By U.S. SQUASH
Spicy would be one word that well describes not only the food, but also the U.S. Junior Women’s two weeks of international competition at the 2009 World Junior Squash Championships hosted by the Squash Rackets Federation of India in Chennai from July 29 to August 8, 2009. Cultures were bridged, senses were assaulted, suspense-filled matches were played, records were broken; it all happened in Chennai.
The Backdrop
The Indian people are exceedingly friendly, but certain national priorities super cede arrival niceties. First greeting in India is a mandatory fever scanner intended to screen for potential swine-flu carriers. As the US team’s stay progressed, daily news alerts about quarantines, precautionary school closures and even deaths from the H1N1 virus escalated. Fortunately, the World Junior Squash Championships narrowly avoided the swine flu scares that plagued several events after, including the World Badminton Championships held only one week later in Hyderabad. Meanwhile, most team members had already begun popping daily anti-malaria pills, and everyone on the team managed to stay injury-free and healthy throughout the entirety of the competition.
Hospitality reigns in Chennai. The locals were helpful and polite at all times. They were especially polite in insisting that the US Team, when traveling to or from playing matches, be accompanied by its very own , machine gun toting, security guard. And host nation India was further polite when carefully screening (including baggage x-rays and ‘wanding’) everyone who entered hotels in Chennai, and all players, coaches, press and spectators who visited the tournament venue, the Tamil Nadu Indian Squash Academy at Nehru Park.
Summer in Chennai is predictably hot- temperatures were rarely below 95 degrees and it was tough to be outside. Fortunately, air-conditioning was reliable in hotels, buses and inside the squash facility. As the team became acquainted with more efficient forms of transportation, aka the tuk-tuk or ‘auto’ as the motorized rickshaw is known, comfort was willingly sacrificed a few times for the preferred form of local transport.
Keeping elbows inside was essential to survival. Fare haggling was customary and expected (tuk-tuk meters go unused) and ‘transfers’ were sometimes necessary upon incidents such as flat tires! Bottom line is that rickshaw transport is far safer than crossing the street in Chennai.
Team USA was treated to local sightseeing by coaches Jack Wyant and Meredeth Quick, who wove the must-see’s and do’s into breaks in the team’s training and playing schedule. A half day trip south of Chennai to the seaside monuments of Mamallapuram highlighted a series of beautiful stone carved boulders dating from the 7th century on the Bay of Bengal (though the sea looked beautiful and tempting in the scorching sun, the players judiciously refrained). Bus transport shared the clogged two lane toll road with bicycles, animals, families on motorcycles and of course, rickshaws. The journey also took the team through areas devastated by the disastrous tsunami of December 2004. Another off-hours taste of Chennai was revealed in bargain shopping for silk and woolen goods. Small groups of brave souls tried to ‘fit in’ with the crowds bargaining in markets and small souk-like shops. “Upon the advice of our trusted hotel concierge, the girls dug in when bartering with the locals,” remarked Quick. “Their performance in the markets was reminiscent of their stubbornness on court.”
India is known for its unique dining delicacies. Sumptuous buffet breakfasts were inhaled by all teams and occasionally pizza was a default dinner, or post-dinner refuge when Indian spices were too much. Coaches and parents in attendance combed the city for interesting dining alternatives which ranged from authentic southern Indian to Continental to East Asian cuisine. There was always something for everyone, and almost always, a little indigestion from overly spicy dishes for someone for a day or two to follow. However, as Yarden Odinak diplomatically pointed out, “every player from outside of India had to contend with conditions different from their home countries.” Hence no one dwelled on occasional discomforts.
In the evenings following dinner, informal gear trading posts were set up for bartering clothing amongst different countries. The language of commerce was primarily English, though a word of continental language was occasionally employed when appropriate for high level negotiations. Both on and off the courts, friendships stemming from World’s two years ago in Hong Kong, from foreigners’ attendance at the U.S. Junior Open, and US team members’ participation in international tournaments, were renewed and new friendships were forged. The team was awed by the presence of several former WISPA and PSA stars in attendance as coaches, from Sarah Fitz-Gerald to Susan Devoy to Anthony Ricketts, who were pointedly complimenting the US’s improved level of squash!
Competition—Main Event
For the first time, Chennai hosted both the girls and boys individual competition in addition to the main event, the Junior Women’s Team Championship. This made for some interesting international social dynamics and time for some good Team U.S.A. bonding. Our junior men’s squad, consisting of Todd Harrity, Zeke Scherl, Brandon McLaughlin and Alex Ma, along with coach Martin Heath, had the good fortune of support from the US’s vociferous women’s choir of eight. Steady and unflappable Todd gave a vintage performance in his draw, just missing getting into the quarterfinals by falling in a close five game match to Farhan Zaman of Pakistan. Ditto the US’s other junior men, with Scherl and Ma unfortunately having to play each other in the Consolation Plate Semis. Scherl finished in 2nd place in the Consolation Plate finals. McLaughlin reached the Plate Semi-finals before losing a close match to Fung Ngo-Long of Hong Kong.
On the women’s side, Team USA was noticed early on with three players, Olivia Blatchford, Amanda Sobhy and Libby Eyre all reaching the Round of 16. This would be the start of an historic tournament for the US Junior Girl’s team, as never before had three US girls advanced so far in the individual competition. Most notably, Sobhy beat USA’s North American nemesis, Canadian No. 1 Laura Gemmell, in an exciting four game match; Libby Eyre took out England’s No. 2, Kimberley Hay, in three games; and Olivia Blatchford had a strong three game match over Rachael Goh of Malaysia. Although all three girls would lose in the next round, their results up to that point proved that the US would be a force to be reckoned with later on in the team event. Julie Cerullo, Natasha Kingshott, Haley Mendez, Yarden Odinak, and Lexi Saunders also competed in the individual competition. “Our best players are doing well on the world stage, but what is noteworthy is that each US player won at least two matches in the individual event,” said Wyant, “which speaks to the improving depth of US Squash.“
The team competition began on Monday of week two. Sixteen teams were divided into four pools based on initial seedings, assigned in part from individual competition results. The US Junior Women, seeded 5th, went into Pool D with Spain, South Africa and Canada. First pool results determined spots in the traditional tournament format. Order of players in each match was selected randomly by event organizers in advance. In the first match of the tournament, the US went up against South Africa with Blatchford, Sobhy and Odinak all collecting easy wins. Blatchford, Cerullo and Odinak won easily against Spain on Tuesday to give the US two wins going into a much anticipated match against Canada on Wednesday.
Playing the fourth overall seed in the tournament, the US team knew their match against Canada would be the closest yet of the tournament and it certainly did not disappoint. Blatchford gave her best effort against Laura Gemmell, however the Canadian No. 1 played immaculate squash to give Canada the early lead. Sobhy was next on against Samantha Cornett. With both players having extensive WISPA tour experience, the match was a close battle with Cornett taking the first two games, though the second was a narrow 11-13 win. The tight score in the second gave Amanda the boost she needed to power back through the next three games, visibly tiring her opponent. The match came down to US No. 3 Cerullo against Canada’s Jennifer Pelletier. With the first game going decisively in Cerullo’s favor, the second game was extremely close, with Cerullo coming back to win 13-11. The third game was even closer but Cerullo managed to win the game, 14-12, and ultimately take the match for the US.
By placing first in Pool D, the US moved on to the quarterfinals. This presented an opportunity for the US to win its first ever international team match against England (either Junior or Senior). Sobhy faced off against Kimberley Hay in the first match. Hay, who had lost to Libby Eyre in the individuals, played a flawless three game match against Amanda, giving England the early lead in the overall match. At No. 1, Blatchford patiently ground down England’s steady Millie Tomlinson and racked up the US’s absolutely mandatory win in three games. For the second day in a row, the match rested on the shoulders of Julie Cerullo, and yet again she stepped up and defeated England’s Rachel Chadwick in three games to secure the historic win for the Americans. “Olivia played like a No. 1 when we were a match down and Julie was terrific, she controlled the middle of the court with her volley,” said Wyant.
The US faced the daunting task of taking on the defending champion and top-seeded Egypt in the semifinals. As they had done throughout the tournament, the US Junior Women did not back down and gave the Egyptians their toughest match of the tournament. Blatchford began the match at the No. 1 position against Heba El Torky, who was the No. 2 seed in the individual tournament. After losing the first two games, Blatchford mounted a monumental comeback in the third game and won 15-13. The fourth game was extremely close until El Torky took a lead late in the game and gave Egypt their first point with the victory. Sobhy had an even more daunting task in the second position against Nour El Sherbini, the youngest individual champion in the history of the event at 13-years-old. Sobhy dominated the match from the start, controlling play from the T with strong volleys and deep drives, and winning the match in three games to tie the overall match score. Julie Cerullo had her toughest match yet against Nour El Tayeb, who lost to El Sherbini in the finals of the individual competition. Although she fought hard, Cerullo would lose in three games and the overall match went to the defending champions. Egypt would move on the finals, where they would defeat Hong Kong to win the overall title.
The US Junior Women played their final match of the tournament against host India for third place. With both the US and India looking to secure their highest-ever finishes in an international competition, the match was one of the most competitive of the entire tournament. With home court advantage on their side, India No. 1 Dipika Pallikal took the opening match from Blatchford. Blatchford completed a very successful tournament where she proved her skills against some of the best female players in the world in the No. 1 position. One day after defeating the World Junior Champion in the semifinal match, Amanda Sobhy concluded a dream tournament by defeating Surbhi Misra in four games and leveling the match for the US. For the fourth time in a row, the fate of the match came down to Julie Cerullo. A see-saw battle saw the match tied going into the fifth and deciding game, where Anaka Alankamony forged ahead and secured the medal for the host nation.
Overall, the US Junior Women were extremely pleased to finish the team competition in fourth place, matching the result of the US Junior Women back in 2005 and 2001. They survived rickshaw rides, ethnic cuisine, and chaotic marketplaces and returned home with a rewarding experience that they can look back upon fondly.
