Australian Squash stars are ready to be Bold in Gold at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Australia’s eight-strong Squash squad is excited for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games to get underway, where they will look to repeat the success of the Gold Coast 2018 Games.
It’s just the seventh Games since the introduction of squash at Kuala Lumpur 1998, where Australia won six medals including gold in the women’s singles (Michelle Martin) and mixed doubles (Michelle Martin and Craig Rowland). Since then Australia has gone on to become the most successful squash nation at the Games with 11 gold medals, eight silver and 14 bronze.
Can Australia add more medals to their tally in Birmingham?
Jess Turnbull (singles and women’s doubles), Alex Haydon (women’s doubles), Rachael Grinham (singles, mixed doubles, women’s doubles), Donna Lobban (singles, mixed doubles, women’s doubles), Rhys Dowling (singles and men’s doubles), Zac Alexander (mixed doubles and men’s doubles), Ryan Cuskelly (men’s doubles) and Cameron Pilley (mixed doubles and men’s doubles) will all don the green and gold for Australia, hoping to add more medals to the collection.
What happened last time?
Australia finished with two gold and bronze at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games. Once again dominating the doubles events, Alexander/David Palmer and Lobban/Pilley won gold in the men’s and mixed, respectively.
Lobban and Grinham also came away with bronze in the women’s doubles after beating Laura Massaro and Sarah-Jane Perry of England.
Who else will be there?
It will be a family affair in the mixed doubles, with Aussie cousins Donna Lobban and Cameron Pilley faced with the potential clash with Lobban’s husband, Greg Lobban of Scotland.
New Zealand’s Paul Coll (World Number 2) and Joelle King (World Number 5) will head into the event as the ones to beat, competing in their respective singles events before teaming up in the mixed doubles.
In the women’s singles event, reigning World Women’s Doubles champions Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal Karthik of India will be one’s to keep an eye on.
When does competition start?
The men’s and women’s singles event begins on Friday 29 July at 9pm AEST with all medal matches set to occur on Wednesday 3 August.
Dowling will be the first Australian to take to the squash court for the singles event, where he will face Saint Vincent and the Grenadines’ Jason Doyle. Turnbull, Lobban and Grinham will start their Commonwealth Games singles campaign in Round 2 after receiving byes in the first round.
Once the singles competition wraps up, the mixed doubles action will get underway on Wednesday 3 August before men’s and women’s doubles starts the following day, Thursday 4 August.
The competition will conclude with the mixed doubles medal matches on Sunday 7 August, before the men’s and women’s doubles medal matches on Monday 8 August.
Click here for the full Squash draw
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