James Willstrop wins Commonwealth Games Men's Doubles Gold Medal

James Willstrop brushed aside the disappointment of losing to his close friend Saurav Ghosal of India in the Men’s Singles Bronze Medal to win a Gold Medal with Declan James in the Men’s Doubles & claim a record seventh Commonwealth Games medal.

The top seeds & reigning Men’s Doubles World Champions overcame compatriots Daryl Selby & Adrian Waller in the first ever doubles gold medal match contested by teams from the same nation.

That both Men’s Doubles teams had made the final represented a phenomenal achievement for England as no country had ever put two doubles teams into the same final in Commonwealth Games squash history, with the matchup guaranteeing a Gold & Silver Medal for England.

James Willstrop & Declan James made the perfect start as they won the first game 11-3, with Willstrop moving well & Declan keeping left-hander Adrian Waller quiet on the backhand side.

Daryl Selby & Adrian Waller responded in the 2nd game by scoring seven successive points as they came back from 5-2 down to level the match with an 11-7 win.

In a tense final game, James Willstrop & Declan James saw an 8-4 lead reduced to just 9-8, before eventually stopping momentum of the 3/4 seeds to earn three match balls at 10-8.

Although Daryl Selby & Adrian Waller were able to save the first match ball, Declan James, who was almost ruled out through injury ahead of the Commonwealth Games, brought the final to an end with a brilliant backhand, & the 29-year-old sank to the ground in tears as the scores were confirmed.

In the semi-finals, James Willstrop & Declan James were forced to fight back from a game down against 5/8 seeds Eain Yow Ng & Ivan Yuen of Malaysia.

The Malaysians made a brilliant start to the match which earned them the 1st game 11-5, however the English top seeds found a perfect response by pushing further up the court to win the 2nd game 11-5 & level the match.

However, the English pair again found themselves in a desperate situation in the 3rd game when Eain Yow’s brilliant reactions helped Malaysia secure a 7-3 lead, before a fantastic fightback from the World Champions saw them win seven consecutive points on the way to a memorable 59-minute 5-11 11-5 11-8 victory.

In the quarter-finals, the English pair progressed with clinical 11-7 11-4 victory over Australian pair Rhys Dowling & Cameron Pilley after getting their Men’s Doubles campaign off to a winning start with a convincing 13-minute 11-2 11-1 win over Niall Engerer & Kijan Sultana of Malta.

Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Men's Doubles Final:
[1] Declan James & James Willstrop (ENG) bt [3/4] Daryl Selby & Adrian Waller (ENG) 2-1: 11-3, 7-11, 11-9 (61m)

Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Men’s Doubles Bronze Medal Match:
[2] Greg Lobban & Rory Stewart (SCO) bt [5/8] Eain Yow Ng & Ivan Yuen (MAS) 2-0: 11-10, 11-6 (45m)

Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Women’s Doubles Final:
[3/4] Joelle King & Amanda Landers-Murphy (NZL) bt [2] Sarah-Jane Perry & Alison Waters (ENG) 2-0: 11-8, 11-8 (30m)

Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Women’s Doubles Bronze Medal Match:
[5/8] Rachel Arnold & Aifa Azman (MAS) bt [5/8] Ainaa Amani & Chan Yiwen (MAS) 2-0: 11-3, 11-9 (28m)

Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Medal Winners:
Men’s Singles:
Gold: Paul Coll (NZL)
Silver: Joel Makin (WAL)
Bronze: Saurav Ghosal (IND)

Women’s Singles:
Gold: Georgina Kennedy (ENG)
Silver: Hollie Naughton (CAN)
Bronze: Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)

Mixed Doubles:
Gold: Joelle King and Paul Coll (NZL)
Silver: Alison Waters and Adrian Waller (ENG)
Bronze: Dipika Pallikal Karthik and Saurav Ghosal (IND)

Men’s Doubles:
Gold: Declan James and James Willstrop (ENG)
Silver: Daryl Selby and Adrian Waller (ENG)
Bronze: Greg Lobban and Rory Stewart (SCO)

Women’s Doubles:
Gold: Joelle King and Amanda Landers-Murphy (NZL)
Silver: Sarah-Jane Perry and Alison Waters (ENG)
Bronze: Rachel Arnold and Aifa Azman (MAS)

Kiwi Men’s Doubles pair Lwamba & Temwa Chileshe were denied a quarter-final place by Eain Yow Ng & Ivan Yuen of Malaysia who overcame the #teamunsquashable pairing 11-3 4-11 11-8 in 44 minutes.

Douglas Kempsell, partnered by Alan Clyne, were beaten 8-11 11-10 11-8 in 68 minutes by Velavan Senthilkumar & Abhay Singh of India in their 2nd round match after the Indian 9/16 seeds saved three match balls as they fought from one game down to upset 3/4 seeds.

In the Mixed Doubles, Rory Stewart, partnered by Georgia Adderley, were beaten by Joelle King & Paul Coll of New Zealand 11-7 11-9 in 38 minutes.

Nine matches were played in opening round of the Men’s Doubles at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham & while most of the seeded players were not involved after receiving byes, there was still plenty of entertainment to be had, led by the #teamunsquashable Kiwi brothers Lwamba & Temwa Chileshe who entertained the crowd with a 22-minute 11-8 11-9 victory over Feonor Siaguru & Madako Suari, 11-8, 11-9 (22m) Papua New Guinea.

The Kiwi Men’s Doubles pair will today play Eain Yow Ng & Ivan Yuen of Malaysia in the quarter-finals.

Faiza Zafar & Nasir Iqbal of Pakistan were beaten by Joelle King & Paul Coll of New Zealand in the Mixed Doubles.