The 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham saw the best moments in Squash, with some epic matches and future talent to watch – the event did not disappoint.
The stage of magic – Squash court ( University of Birmingham Squash & Hockey Centre)
From an excellent opening ceremony, dubbed the parade of nations, which featured the most famous talent from Birmingham across different professions, notably Sir Lenny Henry, and Duran – the opening ceremony event was on the same par as entertainment the London 2012 Olympics – fun and welcoming.
We were amazed to see Squash was featured in the opening ceremony in the form of a special message from Nicol David – the GOAT- wishing Team Malaysia well in the Games.
In terms of nations taking part, well there were 28 nations taking part with a total of 111 (64 men and 47 women) squash players; ironically some of the nations that we were pleased to see entered their top players who are currently on PSA Tour.
Nevertheless, the best Squash stories were what made Squash the talk of the 2022 Commonwealth Games:
The Best of Jamaica, Barbados and Guyana
(L-R) Julian Morrison, Karen Anderson and Chris Binnie (credit: Jamaican Squash Association)
Besides cheering on England, the other nations we had a close eye on were Barbados, Jamaica and Guyana.
Chris Binnie in action
Team Jamaica, they were represented by Chris Binnie and Julian Morrison, while Team Guyana brought along four players; Jason-Ray Khalil & Shomari Wiltshire (Men’s singles) and Mary Fung-A-Fat & Ashley Khalil (Women’s singles).
Guyana’s Jason-Ray Khalil (R) following his match against Paul Kadoma (Uganda) (credit Newsroom Guyana)
Meanwhile, in the Men’s singles, Barbados was represented by Khamal Cumberbatch and Shawn Simpson and for Women’s singles & doubles; there was Meagan Best, Amanda Haywood and Jada Smith-Padmore.
For Meagan, it was her second appearance at the Commonwealth Games having made her debut at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Queensland, Australia.
Seeing our favourite Caribbean nations taking part was good for young people who have Caribbean lineage and are based in Birmingham, have the opportunity to attend in person and watch the Caribbean nations take part in the Squash at the Commonwealth Games (including those one watching via the BBC iPlayer) to see someone like them playing Squash in high profile event.
Teenage star raises the profile of India
Just like Nicol David did for Malaysia at the 1998 Commonwealth Games, another teenage Squash star made her debut at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Anahat Singh was entering her first Commonwealth Games and was looking forward to taking part in a major Squash event on the biggest stage.
Having been playing Squash from a young, Anahat has won more than 50 titles including the US Junior Open, the British, German and Dutch Junior Opens and Asian Championship.
She made it past the first round of Preliminary matches taking on Jada Ross (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) but lost to Emily Whitlock (Wales) in the second round of Preliminary matches.
Anahat did well and like Nicol David, she will take this experience and hopefully come back to take part (and win) the next Commonwealth Games in 2026.
All England women’s semi-final
Just like the British Open some years ago, it was a battle of the English – Sarah-Jane Perry against Gina Kennedy.
Now from a town perspective, this semi-final could be dubbed ‘West Midlands v London’ for Squash bragging rights, but either way whoever won would go to the final and have a lot of support to win in the home fans.
Zambia Squash success
Kundanji Kalengo (credit: Squash Federation of Africa)
Also at the Commonwealth Games, history was made with Kundanji Kalengo (Zambia) who became the first squash player from Zambia to win Squash’s Commonwealth Games Men’s Singles Plate Final.
(L-R) Muqtadir Sadruddin Nimji (Kenya), Lucky Milo (President of Squash Federation of Africa) and Kundanji Kalengo (Zambia)
In an exciting match, Kundaji beat Muqtadir Sadruddin Nimji (Kenya) in three sets 11-8, 11-9 & 11-3.
Kundanji success in Commonwealth Games Men’s Singles Plate Final bolds well for Squash in Zambia, in terms of enhancing Squash’s profile by having their own elite champion who won a title in the world-class event.
Bromley Commonwealth Squash champion
Gina Kennedy (England) – 2022 Women’s Squash (credit: BBC Sport)
Following on her success in the semi-finals, Gina went on to win the Women’s Commonwealth Games Squash title on her first attempt beating Canada’s Hollie Naughton to become the first English woman to achieve this feat, but also the first from Bromley.
Let’s not forget, that Gina learned to play Squash at the same venue where another racquet star from Bromley = Emma Raducanu whose tennis career is starting to take shape following a win at the 2021 US Open.
So you can imagine the membership at that venue to grow in the next few years, thanks to both of them – but more so Squash.
Birmingham did Squash proud
Having spoken with our friends who watched the Commonwealth Games via in=person or the BBC iPlayer, all agreed that the Squash events were inspiring and somewhat prove the sport definitely needs to be a part of the next Olympic Games given the accomplishments of the commonwealth nations.
Saurav Ghosal took 3rd in Men’s category. Photo: IANS
A special congratulations to Saurav Ghosal, who took bronze in Men’s category – making him the first Squash player from India to win a singles medal.
With the doubles Squash categories, these matches were excellent as they showcase the greatness of Squash in 2 player format, something that needs to be brought to the attention of fans of the sport – especially those who want to start playing the sport with the confidence of playing alongside a player-mentor.
If there was one criticism is that BBC Sport did not show the matches on TV but instead chose to stream them via iPlayer – which is somewhat a shame as the viewing figures could be somewhat higher.
Team England Squash 2022 Credit: England Squash
To sum up, Team England’s excellent medal haul at the Commonwealth Games is now the catalyst needed to market Squash more in order to boost participation growth post games, along with improving the marketability of the sport at a grassroots level in all major towns of the UK.
Let’s hope the Commonwealth Games 2026 can bring the same amount of positive energy and more talents from the Commonwealth nations,
