Canada concluded an impressive run with a thrilling 2-1 victory over No 3 seed England to win the bronze medal.
This equals Canada’s best-ever finish at the men’s world juniors: third in 1992 and in 1979. This week’s tournament was the ultimate fitness test in a city sitting at 10,000 feet above sea level. Every match was a heart bursting, lung busting challenge for the players.
“I can’t say enough how proud I am of our team,” said Jonathan Hill of Calgary, the head coach of Canada’s national junior team. “The key to our success was our preparation. We put four weeks of hard work and training together with the goal to win a medal. Our players were ready for this tournament.”
After Andrew Schnell of Calgary lost the opening match to Charles Sharpes, Nick Sachvie of St. Catharines, Ont., tied the match at 1-1 defeating Nathan Lake in five games with the fifth match going 11-9.
Arjun Gupta of Toronto won the third and deciding match in another five-game thriller with the fifth game going to 12-10. Gupta had squandered match ball in the fourth game and blew a 10-7 lead late in the fifth.
“It was very difficult mentally,” said Gupta. “I knew that bronze medal was on the line and this was what we had worked so hard for. I didn’t want to let it slip away. I just had to keep really focused.”
Schnell was still on a high after receiving his medal.
“This is unbelievable,” he said. “Canada came through and this tournament really showed how much we’ve prospered in this sport. The altitude was especially difficult in the individual tournament last week but by the team event we were pretty use to it. Our preparation really paid off.”
For full story: www.squash.ca
Louis Daignault
Canadian Sport News \ Nouvelles-sport canadien
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