 11-6, 11-6 (64m)
Cameron Pilley bt
Shawn Delierre 11-3, 11-7 (16m)
[3] FRANCE bt [5]
MALAYSIA 3-0
Thierry Lincou bt
Ong Beng Hee 11-9, 11-6, 11-10 (2-0) (36m)
Gregory Gaultier bt
Mohd Azlan Iskandar 11-8, 11-7, 9-11, 11-7 (48m)
Renan Lavigne bt
Muhd Asyraf Azan 11-8, 10-11 (0-2), 11-5
[2] ENGLAND bt [8]
NETHERLANDS 3-0
James Willstrop bt
Tom Hoevenaars 11-6, 11-7, 9-11, 11-8 (40m)
Nick Matthew bt
Laurens Jan Anjema 11-6, 11-6, 11-9 (40m)
Peter Barker bt
Piedro Schweertman 11-4, 11-2 (20m)
Complete Results
Top Seeds To Contest World Championship
Semi-Finals In Chennai
Favourites
Egypt
will take on fourth
seeds
Australia
and defending
champions
England
will face third seeds
France
in the semi-finals
of the ICL
World Men's Team Squash Championship
after the top four
top teams earned comfortable victories in today's
quarter-finals in the Indian city of
Chennai.
 Just 24 hours after
celebrating their first appearance in the quarter-finals for
almost 30 years, hosts India, the tenth seeds,
were brought down to earth by Egypt in a 3/0 defeat. India's
Ritwik Bhattacharya put up a brave fight against
Wael El Hindi before going down 11-10 (3-1), 11-4, 11-8 to
the Egyptian No4, ranked 14 in the world, in 44 minutes. The
47 ranking positions that separate Saurav Ghosal from
Amr Shabana, the world No1 and world champion, were too
much for the Indian No1 - who went down 11-5, 11-8, 11-9 in 30
minutes to guarantee the favourites a place in the last four.
In their first
meeting in the event for four years, Egypt will face
Australia for a
place in the final. The eight times champions fielded a
full-strength squad against
Canada,
the sixth seeds who were resting top string
Jonathon Power.
But after Australian No2 Stewart Boswell dismissed
Matthew Giuffre 11-4, 11-8, 11-4 in 33 minutes, Canadian
Shahier Razik tested experienced former world champion
David Palmer for over an hour before the world No4 from
New South Wales finally claimed the 10-11 (0-2), 11-7, 11-6,
11-6 victory which assured the fourth seeds a place in the
semis.
 Defending champions
England also dropped games for the first time in the
competition before overcoming surprise opponents
Netherlands,
the No8 seeds. Squad No2
James Willstrop
was taken
to four games by Tom Hoevenaars before beating the
20-year-old Dutchman 11-6, 11-7, 9-11, 11-8.
But world No5
Nick Matthew maintained his clean sheet in Chennai by
beating Dutch No1 Laurens Jan Anjema 11-6, 11-6, 11-9.
The 40-minute victory ensures that England extends the
impressive record of reaching at least the semi-finals in all
appearances (14) in the event since their debut in 1981!
 In a repeat of a
memorable semi-final clash in Austria in 2003, second seed
England will face France. With both sides featuring
full-strength squads, France took on
Malaysia,
the fifth seeds. Former world No1
Thierry Lincou
put the
Europeans into the lead by beating Ong Beng Hee 11-9,
11-6, 11-10 (2-0). Making his debut this year as the French
No1, Gregory Gaultier needed four games to overcome
Mohd Azlan Iskandar 11-8, 11-7, 9-11, 11-7 - the 48-minute
victory taking France into the last four for the third time in
a row.
In the lower
play-off clashes, Chinese Taipei rounded off their
maiden appearance in the event with a courageous performance
against
Russia.
In anticipation of hosting the World Games in 2009,
Chinese Taipei presented the youngest squad in the
championship - and today's 25th-29th
place play-off featured the youngest and oldest players in the
competition.
Sergey Kostrykin,
at 43, the event's most 'senior citizen', put Russia ahead
with an 11-3, 11-2, 9-11, 11-4 win over 16-year-old Chuang
Kai-Han. Russia went on to clinch the tie after the
second match, but it was the dead rubber in which the youngest
competitor, Chinese Taipei's 14-year-old Chen Ching-Han,
battled for glory against Valery Litvinko. The
29-year-old Russian prevailed, however, winning 11-8, 11-6.
Widely believed to
be the player boasting the most World Team Championships'
appearances, Irishman Derek Ryan celebrated his 38th
birthday today in fine style - helping 11th seeds
Ireland to a 3/0 win over
New Zealand,
the 13th seeds. After
John Rooney
and Liam
Kenny gained victories over Kiwis Campbell Grayson
and Kashif Shuja, respectively, Ryan despatched
23-year-old New Zealand No4 Martin Knight 11-5, 11-3 to
ensure Ireland a place in the 9th-12th
place play-offs.
Complete Results
Sweden win Scandinavian clash with Finland
09-Dec:
Hosts India Celebrate Quarter-Final
World Championship Berth In Chennai
 After
three days of almost all results going according to the
seedings, hosts India pulled off a sensational upset in
the last sixteen round in the ICL World Men's Team Squash
Championship in Chennai to earn a place in the
quarter-finals for the first time since 1979.
The tenth seeds
faced Wales, the 1999 runners-up seeded one
position higher. Former Indian National champion Ritwik
Bhattacharya, 28, from New Delhi, put the hosts in a
commanding position with an 11-6, 11-10 (3-1), 11-7 win over
David Evans, the former British Open champion
from Pontypridd.
 But
reigning national champion Saurav Ghosal, the world
No48 from Kolkata currently studying at Leeds University in
England, recovered from a game down against veteran Welshman
Alex Gough, ranked 23 places higher, to clinch victory
for his country when his opponent retired injured with the
score standing at 10-11 (2-4), 11-7, 11-3.
Ex-Harvard student
Siddharth Suchde, from Mumbai, made it 3/0 for
the underdogs when he beat Jethro Binns 11-8, 7-11,
11-2.
 "I
am absolutely delighted - this is great for Indian squash,"
said India's National Coach Cyrus Poncha. "The
Squash Rackets Federation of India has done a magnificent job
over the past few years and now we reap its reward. The boys
played outstandingly today and they all deserve this victory
as they have toiled hard for the past few years."
Australian coach Byron Davis told
www.squashsite.co.uk:
"I have been seeing Indian squash at close quarters, at World
Juniors, World doubles and so on. The support for the game is
great here. India is becoming the hotbed for world squash.
Saurav and Ritwik are gutsy players, I am sure they will get
into the top fifty.’’
Referees' assessor
Rod Symington, from Canada, added: "This is the best
Indian team I have seen in 25 years. The coaching has been
superb. It is always hard to motivate yourself to win for
your country. Easier to win for yourself because there is
personal gain - big money. That’s why one sees home teams
putting up a good show at events like the Olympics: It’s pure
national pride that took the Indians through."
 Another
upset took Netherlands into the last eight for the
first time since 1991 - and consigned five times world
champions Pakistan to the play-offs for the 9-16 places
for only the third time in 20 appearances in the championships
since the inaugural event in 1967!
Dylan Bennett
put the eighth seeds ahead, beating former Asian junior
champion Mansoor Zaman 10-11 (4-6), 11-10 (5-3), 11-7,
11-8. Dutch No1 Laurens Jan Anjema sealed victory by
beating top Pakistani Aamir Atlas Khan 11-3, 11-9,
11-4.
Quarter-final
line-up:
[1] EGYPT v [10]
INDIA
[4] AUSTRALIA v [6]
CANADA
[3] FRANCE v [5]
MALAYSIA
[2] ENGLAND v [8]
NETHERLANDS
Complete Results
08-Dec:
Birthday Boy Alex Leads Wales
To Dramatic World Championship Upset
 PSA
Tour
veteran Alex Gough celebrated his 37th birthday in
impressive style today in India when he led Wales
to a 2/1 upset - the first of the tournament - over
eighth seeds Netherlands in the final qualifying rounds
of the ICL World Men's Team Squash Championship in
Chennai.
The former world No5
is currently enjoying a rich vein of form after reaching the
quarter-finals of the World Open in Bermuda last week.
Gough was taken to five games by Laurens Jan Anjema,
but ultimately beat the Dutch number one - now ranked 20 in
the world - 11-6, 8-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-7 in 87 minutes to put
Wales in the lead.
Team-mate Jethro
Binns, 23, from Abergavenny, clinched victory for the
ninth seeds by beating Tom Hoevenaars 11-6, 11-9,
11-4. Netherlands gained a consolation point when Dylan
Bennett beat former British Open champion David Evans
11-2, 11-8, 11-7.
Wales will now face
10th seeds India for a place in the
quarter-finals, while Netherlands progress to meet Pakistan,
the No7 seeds, in the other half of the last sixteen draw.
Title-holders
England, the No2 seeds, beat Hong Kong 3/0 and now
meet European rivals Germany for a place in the last
eight. Favourites Egypt defeated Russia 3/0 and will
now take on Hong Kong in the last sixteen.
Full pool stage draws & results
07-Dec:
Pakistan Down Hosts India In Chennai
Hosts
India
went down 3/0 to
close rivals
Pakistan
in today's
second qualifying round ties in the
ICL World Men's Team
Squash Championship
in the Indian city
of
Chennai.
 With
all teams playing in the order 3-1-2, it was the squad's
19-year-old third string Farhan Mehboob that put
Pakistan into the lead, beating Mumbai's Siddharth Suchde
8-11, 11-10 (2-0), 11-5, 11-5 in 51 minutes. The UK-based
Indian No1 Saurav Ghosal levelled his match against Aamir Atlas Khan from two
games down before the 17-year-old from Peshawar clinched
victory for himself - and his team - after 82 minutes, winning
11-10 (2-0), 11-6, 10-11 (1-3), 6-11, 11-9.
Mansoor Zaman
secured maximum
points for Pakistan when he beat Ritwik Bhattacharya
11-6, 11-9, 11-3. Tenth seeds India must now beat
Kenya
in Saturday's final
qualifying tie in Pool G to keep alive their hopes of
achieving their seeding, thus marking their highest finish for
almost 30 years!
Defending champions
England
and
former champions
Australia
began their 2007 campaigns today. Second seeds England swept to a
3/0 win over
Spain
in Pool B. Australia, eight times winners of the title since
the event's inaugural year in 1967, defeated
Scotland
3/0.
Favourites
Egypt
recorded their
second 3/0 win in two days, beating
Germany
3/0. But world
number one Amr Shabana, crowned world champion last
week in Bermuda, dropped a game against Simon Rosner
before beating the former European Junior Champion 11-7, 10-11
(0-2), 11-7, 11-3.
Jonathon Power,
the most successful North American squash player of all time,
came out of retirement to lead
Canada
to a 3/0 win over
Austria.
The 33-year-old former world number one beat 21-year-old
Austrian number one
Aqeel Rehman
11-1, 11-2,
11-4.
06-Dec:
Seeds Untroubled On Opening Day In Chennai
The top seeded
nations came through today's (Thursday) opening day of action
in the ICL
World Men's Team Squash Championship
with straightforward
victories in the first qualifying rounds of the 21st staging
of the event since 1967 in the Indian city of
Chennai.
Favourites
Egypt
made a successful
start in their bid to win the title for a second time by
beating
Finland
3/0 in Pool A. But newly-crowned World Open champion Amr
Shabana was taken to tie-breaks in the first two games
before overcoming the experienced Finnish NO1 Olli Tuominen
11-10 (3-1), 11-10 (5-3), 5-11, 11-9 in 40 minutes.
While defending champions
England,
the second seeds, were not in action, third seeds
France
swept aside
Japan
in a 3/0 victory in
Pool C.
Hosts
India,
the tenth seeds, delighted the local crowds with a 3/0 win in
Pool G over Bermuda. National champion Saurav Ghosal
sealed the team victory with an 11-3, 11-5, 11-4 win over the
Bermuda No1 Chase Toogood.
Raja Randhir Singh,
the IOC delegate in India and Secretary General of the
Olympic Council Asia, officially inaugurated the ICL World
Championship.
In his inaugural speech, Mr Singh stated that he supports
squash as a medal sport at the Olympic Games. "The statement
was greeted with applause by all officials and players present
at the ceremony," commented Tournament Director Major
Maniam.
05-Dec:
Shabana Eyes Further Squash Title In India
 Just days after
claiming his third World Open title in Bermuda, world
number one Amr Shabana will be setting his sights on a
fifth international crown in six weeks when he leads
favourites Egypt in the 21st ICL World Men's
Team Squash Championship in India.
The biennial event,
which has attracted a near record 29 nations, gets underway
tomorrow (6 December) at the ICL Squash Academy in
Chennai, and reaches its final on Wednesday 12 December.
Despite the
last-minute withdrawal of world No2 Ramy Ashour, Egypt
- the only country to boast four players in the world top ten
- are seeded to win the title for the second time. The
favourites head Pool A and face Finland, seeded in the
17/24 group, on the opening day.
Defending champions England, the second seeds led by US
Open champion Nick Matthew and bidding to win the
crown for a fourth time, have a rest day tomorrow - and begin
their title defence on Friday against 17/24 seeds Spain.
Australia,
eight times winners of the title since the event's inaugural
year in 1967, also wait until Friday before beginning their 21st
World Teams campaign. The fourth seeds will face Scotland
in Pool D.
Third seeds
France, led by World Open runner-up Gregory Gaultier,
first take take on outsiders Japan.
Three countries are
making their debut in the 2007 ICL World Team Championship -
Chinese Taipei, Venezuela and Sri Lanka.
30-Nov:
Egypt Remain As Top Seeds In
Chennai -
Despite Ramy Loss
The foot injury
which prevented Ramy Ashour from competing in this
week's Endurance World Open Squash Championship in
Bermuda has now caused the world number two from
Cairo to withdraw from the Egypt team in next week's
21st ICL World Men's Team Squash
Championship in Chennai, India.
The withdrawal was
confirmed today by the World Squash Federation.
Egypt's position as No1 seeds was considered by the WSF
seeding panel - but no alteration is required.
The revised Egypt
squad will now be: 1 Amr Shabana, 2 Karim Darwish,
3 Wael El Hindi, 4 Mohammed Abbas.
The biggest squash
event ever to be staged in India - featuring 29 nations - will be held at the ICL
Squash Academy in Chennai from 6-12 December.
The Pool line-ups
are as follow (with seeding in brackets):
POOL A: [1] EGYPT,
[16] GERMANY, [17/24] FINLAND, [25/29] RUSSIA
POOL B: [2] ENGLAND,
[15] HONG KONG, [17/24] SPAIN
POOL C: [3] FRANCE,
[14] USA, [17/24] JAPAN, [25/29] VENEZUELA
POOL D: [4]
AUSTRALIA, [13] NEW ZEALAND, [17/24] SCOTLAND
POOL E: [5]
MALAYSIA, [12] SOUTH AFRICA, [17/24] KUWAIT, [25/29] SRI LANKA
POOL F: [6] CANADA,
[11] IRELAND, [17/24] AUSTRIA
POOL G: [7]
PAKISTAN, [10] INDIA, [17/24] KENYA, [25/29] BERMUDA
POOL H: [8]
NETHERLANDS, [9] WALES, [17/24] SWEDEN, [25/29] CHINESE TAIPEI
23-Nov:
Jonathon Power In
World Team
Championship Comeback
Former world number
one
Jonathon Power
will play for Canada at the
21st
ICL World Men's Team Squash Championship
in Chennai,
India, from 6-12 December.
"I feel I can still
add a lot to the team and win some games at the team worlds,’’
said the 33-year-old from Toronto who retired from the pro
circuit last year but still competes at national championships
and international events for Canada. ‘’I’ve been training
hard for these championships and I feel my playing is of high
calibre."
Power is keeping
busy these days promoting the sport across North America by
holding camps and playing exhibitions. He and his wife Sita are proud parents of a nine-month old
daughter. Power is also currently working on a project to
build a squash academy in Toronto for potential high
performance players.
"Squash Canada was
thrilled that Jonathon wanted to remain an integral member of
the Canadian men's squad following his retirement from pro
circuit,’’ said Linda MacPhail, executive director of
the Canadian national federation. "Jonathon is a very
patriotic athlete, and his desire to remain with the team was
obviously warmly received by Squash Canada. He plays a strong
role as both an athlete and leader on the team, and is of
course enthusiastically welcomed by the international squash
community."
Joining Power on the
Canadian team for the Chennai championship are Shahier
Razik of Toronto, who is coming off two PSA tournament
wins in Canada and is ranked 25th in the world; Matthew
Giuffre of Edmonton; and Shawn Delierre of
Brossard, Quebec.
"I played Jonathan
in an exhibition recently and he is looking very strong," said
Giuffre. "It’s just great that he’s coming back. With him in
the line-up we’ve increased the strength of our team."
This year’s world
team championship has attracted 29 countries, including the
top eight ranked players in the world, headed by Amr
Shabana of Egypt.
Canada, seeded sixth
for the tournament, is in a pool with 11th seeds
Ireland and Austria, seeded in the 17/24 bracket.
Egypt, England and France are seeded one,
two and three, respectively.
Canada was fourth at
the last world championship in 2005 held in Islamabad,
Pakistan - with Power, Razik, Giuffre and Graham Ryding
of Toronto. They lost the bronze medal match to France in the
playoff for third place. England beat Egypt in the final.
National men’s team
coach Gene Turk, of Winnipeg, believes Canada can aim
for another top four finish.
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