Sunday, October 4, 2009

Canada finishes eighth at men's world team squash championships

ODENSE, Denmark – Egypt defeated France 2-1 to win the gold medal on Saturday at the men’s world team squash championships while Canada placed eighth overall.

In the championship, final, Gregory Gaultier provided number-three France a 1-0 lead but the top-seeded Egyptians came back with Ramy Ashour and Amr Shabana posting victories.

In the bronze medal match, fourth-seeded Australia overcame a 0-1 deficit to beat number-two England 2-1. Pakistan beat South Africa 2-0 for fifth.

Canada lost to Italy 2-0 in the seventh place match. Shahier Razik of Toronto fell to Marcus Berrett 14-12, 11-8, 11-1 and David Phillips of Pointe-Claire, Que., lost to Jose Facchini 11-5, 11-8, 8-11, 11-5. The Canadians were seeded seventh.

This week Canada went 2-0 in round robin play, defeated Scotland in the round of 16 before falling to Egypt in the quarterfinals. In the consolation playoff, Canada lost to Pakistan and Italy. Jonathon Power of Montreal and Shawn DeLierrre of Brossard, Que., were the other members of the Canadian team.

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Canada falls to Pakistan, to play for seventh at men's world team squash championships

ODENSE, Denmark – Pakistan defeated Canada 3-0 on Friday in the men’s consolation semifinal at the men’s world team squash championships with the first two matches going the five-game distance.

Yasir Ali Butt defeated David Phillips of Pointe-Claire, Que., in the opener 11-6, 11-9, 5-11, 4-11, 11-8 and Aamir Atlas Khan clinched the match edging Shahier Razik of Toronto 11-5, 8-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-3. Farhan Mehboob beat Shawn DeLierre of Brossard, Que., in the third match 11-8, 11-2.

“We’ve had some tough matches in this tournament, “said Phillips. “My match was pretty weird. There was no rhythm and he won the first two matches quickly. That’s just the way he plays and he’s better at it than me.”Phillips said Canada, seeded seventh, entered the match confident it could beat number-six Pakistan.

“Pakistan had lost to South Africa earlier in the week and we felt good about the match-ups today,” said Phillips. “We’re pretty close so it’s a bit disappointing.”

Canadian number-one Jonathon Power of Montreal sat out the match after going five games and four games in Canada’s last two matches. Power retired from the pro circuit in 2006 but continues to play for Canada at major international events.

“Jonathon’s brought the team this far and he needed a break after some long matches,” said Phillips. “We need to take over and hopefully finish this tournament with a win.”

Canada plays Italy for seventh place on Saturday.

Meanwhile in the medal round semis, third-seeded France upset number-two England 2-1 while number-one Egypt bounced Australia 3-0.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Egypt defeats Canada in quarterfinals at men’s world team squash championships

ODENSE, Denmark – Jonathon Power of Montreal, Shahier Razik of Toronto and David Phillips of Pointe-Claire, Que., delivered strong efforts against three of the top players in the world on Thursday as Egypt defeated Canada 3-0 in the quarterfinals at the men’s world team squash championships.

Power, the former world number-one who retired from the pro circuit in 2006, lost the opening match to Amr Shabana 11-9, 4-11, 11-6, 11-7. Shahier Razik of Toronto then fell to Ramy Ashour by the exact same score 11-9, 4-11, 11-6, 11-7. Phillips, playing his first match of the tournament, lost the third game to Wael El Hindi 7-11, 11-6, 14-12.

Shabana and Ashour are currently ranked third and fourth in the world respectively and El Hindi is at number-13.

“I had to make sure I kept controlling the rallies,” Shabana told Squash Site about his match against Power. “He is such a shot maker that if you let him play the way he wants at the front you are in trouble. He surprised me in the second game, he came out firing.”

Canada entered the match having won its previous contests all by 3-0 scores.

“I wasn’t able to pace myself well enough today,” said Razik, currently ranked 30th in the world. “I pushed in patches but when we got to the third I was a bit flat. Ramy won the big points.”

Canada, seeded seventh, now goes to the consolation playoff round for positions five to eight. Canada was sixth at the last team worlds in 2007.

Magician is Alive and Well


From 2009 World Men's Team Championships En Bref;


"Boy Jonathon Power looks good and fit. When he was playing Khasif yesterday, you would have expected him to be a bit tired in the end, well, not at all. He is still the cat moving on the court, and keeping all his energy. Well today against Duracell Clyne, he had more problems, but still managed to close it up 3/2...."


See the full interview here: http://www.squashsite.co.uk/worldteams/en_bref.htm

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Power win puts Canada in quarterfinals at men’s world team squash championships

ODENSE, Denmark – Former world number-one Jonathon Power of Montreal had his hands full in his match but prevailed to clinch Canada’s 3-0 victory over Scotland in the round of 16 on Wednesday at the men’s world team squash championships.

Shahier Razik of Toronto opened the match with a comfortable 11-2, 11-3, 11-3 victory over Stuart Crawford in 25 minutes.

In the second match, Power also appeared headed to a straight games victory over Alan Clyne after winning the first two games. The 23-year-old Clyne turned the tables on the Canadian and nearly caused one of the biggest upsets of the tournament. In the end Power won the match 11-5, 11-8, 3-11, 6-11, 11-2 in 63 minutes.

“It was a harder match than I expected,” said Power, 35. “It was a very bouncy court and Clyne was very fit. Even though I was making him run he kept hanging on and I got a bit tired. I wanted to make sure I saved some strength for the fifth game and it managed to work out.”

Editors note: There is a great recap of the Power vs Clyne match from this afteroon here: http://www.squashsite.co.uk/worldteams/today.htm

Shawn DeLierre of Brossard, Que., won the third match 11-7, 16-14 over Chris Small.

Canada, seeded seventh, faces number-one Egypt in its quarterfinal on Thursday.

“Our team is really pumped about our performances so far,” said Power, competing at his 10th team worlds. “We reached a big goal by making the top-eight. We know we face a difficult task in our next match but we’re confident we can end this tournament in strong fashion.”

The Canada-Egypt match will be carried live on-line at http://profuivs01.dedicated.cohaesio.net/ at 7 a.m (EDT)

Power prevails in 5 to clinch win for Canada over Scotland

Canada defeated Scotland 3-0 this afternoon (1pm local time) to move into the quarter finals. Shahier Razik started team Canada off strong with a straight games win over Stuart Crawford. According to Squashsite.co.uk "Staurt was not happy with his game, he thought he didn't played well, but then again, thats what Shahier does to you, he sucks you into his own game, and prevents you from attacking in good conditions, as he pins you way back ..." In an unusual turn of events Shahier defeated Crawford in just 25 minutes. Razik, who normally plays a much slower pace believes the up temp match may have caught Stuart off guard, "I've been tyring to keep the pace up on my game recently, trying to get off court as quick as I can, and I think I probably took him off guard, he was probably expecting a much slower pace ..."

Next up for the Canadians was Jonathon Power, who for the first time in the tournamnet was tested, needing all 5 games to defeat Alan Clyne in a 63 minute marathon.

With the match clinched Shawn Delierre defeated Chris Small 2-0 in the dead rubber.

Canada will now play the number 1 seed Egypt in the Quarter Finals tomorrow at 1:00pm local time (7am EST). The match will be streamed live, for free here: http://www.247.tv/?men=PAGE74&tourid=09wstc01

Shawn DeLierrre wins thriller to lead Canada to playoffs at world team squash championships


ODENSE, Denmark – Shawn DeLierre of Brossard, Que., won his opening match in five games to lead Canada to a 3-0 victory over New Zealand on Tuesday to conclude round robin action at the men’s world team squash championships.

DeLierre overcame a 0-2 deficit and was also down 6-8 in the third game to beat Martin Knight 7-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-3, 11-7 in a 75 minute marathon. Former world number-one Jonathon Power of Montreal clinched the match defeating Kashif Shuja 11-4, 11-6, 11-6 and Shahier Razik of Toronto beat Cambell Grayson in the third match 11-6, 11-9, 11-3.
“Shawn’s win really set the tone for us,” said Canadian national team coach Yvon Provençal of Montreal. ‘’He was patient and it was an important win for us. It took the pressure off the other players.’’

Canada, seeded seventh, ends the round robin with two wins and no losses for first place in its pool. New Zealand, seeded 10th, also advances placing second at 1-1 and Spain finishes at 0-2.
In Wednesday’s round of 16, Canada plays Scotland which upset ninth-seeded India on Monday.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Canada wins opening match at men’s world team championships

ODENSE, Denmark – Former world number-one Jonathon Power of Montreal helped Canada to a 3-0 victory over Spain on Monday in its opening round robin match at the men’s world team squash championships.

Power, who retired from the pro circuit in 2006 but continues to wear Canadian colours at major international events, opened the match with an 11-6, 11-4, 11-1 victory over David Vidal in 28 minutes.

Shawn DeLierre of Brossard, Que., clinched the match defeating Carlos Cornes 11-8, 11-3, 11-7. Shahier Razik of Toronto beat Alejandro Garbi in the third match 11-5, 11-8, 11-7.

“It was a very good start for us,” said Yvon Provencal of Montreal, head coach of the men’s national team. “The guys were a bit nervous for the first match so this win can only give them more confidence. It was also a good that all three matches lasted about 30 minutes or less. There’s still a lot of squash to be played in this tournament.”

Power, 35, is competing at his 10th world team championship event. He retired from the professional circuit in 2006 ranked number-one in the world, but has committed to representing Canada at major international events and playing at national championships. He helped Canada to sixth place at the last team worlds in 2007 and fourth place in 2005.

Power is the most successful North American player in sport earning 32 career pro tour wins as well as the 1998 world title and 2002 Commonwealth Games gold. He also helped Canada to a best-ever second place finish at the team worlds in 1997.

Razik brings more experience to the table for Canada. These are his sixth world team championships and he’s enjoyed a strong 2009 so far on the pro circuit winning the National Capital Open in Washington and reaching another final and two semifinals as well.

DeLierre was a member of the 2007 world team, and is currently ranked 60th in the world. David Philips of Pointe-Claire, Que., ranked 68th internationally makes his team worlds debut but is an experienced international player including appearances at the individual worlds last year and the Pan Am championships in 2006.

Canada is seeded seventh in the tournament and is in a pool with number-10 New Zealand and Spain. The top-two in each pool advance to the playoff round. The Canadians complete their round robin Tuesday against New Zealand.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Canadians Have Day Off on Day 1

Team Canada had a day off on day one of the championships, but poolmates Spain and New Zealand met with New Zealand coming out on top 2-1. Spain's number 1 David Vidal started off strong for his team with a 3-2 victoria over Kashif Shuja, but New Zealand won the next two and the match with wins by Martn Knight (3-0 over Eduardo Gonzalez) and Campbell Grayson (3-2 over Alejandro Garbi). The Canadians will face Spain tomorrow at 1:00pm local time. The macth can be watched live for free here: http://www.247.tv/?men=PAGE74&tourid=09wstc01

In other notable matches number 1 seed Egypt defeated Kuwait 3-0, defending champions England defeated Japan 3-0, fellow Panamerican country USA defeated Finland 2-1 and in the only upset of the day Scotland defeated 9th seed India 3-0.

For complete results and news visit: http://www.squashsite.co.uk/worldteams/index.htm

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Draw set for Men's World Team Championships

With the start of the championships just 5 days away the WSF has released the draw for the event. Team Canada, the 7th seed finds themselves in pool G with New Zealand (10th seed) and Spain.

The Canadian team, by luck of the draw, will get the day off on the 27th and start pool play on Monday September 28th at 1:00pm local time vs Spain on center court. The Canadians will wrap up their pool play on Tuesday September 29th against New Zealand at 7:00om local time on court 3.


The playoff round will get underway on Wednesday the 30th and the finals are slated to be played at 1:00pm local time October 3rd.


Canada drops a seeding spot compared to 2007 in Chennai when they were seeded 6th and finished 6th. Canada has finished no worse than 8th in the last 7 World Team Championships.


Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Preliminary Team Seedings Released from WSF - Canada seeded 7th

Defending champions England are seeded to reach the final of the 2009 Men's World Team Squash Championship in Denmark next month - but Egypt are expected to win the title for the first time for ten years, according to the seedings announced today (Wednesday) by the World Squash Federation.

The championship, in its 22nd edition since the inaugural event in 1967, will be held in Denmark for the first time, from 27 September to 3 October. The venue will be the Squash Center Denmark in the city of Odense, the birth city of Hans Christian Andersen.

Led by world number one Karim Darwish, Egypt will be keen to make amends for a shock fourth place finish in the previous championship (in 2007) as they bid to repeat their 1999 success at this year's event.

England, bidding to become the first country since Pakistan in 1987 to win the biennial title three times in a row, will be led by the new British Open champion Nick Matthew. The world No5 clinched the title for the second time this week in the event's first all-English final for 70 years.

France and Australia are seeded three and four, respectively. France, runners-up in 2003, have yet to win the title – whilst Australia, beaten finalists in 2007, boast eight title triumphs between 1967 and 2003.

Six-time champions Pakistan are seeded six - behind Malaysia - and thus expected to record their best finish since 1997.

Italy, who will be making their first appearance in the event since 2003, are named as eighth seeds. Led by Davide Bianchetti, the Italian squad will include former Englishman Marcus Berrett and ex-Egyptian Amr Swelim – both of whom will be making their debuts for their new country.

Serbia will be making their debut in the championship which was launched 42 years ago.

Pools line-up:

POOL A: [1] EGYPT; [16] HONG KONG; KUWAIT; SERBIA
POOL B: [2] ENGLAND; [15] GERMANY; AUSTRIA; JAPAN
POOL C: [3] FRANCE; [14] IRELAND; DENMARK;
POOL D: [4] AUSTRALIA; [13] NETHERLANDS; WALES;
POOL E: [5] MALAYSIA; [12] USA; FINLAND
POOL F: [6] PAKISTAN; [11] SOUTH AFRICA; SWEDEN; KENYA
POOL G: [7] CANADA; [10] NEW ZEALAND; SPAIN
POOL H: [8] ITALY; [9] INDIA; SCOTLAND; VENEZUELA

Monday, September 14, 2009

Jonathon Power to lead Canadians into World Team Championships

OTTAWA – Jonathon Power of Montreal, the former world number-one and world champion, has been named to the Canadian squad for the men’s world team squash championships set for September 27- October 3 in Odense, Denmark.

Joining Power on the team are Shahier Razik of Toronto, currently ranked 29th in the world, Shawn DeLierre of Brossard, Que., and David Phillips of Pointe-Claire, Que. Robin Clarke of Ottawa is the non-travelling reserve.

Power, 35, heads to his 10th world team championship event. He retired from the professional circuit in 2006 ranked number-one in the world, but has committed to representing Canada at major international events and playing at national championships. He helped Canada to sixth place at the last team worlds in 2007 and fourth place in 2005

Power is the most successful North American player in sport earning 32 career pro tour wins as well as the 1998 world title and 2002 Commonwealth Games gold. He also helped Canada to a best-ever second place finish at the team worlds in 1997.

“Jonathon can definitely make a difference for us at the world championships,” said Yvon Provencal, head coach of the men’s national team. “He has a lot of experience and still has the capabilities to beat anybody in the world.”

Provencal adds that Power also brings an extra dimension to the team off the court.

“He does a really great job helping out the other players,” said Provencal. “He knows our players and he know the international field. He is a wealth of information for us at that level.”

Razik brings more experience to the table for Canada. These are his sixth world team championships and he’s enjoyed a strong 2009 so far on the pro circuit winning the National Capital Open in Washington and reaching another final and two semifinals as well.

DeLierre was a member of the 2007 world team, and is currently ranked 60th in the world. David Philips of Pointe-Claire, Que., ranked 68th internationally makes his team worlds debut but is an experienced international player including appearances at the individual worlds last year and the Pan Am championships in 2006.

The tournament seeding has yet to be announced.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Danish Squash Releases Countries to Participate at 2009 Men's World Team Championships

The official website for the 2009 World Men Teams Squash Championships is: http://profuivs01.dedicated.cohaesio.net/en/

As of today, September 10, 2009 the website is reporting that 28 countries have registered teams for the championships, including Canada, who will release it's team in the coming days.

For a full list of teams visit: http://profuivs01.dedicated.cohaesio.net/en/Venue/The-Nations/

Monday, August 31, 2009

England wins 2007 World Title; Canada ends up sixth

CHENNAI, India – England came from behind to defeat Australia 2-1 in the gold medal final Wednesday and capture its second successive world men's team squash championship title while Canada placed sixth.
It was England's sixth title after wins in 1976, 1979, 1995, 1997 and 2005.
England were on the back foot after Nick Mathew lost to Australia's No.1 player David Palmer 9-11 9-11 11-7 11-2 4-11, but James Willstrop levelled the final by defeating Stewart Boswell 11-8 11-7 11-10 (2-0).
That left it all down to Peter Barker who defeated Cameron Pilley in the deciding match11-6 11-3 11-8.
France defeated number-one seed Egypt 3-0 for the bronze.
In the fifth place match, Malaysia beat Canada 3-0. Shahier Razik of Toronto lost to Mohd Azlan Bin Iskandar 12-10, 13-11, 11-5; Matthew Giuffre of Edmonton fell to Ong Beng Hee 11-7, 11-6, 11-7 and Shawn DeLierre of Brossard, Que., lost to Muhd Asyra Bin Azan.
The Canadians were seeded sixth in the tournament. For the third match in a row they were without number-one player Jonathon Power of Montreal who is nursing a sore back. Canada was fourth at the worlds two years ago.
Canada opened the tournament with two wins in round robin play and won its round of 16 encounter of South Africa. With Power out of the line-up they lost to fourth-seeded Australia in the quarterfinals and were relegated to the consolation semifinals for fifth to eighth spots. Canada scored a big win over India in the consolation semi to advance to the fifth place match against number-five Malaysia.