Rory Stewart & New Zealand brothers Lwamba & Temwa Chileshe through to Commonwealth Games 2nd round

July 29 2022

Rory Stewart of Scotland & New Zealand brothers Lwamba & Temwa Chileshe cruised into the 2nd round of the Men’s Singles at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games which got off to a flying start on day one at the University of Birmingham Squash Centre.

World No.66 Rory Stewart defeated Muqtadir Sadruddin Nimji of Kenya 11-7 13-11 11-4 in just 22-minutes. Rory Stewart took the first game 11-7 but was pushed all the way in the second by his Kenyan opponent who forced the Scot into errors with impressive attacking play before falling just short. Rory Stewart, who drew applause from the crowd after telling referee Mike Collins that his initial game-winning shot was Nimji’s point, took the game 13-11 before the Scot wrapped up the win with an 11-4 win in the third.

“I kept telling myself ‘I'm not nervous,’ but I guarantee I was. It was really difficult and I’m glad to get through,” said Rory Stewart. “There were a few shouts [for Nimji] but there are lots of Scots in the venue and thanks to them.”

Kiwi brothers Temwa and Lwamba Chileshe also recorded impressive victories.

Temwa Chileshe got #teamunsquashable off to a winning start with an 11-2 11-3 11-3 victory over Jules Snagg of Saint Vincent & the Grenadines whilst Lwamba Chileshe joined his brother in the 2nd round with an 11-4 11-3 11-4 victory over Feonor Siaguru of Papa New Guinea.

Christian Navas of Gibraltar also progressed to the 2nd round with a 38-minute 9-11 11-5 11-5 11-8 victory over Jace Jervis of the Cayman Islands.

Rory Stewart & Temwa Chileshe will face each other in tomorrow’s 2nd round whilst Christian Navas will play defending Gold Medallist James Willstrop.

Lwamba Chileshe will play Nick Sachvie of Canada.

Faiza Zafar of Pakistan will play Chan Yiwen of Malaysia in the Women’s Singles after both players enjoyed byes on the opening day in Birmingham.