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| October 29, 2001 | Monday | Shaba'an 11, 1422 |
Record 7th crown for Australia
MELBOURNE, Oct 28: Australia won the world squash team championship for a record seventh time Sunday with a 3-0 victory over defending champions Egypt.
World number one David Palmer clinched the winning point in the top-string rubber against Karim Darwish, although he had to overcome a penalty of two points for barging into his opponent in the fourth game.
Paul Price had given the top-seeded home team a winning lead with a 9-2, 10-9, 9-3 win over Omar El Borolossy in the second-string rubber.
Then Palmer, the British Open champion, clinched the win with an 8-10, 9-1, 9-0, 10-8 triumph over Darwish, the 1999 world junior champion.
It was at 6-2 ahead in the fourth game that Palmer was deducted the two points by Irish referee Jack Allen for “unnecessary physical conduct,” and Darwish battled back to level the scores at 8-all.
But Palmer managed to hold on to win the 62-minute encounter and spark the Australian celebrations.
“It’s a dream come true to win the championship for Australia at my first attempt, especially here in Melbourne,” said Palmer.
“And I now think that we have a squad of players that could dominate the game for years to come.
“It’s been a real team effort all week, and it just feels great to have pulled it off.”
Stewart Boswell, who won the dead rubber 9-0, 9-0 against Mohammed Abbas, and John Williams were the other members of the winning team.
England retained the bronze medal with a 3-0 win over Scotland in the third place play-off.
Results:
Australia 3 Egypt 0
Paul Price bt Omar El Borolossy 9-2,
10-9, 9-3; David Palmer bt Karim Darwish 8-10, 9-1, 9-0, 10-8; Stewart Boswell bt Mohamed Abbas 9-0, 9-0.—AFP
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