Squash: World No. 1 Paul Coll to compete at Nov 15-20 Marigold Singapore Squash Open
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Paul Coll will first come up against either Malaysian Ng Eain Yow or Indian Saurav Ghosal.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
SINGAPORE - Paul Coll, the world’s No. 1 male squash player, will lead the field at the Nov 15-20 Marigold Singapore Squash Open, organisers announced on Friday.
It is the first Professional Squash Association (PSA) World Tour Gold event to be held in Singapore.
Joining the Commonwealth Games gold medallist and two-time British Open champion for the US$220,000 (S$313,250) tournament is Egypt’s world No. 2 Ali Farag, a three-time world champion. Both men are on opposite ends of the draw and have received a first-round bye.
Coll will first come up against either Malaysian Ng Eain Yow or Indian Saurav Ghosal, while Farag’s first opponent is either Englishman Patrick Rooney or compatriot Omar Mosaad.
Coll, 30, is looking forward to his first visit to Singapore. The New Zealander said: “I’m just really enjoying my squash at the moment – it’s been a really busy 12 months and at the same time it’s been amazing.
“Hopefully I can continue that form at the start of the season and maybe win a few more titles and hold on to that No. 1 spot.
“We’ve got the (Nov 8-12) New Zealand and Singapore Open – it’s great for squash to have those two tournaments, especially new ones on the calendar and playing on a more worldwide tour since Covid so I’m very excited to go there and try and win a new title.”
Women’s world No. 4 Amanda Sobhy, who recently won the US$160,000 Oracle NetSuite Open in San Francisco for the third time, is the top seed in the women’s draw.
She is joined by second seed Joelle King of New Zealand and third seed Nour El Tayeb of Egypt, ranked fifth and sixth respectively.
Singapore’s Au Yeong Wai Yhann and Samuel Kang will also feature in the tournament as wildcards. Au Yeong will come up against Hollie Naughton in the women’s event, while Kang will face German No. 1 Raphael Kandra in the men’s draw.
The men’s and women’s singles draws each comprise 24 players, who will battle it out over five rounds at the Kallang Squash Centre and OCBC Arena.
The Marigold Singapore Squash Open is the first major international squash competition to be held here in 10 years.
The last international squash event here was the 2019 Singapore Open, then part of the lowest-tier Satellite Tour.
Gold events on the PSA are just below the highest tier Platinum ones, of which there are five in the 2022-23 season: Qatar Classic (men), Egyptian Open (men & women), US Open (men & women), Hong Kong Open (men and women) and Tournament of Champions (men & women, in New York).
Including the Singapore stop, other Gold events this term are South Western Women’s Open, Grasshopper Cup (men & women, Zurich), Houston Open (men) and Swedish Open (men).
There will also be clinics and opportunities for interaction with these athletes during the Singapore tournament.
Singapore Squash Rackets Association President Patrick Thio said: “An event of this stature is a boost to the local squash community and to the wider Singapore population, especially with the top-ranked players competing here alongside our local athletes.
“We hope the action on and off the court will be a source of inspiration to our young squash athletes in their pursuit of sporting excellence.”
It is the first Professional Squash Association (PSA) World Tour Gold event to be held in Singapore.
Joining the Commonwealth Games gold medallist and two-time British Open champion for the US$220,000 (S$313,250) tournament is Egypt’s world No. 2 Ali Farag, a three-time world champion. Both men are on opposite ends of the draw and have received a first-round bye.
Coll will first come up against either Malaysian Ng Eain Yow or Indian Saurav Ghosal, while Farag’s first opponent is either Englishman Patrick Rooney or compatriot Omar Mosaad.
Coll, 30, is looking forward to his first visit to Singapore. The New Zealander said: “I’m just really enjoying my squash at the moment – it’s been a really busy 12 months and at the same time it’s been amazing.
“Hopefully I can continue that form at the start of the season and maybe win a few more titles and hold on to that No. 1 spot.
“We’ve got the (Nov 8-12) New Zealand and Singapore Open – it’s great for squash to have those two tournaments, especially new ones on the calendar and playing on a more worldwide tour since Covid so I’m very excited to go there and try and win a new title.”
Women’s world No. 4 Amanda Sobhy, who recently won the US$160,000 Oracle NetSuite Open in San Francisco for the third time, is the top seed in the women’s draw.
She is joined by second seed Joelle King of New Zealand and third seed Nour El Tayeb of Egypt, ranked fifth and sixth respectively.
Singapore’s Au Yeong Wai Yhann and Samuel Kang will also feature in the tournament as wildcards. Au Yeong will come up against Hollie Naughton in the women’s event, while Kang will face German No. 1 Raphael Kandra in the men’s draw.
The men’s and women’s singles draws each comprise 24 players, who will battle it out over five rounds at the Kallang Squash Centre and OCBC Arena.
The Marigold Singapore Squash Open is the first major international squash competition to be held here in 10 years.
The last international squash event here was the 2019 Singapore Open, then part of the lowest-tier Satellite Tour.
Gold events on the PSA are just below the highest tier Platinum ones, of which there are five in the 2022-23 season: Qatar Classic (men), Egyptian Open (men & women), US Open (men & women), Hong Kong Open (men and women) and Tournament of Champions (men & women, in New York).
Including the Singapore stop, other Gold events this term are South Western Women’s Open, Grasshopper Cup (men & women, Zurich), Houston Open (men) and Swedish Open (men).
There will also be clinics and opportunities for interaction with these athletes during the Singapore tournament.
Singapore Squash Rackets Association President Patrick Thio said: “An event of this stature is a boost to the local squash community and to the wider Singapore population, especially with the top-ranked players competing here alongside our local athletes.
“We hope the action on and off the court will be a source of inspiration to our young squash athletes in their pursuit of sporting excellence.”
