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04/08/2010 - A huge upset victory for New Zealand at the World Junior Men's Squash Championships in Ecuador. |
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The 11th seeded kiwis have beaten 6th seeded Mexico 2-1, to finish top of Group F.
Paul Coll started the ball rolling with a thrilling victory over Miled Zarazou, who was seeded 7th in the individual draw. Coll twice fought back from a game down to win 3-2, giving New Zealand the perfect start.
Michael Sunderland looked set to continue the good work, taking out the first game against Mario Yanez in the second match of the tie. However, Sunderland could not sustain the pressure on his opponent and went down 3-1.
That left New Zealand's hopes of an upset win on the shoulders of Lance Beddoes. It soon seemed an unlikely prospect, as the kiwi number two quickly lost the first two games to Ricardo Lopez. However, a pep talk from coach Anthony Ricketts did the trick, with Beddoes stepping up his game to cut the deficit to 2-1. He then drew level at 2-all after a monumental battle in the fourth game that had both players almost out on their feet in the rarefied Quito air, setting up a gut busting fifth game decider. The two players traded blows to reach 5-all in the fifth before a visibly exhausted Beddoes somehow managed to edge ahead 9-5. That proved decisive as the 17-year-old kiwi went on to win the game 11-8 to complete a magnificent victory for his team.
A delighted Anthony Ricketts has heaped praise on his players, saying he could not be prouder of the boys for their efforts. He says both Paul and Lance were so tired after their matches they could hardly stand up.
New Zealand has had a good break with the draw for the first knockout round tomorrow, taking on Venezuela for a place in the quarterfinals. Venezuela is not seeded in the top 16 teams at the World Champs, but made it through after South Africa accidentally played their team out of order and were forced to default.
Result
New Zealand (11) def Mexico (6) 2-1
1. Paul Coll def 1. Miled Zarazua 3-2
4. Michael Sunderland lost to 3. Mario Yanez 1-3 2. Lance Beddoes def 2. Ricardo Lopez 3-2 (sorry - game scores not available)
For full results, click on the link below.
Don't forget to check out the NZ team blog at http://nzworldjuniors-ecuador.blogspot.com/
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www.mundialjunior2010.squashecuador.com/en/championship-teams/results/72-martes-3-de-agosto-resultad...
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