The 2023-24 World Championship Oceania Qualifying Event got underway from the Carrara Squash Centre in Australia today, with all 12 seeded players in action progressing to the quarter-finals without fail.
Up for grabs on the Gold Coast this week are two spots in the 2023-2024 CIB PSA World Championships, which are due to be held in Cario between 9-18 May.
Due to the respective sizes of the draws – 16 in the men’s and 12 in the women’s – the top four seeds in the women’s draw were awarded first-round bye’s. These players were Australian quartet Alex Haydon, Sarah Cardwell, Rachael Grinham and Erin Classen.
In the men’s draw, No.4 seed Anthony Lepper and Australian compatriot Benjamin Ratcliffe delivered the match of the day, with the former eventually coming through after five games and 64 minutes of action. Lepper’s reward is a quarter-final match-up against Rhys Dowling after the No.6 seed cruised through his first-round tie with PSA Invitee Feanor Siaguru 11-3, 11-3, 11-4.
Elsewhere, top seed Joseph White got his campaign underway with a comfortable 11-8, 11-4, 11-7 victory over Brendan MacDonald and will now play No.8 seed Tate Norris for a spot in the semi-finals. No.3 seed Elijah Thomas of New Zealand and Dylan Molinaro of Australia also both secured straight-game victories to advance.
No.2 seed Temwa Chileshe was made to fight for his spot in the quarter-finals, having to hold off a determined fight back from Bradley Fullick to eventually win in four games, with No.5 seed Nicholas Calvert also scoring victory by the same scoreline.
In the women’s draw, No.7 seed Remashree Muniandy overcame an early deficit to see off the threat of Amelie Guziak in five games – winning the deciding game by an 11-7 scoreline. The Australian will play compatriot and top seed Alex Haydon for a spot in the last four of the qualifying event.
The other three matches from the women’s event all saw comfortable straight-game victories for the seeded players. No.5 seed Ella Lash overcame Sarbani Maitra to set up a meeting with former World No.1 Rachael Grinham, while No.8 seed Sze Yu Lee was in terrific form, dropping just eight points on her way to victory. No.6 seed Madison Lyon also gained passage to the quarter-finals after defeating Shona Coxsedge.
Results: Women’s RD1
[7] Remashree Muniandy (AUS) bt Amelie Guziak (AUS) 3-2: 9-11, 11-6, 11-5, 3-11, 11-7 (39m) [5] Ella Lash (NZL) bt Sarbani Maitra (AUS) 3-0: 11-3, 11-5, 11-6 (19m) [8] Sze Yu Lee (AUS) bt Amity Alarcos (PNG) 3-0: 11-4, 11-2, 11-2 (15m) [6] Madison Lyon (AUS) bt Shona Coxsedge (AUS) 3-0: 11-5, 11-7, 11-9 (19m)Draw: Women’s Quarter-Finals
[1] Alex Haydon (AUS) v [7] Remashree Muniandy (AUS) [5] Ella Lash (NZL) v [3] Rachael Grinham (AUS) [4] Erin Classen (AUS) v [8] Sze Yu Lee (AUS) [6] Madison Lyon v [2] Sarah Cardwell (AUS)Results: Men’s RD1
[1] Joseph White (AUS) bt Brendan MacDonald (AUS) 3-0: 11-8, 11-4, 11-7 (34m) [8] Tate Norris (AUS) bt David Turner (AUS) 3-0: 11-8, 11-8, 11-9 (39m) [5] Nicholas Calvert (AUS) bt Mason Smales (SAM) 3-1: 5-11, 11-9, 11-1, 11-7 (43m) [3] Elijah Thomas (NZL) bt Javed Ali (AUS) 3-0: 11-4, 11-3, 11-5 (24m) [4] Anthony Lepper (NZL) bt Benjamin Ratcliffe (AUS) 3-2: 12-10, 11-5, 7-11, 9-11, 11-5 (64m) [6] Rhys Dowling (AUS) bt [I] Feanor Siaguru (PNG) 3-0: 11-3, 11-3, 11-4 (18m) [7] Dylan Molinaro (AUS) bt Remi Young (AUS) 3-0: 11-5, 11-5, 11-7 (33m) [2] Temwa Chileshe (NZL) bt Bradley Fullick (AUS) 3-1: 11-8, 11-6, 10-12, 11-6 (53m)Draw: Men’s Quarter-Finals
[1] Joseph White (AUS) v [8] Tate Norris (AUS) [5] Nicholas Calvert (AUS) v [3] Elijah Thomas (NZL) [4] Anthony Lepper (NZL) v [6] Rhys Dowling (AUS) [7] Dylan Molinaro (AUS) v [2] Temwa Chileshe (NZL)
