Donna Urquhart & Cameron Pilley, an Aussie pairing that has only been together for eight months, claimed Commonwealth Games Squash gold after winning the Mixed Doubles final in straight games in front of a capacity and partisan crowd at Oxenford Studios in Gold Coast – thus keeping the event’s gold medal in Australian hands for the fourth time since 2006.
The fourth seeds made their breakthrough in the semi-finals when they despatched second-seeded English pair Alison Waters & Daryl Selby. Their opponents in the final also pulled off a semi-final upset – Dipika Pallikal Karthik & Saurav Ghosal, an Indian pairing celebrating their second successive partnership in the Commonwealth Games, surviving a dramatic third game tie-break against the event favourites.
But, buoyed by the crowd, Urquhart & Pilley – first cousins who hail from Yamba in New South Wales – defeated the Indians 11-8, 11-10 in 31 minutes to claim the first squash medal for the hosts on Gold Coast.
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Mixed Doubles Final:
[4] Donna Urquhart & Cameron Pilley (AUS) bt [5] Dipika Pallikal Karthik & Saurav Ghosal (IND) 11-8, 11-10 (31m)
Bronze medal play-off:
[1] Joelle King & Paul Coll (NZL) bt [2] Alison Waters & Daryl Selby (ENG) 11-6, 11-6 (28m)
Men’s Doubles Semi-finals:
[7] Daryl Selby & Adrian Waller (ENG) bt [4] Declan James & James Willstrop (ENG) 11-9, 9-11, 11-10 (86m)
[5] Zac Alexander & David Palmer (AUS) bt [2] Alan Clyne & Greg Lobban (SCO) 11-8, 11-5 (30m)
Women’s Doubles Semi-finals:
[3] Joshna Chinappa & Dipika Pallikal Karthik (IND) bt [7] Laura Massaro & Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) 11-10, 11-5 (25m)
[1] Joelle King & Amanda Landers-Murphy (NZL) bt [4] Rachael Grinham & Donna Urquhart (AUS) 11-9, 11-5 (20m)
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