There’s just one day to go until the 2022 WSF World Doubles Squash Championships begin in Glasgow, Scotland, and it is New Zealand who are tipped to claim the major honours, with the Kiwi mixed doubles and women’s teams seeded top, while England are predicted to take the honours in the men’s event.
Day one of the championship will be broadcast live on Youtube, the WSF and Scottish Squash Facebook pages and on the Olympic Channel, with BBC iPlayer and SQUASHTV also broadcasting the later rounds.
In the mixed doubles draw, which will consist of 20 teams, the Kiwi duo of Men’s World No.1 Paul Coll and Women’s World No.5 Joelle King are tipped to win their third mixed doubles title, having won the 2016 edition in Darwin, Australia, and the 2017 edition in Manchester, England. They take on Hong Kong, China’s Chi Him Wong and Ka Yi Lee on day one.
Predicted to challenge them for honours are India’s No.2 seeds Saurav Ghosal and Dipika Pallikal Karthik, with Pallikal Karthik returning to the game after she and her husband – Indian international cricketer Dinesh Karthik – became parents to twin boys late last year.
Rounding out the seeds in the mixed doubles are Australia’s Zac Alexander and Donna Lobban and England’s Adrian Waller and Alison Waters. Lobban will travel to Glasgow looking to defend her mixed doubles title, which she won in 2019 alongside Cameron Pilley.
For hosts Scotland, men’s World No.35 Greg Lobban and Women’s World No.36 Lisa Aitken are the highest-ranked pair.
In the men’s doubles, which will feature 22 teams following the withdrawal of Colombia due to visa issues, England are favoured to collect their first World Doubles Championship medal since Hong Kong 1997. England’s Declan James and former World No.1 James Willstrop are top seeds, with their compatriots Daryl Selby and Adrian Waller the seconds seeds.
James and Willstrop will face Hong Kong, China’s Tsz Kwan Lay and Ming Hong Tang on day one, while Selby and Waller go up against Wales’ Elliot Morris and Owain Taylor.
Defending champions Australia are No.3 seeds and will be represented by Zac Alexander and Ryan Cuskelly, with Cuskelly looking for a third consecutive men’s doubles title.
Hoping to gatecrash the final will be No.4 seeds Malaysia, represented by Eain Yow Ng and Ivan Yuen.
The home crowd in Scotstoun, though, will be forgiven for being optimistic for a local winner, with Alan Clyne and Douglas Kempsell and Greg Lobban and Rory Stewart occupying the final seedings of No.5 and No.6, respectively. Clyne and Kempsell go up against South Africa’s Jean-Pierre Brits and Christo Potgieter on day one, while Lobban and Stewart face Singapore’s Aarin Liang and Chua Man Tong.
In the women’s draw, which features 12 teams after the withdrawal of Canada due to an injury, top seeds Joelle King and Amanda Landers-Murphy will be hoping to win their third and New Zealand’s fifth title. Seeded to meet them in the final are England’s Sarah-Jane Perry and Alison Waters, with India’s Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal Karthik and Malaysia’s Rachel Arnold and Sivasangari Subramaniam seeded third and fourth, respectively.
Home duo Georgia Adderley and Lisa Aitken are the sole Scottish entry in the women’s draw and will play England’s Georgina Kennedy and Lucy Turmel.
The WSF World Doubles Squash Championships run 5-9 April in Scotstoun Leisure Centre, Glasgow, Scotland.
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Seeds: Mixed Doubles
1) Paul Coll & Joelle King (NZL)
2) Saurav Ghosal & Dipika Pallikal Karthik (IND)
3) Zac Alexander & Donna Lobban (AUS)
4) Adrian Waller & Alison Waters (ENG)
5/6) Joel Makin & Tesni Evans (WAL)
5/6) Ryan Cuskelly & Rachael Grinham (AUS)
7/8) Greg Lobban & Lisa Aitken (SCO)
7/8) Patrick Rooney & Georgina Kennedy (ENG)
9/10) Vikram Malhotra & Joshna Chinappa (IND)
9/10) Mohammad Syafiq & Kamal Aifa Azman (MAS)
11/12) Ivan Yuen & Rachel Arnold (MAS)
11/12) Max Lee & Liu Tsz-Ling (HKG)
13/16) Nick Sachvie & Hollie Naughton (CAN)
13/16) Peter Creed & Emily Whitlock (WAL)
13/16) Rory Stewart & Georgia Adderley (SCO)
13/16) Chi Him Wong & Ka Yi Lee (HKG)
Evan Williams & Kaitlyn Watts (NZL)
Jean-Pierre Brits & Alexandra Fuller (RSA)
Aaron Liang & Au Yeong Wai Yhann (SGP)
Christo Potgieter & Cheyna Wood (RSA)
Seeds: Men’s Doubles
1) Declan James & James Willstrop (ENG)
2) Daryl Selby & Adrian Waller (ENG)
3) Zac Alexander & Ryan Cuskelly (AUS)
4) Eain Yow Ng & Ivan Yuen (MAS)
5) Alan Clyne & Douglas Kempsell (SCO)
6) Greg Lobban & Rory Stewart (SCO)
7/9) Vikram Malhotra & Ramit Tandon (IND)
7/9) Henry Leung & Tsz Fung Yip (HKG)
7/9) Peter Creed & Emyr Evans (WAL)
10/12) Rhys Dowling & Rex Hedrick (AUS)
10/12) David Baillargeon & Nick Sachvie (CAN)
10/12) Lwamba Chileshe & Temwa Chileshe (NZL)
13/15) Tsz Kwan Lau & Ming Hong Tang (HKG)
13/15) Elliott Morris & Owain Taylor (WAL)
13/15) Addeen Idrakie & Sai Hung Ong (MAS)
16/18) Samuel Kang & Ka Hoe Pang (SGP)
16/18) Jean-Pierre Brits & Christo Potgieter (RSA)
16/18 Bernat Jaume & Joel Jaume Izcara (ESP)
Aaron Liang & Chua Man Tong (SGP)
Niall Engerer & Kijan Sultana (MLT)
Samuel Bonello & Duncan Stahl (MLT)
Ravindu Laksiri & Shamil Wakeel (SRI)
Seeds: Women’s Doubles
1) Joelle King & Amanda Landers-Murphy (NZL)
2) Sarah-Jane Perry & Alison Waters (ENG)
3) Joshna Chinappa & Dipika Pallikal Karthik (IND)
4) Rachel Arnold & Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS)
5/6) Georgina Kennedy & Lucy Turmel (ENG)
5/6) Rachael Grinham & Donna Lobban (AUS)
7/8) Georgia Adderley & Lisa Aitken (SCO)
7/8) Tsz-Wing Tong & Ho Tze-Lok (HKG)
9/10) Ainaa Ampandi & Yiwen Chan (MAS)
9/10) Alex Haydon & Jessica Turnbull (AUS)
11/12) Abbie Palmer & Kaitlyn Watts (NZL)
11/12) Alexandra Fuller & Cheyna Wood (RSA)