Second-seeded Egypt have ended SA’s hopes of progressing past the quarter-finals of the Women’s World Teams Squash Championships, after beating them 3-0 overnight in Edmonton, Canada.
Some may have considered the result a foregone conclusion, but plucky South African no. 1 seed Tenille Swartz made her Egyptian counterpart Omneya Abdel Kawy work for victory after taking the first set, only to lose 7-9, 10-8, 9-4 and 9-0 in 45 minutes.
Diana Argyle managed to pick up 5 points against Egypt’s Engy Kheirallah, losing in straight sets 9-1, 9-3 and 9-1 in a match lasting 26 minutes.
A knee injury to team captain Claire Nitch in Monday’s match against the Netherlands called an early end to her participation at the champs, and her stand-in Karen van der Westhuizen proved no match for Raneem El Weleily, who took the final match 9-4, 9-4 in 15 minutes.
This performance will justifiably be considered one of SA women’s best in modern times, with particular pride in having beaten 4th-ranked Australia’s 2-1 in Sunday’s opening encounter, causing the defending champions to be eliminated in the round-robin stage.
Next up SA was downed by the powerful Dutch squad 3-0, but recovered well with a 2-1 win against 14th-ranked Germany to progress to last night’s quarter finals.
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