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Polish Squash Players in Malta - 8-12/04/08
In October 2007 a small group of players asked Malta Squash Academy coach Paul Lake if he could arrange a squash training camp for them in Malta towards the end of March / beginning of April.
After establishing the dates and the camp program the number of player’s steadily increased.
In April a group of 17 squash players from Poland paid a visit to the Marsa Sports Club to take part in an international squash training camp.
A policy of the Squash Academy at Marsa is to give equal opportunities to players of all standards to compete and to train.
This was reflected in the varying standards of the visiting team, with players ranging from hobby players to national team players.
The number 1 from the visiting team was Tomasz Abramowski, one of the newer Polish players to break into the Polish top 10. Tomasz, currently ranked 5 in Poland, has only been playing squash for 3 years and is hoping to boost his chance of breaking into the senior national team later this year. Poland’s top two ladies, Dominika Witkowska - Polish national champion and number 1, and Anna Sikorska - Polish number 2 – were also part of the squad taking part. The remaining 15 players varied in standard from ‘enthusiastic hobby players’ to ‘serious’ tournament players.
As well as an arduous daily training plan that involved on-court work, fitness training, reaction work, a running programme and tactical work, two team matches were arranged against a selection of local players, giving them a chance to test themselves against international competition.
In the first test match the team representing the Marsa Squash Section earned a well-deserved 10-5 victory. Each team fielded 15 players and although 10-5 seems on paper a formality, the matches on court proved to be much closer.
Two of Malta's leading players, Johanna Rizzo and Stephen Schranz produced the performances of the day.
Johanna played a tremendous match against Szymon Wolek that lasted over 75 minutes, taking the fifth and final set 9-5.
This was the first time that the majority of the Polish players had seen such a hard-fought performance from a female player and the praise from the visiting Polish players was abundant.
Next up was 'Mr. reliable' of Maltese Squash, Stephen Schranz.
Schranz produced a master class of control and dexterity to outwit the much younger Tomasz Abramowski. The large crowd were treated to a fast and furious game, with both players showing imagination, quick reactions, and a wide variety of shots, constantly trying to outthink and outplay each other.
The second fixture between the Marsa Squash Section team and the visiting Polish team produced some interesting and entertaining matches.
Several of the matches 'went the distance' with the winner decided in the 5th & final set.
Phillip Bugeja, one of Malta's finest players, produced a brilliant performance against Tomasz Abramowski and showed that he still has the 'touch and control' to compete with the best. Bugeja won a close-fought match in front of a good crowd 3-0.
Malta's youngest player taking part, Colette Sultana, fought extremely well against Marek Kurylowicz before losing 3-2 in a tough 60 minute match, a fantastic performance for a 12 year old athlete.
The final result was a hard-fought 9-6 for the Marsa Squash Section Team.
The week-long Polish squash training camp came to an end on Saturday with an invitation international tournament.
Fifteen players from Malta were invited to take part and compete against the visiting 15 players from Poland. The demand to take part was high and several players had to be turned down as places were strictly limited.
During the course of the week over 100 matches were played involving beginners, advanced and national team players.
The tournament at Marsa proved to be a tremendous success with all players playing 4 or 5 matches over the weekend.
Squash is without a doubt one of the most physically demanding sports and credit goes to all players that managed to keep going through a tough series of matches.
The tournament was held in a unique format with the players in the first and second round coming against competitors that they did not play against during the 2 team matches on Tuesday and Thursday.
This gave all players the opportunity to test their skills once again against different players. The third round however saw some repeat matches being once again contested and some interesting re-matches took place.
Too many good close matches were played to mention them all.
Special mention should go to Sue Aquilina who put up a tremendous fight against the number 2 from Poland Anna Sikorska with Sue loosing out on the final point of the match 10-9 in the 5th set!
Jonathon Sammut played extremely well finishing 2nd in the ‘b’ event, while Adrian Camilleri and Colette Sultana finished 5th in the ‘a’ and ‘b’ events respectively.
In the final match of the day, Marsa’s Nigel Dunkerley played against the visiting team’s No 1 Tomasz Abramowski.
Nigel put up a gutsy performance before going down 3 games to 1 in an exciting and entertaining match.
Seen above, Tomasz Abramowski is being awarded the Players' Player of the Tournament trophy by Mr Charles Cuschieri, Chairman of the Marsa Squash Section.
Squash Section Chairman Mr Charles Cuschieri addressed the spectators at the end of the final and thanked everyone involved for their participation.
“Fair play, exciting games and a really good atmosphere were displayed throughout the week.” Mr Cuschieri went on to thank the Marsa Sports Club and his committee for their help in staging such an international event and said that everyone involved is “looking forward to greeting the players again next year.”
Squash Academy coach and camp organiser Paul Lake commented that he was “pleased with the response from players wanting to take part”.
He went on to add “considering that no prizes were on offer to the winner of the tournament, the interest in taking part and playing good completive matches was excellent.”
The only prize awarded was to the “players’ player of the tournament”, where all competitors were asked to vote for their “player of the tournament”. The award went to Tomasz Abramowski. His all-round performance, pleasant nature, and general commitment to quality on and off the court made him the player’s natural choice. Tomasz chose as his ‘player of the tournament’ his final opponent Nigel Dunkerley, an indication of the good performance put in by Nigel.
Visiting Overseas Players in Malta - 04/08
17 players from Poland will be in Malta at the beginning of April to take part in a training camp. The camp will include friendly 'team' matches against a Marsa Squash select team on Tuesday 8th and Thursday 10th April and also an International Friendship tournament on Friday 11th and Saturday 12th April.
All matches will take place at the Marsa Sports Club and spectators are welcome to attend and come along and support local players in what should be, entertaining and interesting matches. For detailed info on schedules please visit this link.
Squash Rules Workshop - 19/04/08
A Squash Rules Workshop will be held at the Marsa Sports Club on Saturday 19th April 2008 between 14.00 – 20.30.
The workshop will be held by Martin Roberts,Referee Development Officer for England SQUASH.
The workshop is beneficial for all players!
- Players wanting to learn the rules of squash,
- Players who wish to improve their present knowledge of the rules,
- And players who think they know the rules !!!
Workshop Programme
| 13.30 - 13.45 | Workshop registration |
| 14.00 – 17.00 | Rules lecture / information |
| 17.30 – 18.00 | Break for drinks |
| 18.00 – 19.30 | On-court practical demonstrations followed by 'questions & answers' session |
| 19.30 | Finger food buffet in the club bar |
Price for bookings before 15th March
Adults €25.00
Full-time students: €15.00
Juniors under 15: €5.00
Price for bookings after 15th March
Adults €30.00
Full-time students: €20.00
Juniors under 15: €10.00
For info & further details call Roberta on 99899467 or email Paul.
Numbers are limited – early application is advisable!
It strongly recommended that all players taking part in squash 'matches' attend.
Think about playing your next league or tournament matches and you not knowing the up-to-date and correct interpretation of the rules...whilst your opponent would!
Marsa Squash Section Celebrate World Squash Day - 15/03/08
The Marsa Squash section recently supported World Squash Day at their courts in Marsa.
A team of willing helpers were on hand to give advice, play matches and generally introduce squash to a wide range of players.
Amongst these new players were a large number of children playing squash for the first time. These juniors were given a taste of 'mini-squash' where they practiced coordination skills, balance techniques, and various forms of movement, all required at a later stage to become a good squash player.
The overall response was very positive with several juniors and seniors showing an interest in taking up squash and returning to the Marsa Club for further information and lessons.
The Marsa Squash Committee wish to thank the team of helpers that were on hand throughout World Squash Day, the members involved in the preparation, and the Marsa Sports Club for enabling such an event to take place.
International Squash Camp at Marsa - 6-13/04/08
A group of 15 players from Poland will be visiting Malta from 6th – 13th April to take part in an international training camp.
The players range in standard from hobby players to nationally ranked players. The number 1 from the visiting players is Tomasz Abramowski, one of the newer Polish players to break into the top 10. Currently ranked 8, Tomasz has only been playing squash for 3 years and is hoping to boost his chance of breaking into the top 5 in Poland later this summer. Number 4 from the visiting team is Dominika Witkowska. On her 4th trip to Malta, Dominika is well-known here in Malta and is looking forward to meeting some ‘old friends’. The remaining 13 players vary in standard from Marsa league division 7 to 1.
A policy of the Academy is to give equal opportunities to players of all standards to compete and to train, and players here in Malta of all standards are welcome to join in all parts of the camp!
2 team matches will be arranged as part of this trip. Tuesday 8th April and Thursday 10th April both from 18.00.
A selection of players have already expressed their interest in taking part and other players are welcome to join in, or simply come along and show your support.
A tournament will be held on Friday 11th & Saturday 12th April (Friday subject to the number of entries). The INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP TOURNAMENT will have an A & a B event giving players of all standards the chance to take part in an international event. Detailed information will be sent out soon.
As part of her continued development as a professional squash coach, Dominica Witkowska will be visiting Malta in April to work with a range of players of various standards. Dominika is the Polish National Junior Squash coach and she will be spending 1 week working and training with a wide group of players (mainly juniors) under the guidance of Academy coach Paul Lake who will be helping her develop her coaching skills further. Dominika has been coaching full-time professionally for the 4 years, she is the current Polish Ladies squash champion, ranked 1 in Poland and is a qualified ESF L2 Coach (European Squash Federation Level 2).
If you would like further information please contact Paul on 79003053 or by email
TYCHY Inter-City Challenge 2008 - 1-4/05/08
A team representing Marsa will be taking part in the Tychy inter-city challenge tournament from 1st – 4th May.
The challenge tournament, held last year in Poznan, Poland, will this year be a truly international event with 3 teams from Poland, 1 team from Marsa, and also a team from Liptov (Slovakia) and possibly a team from London, HAC (to be confirmed).
The Marsa team will be hoping to go one better than in 2007 where they finished 2nd behind Poznan. This team event is not only for the top players in a club but also for A & B grade players giving players of all standards the chance to compete in an international tournament.
Each team consists of 6 players who will play against players of a similar standard.
On Thursday 1st May two individual tournaments will be held, one A & B event, where the players will fight out the Tychy city individual championships in their respective categories. Friday sees the 1st round of the team event with the remaining matches being held on Saturday.
A day trip to Krakow, the ancient capital of Poland, is also planned for Friday giving the players the chance for some sightseeing in-between their hectic squash program. 2 places are still available for players of any standard that wish to join in and any number of guests are welcome.
Contact Paul for further details.
Local Squash News
Colette Sultana Wins Gold in Italy - 13-15/06/08
Colette Sultana has obtained a historic result for Maltese squash by winning the Italian Junior Open in the Under 13 Girls category. The tournament was held between 13th and 15th June at the Italian national squash centre in Riccione.
Colette Sultana seen above, at Riccione
To claim the title Sultana won all her three matches impressively and without dropping a single set against the Italian girl Laura Cibiroli, Melissa Mader from Austria and then beating Spaniard Ksenia Pavliouchenkova in the final match.
The Gold in the Italian Open completes an excellent sequence of results in Europe for the Maltese junior champion following the Silver obtained in the Austrian Junior Open last March and Bronze in the Swiss Junior Open in December.
Last month the 12-year old not only managed to retain the Maltese Juniors title but also won the plate and finished fifth overall in the main Ladies event of the Malta Open. Although still very young, Colette Sultana has been called to form part of the selection process for the National Team which will be preparing for the European Small Nations Games Tournament in Monaco in October.
Sultana is currently ranked 11th in Europe in the Under 13 Girls category. The Italian Junior Open title will now move her to a top 10 European ranking position.
Colette Sultana, winner of the tournament, seen at the center
Colette Sultana is a member of the MOC Centre of Excellence and is receiving support through the GO Youth Athlete Scheme. Worth mentioning also Paul Lake’s great contribution to Colette’s success as her coach, together with the support of Malta Squash, Marsa Sports Club and Wilson.
Malta Squash International Open at Marsa Sports Club - 07/05/08
Want to see all the top Maltese squash players competing against each other in the most prestigious tournament in Malta?
Come to Marsa on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday after 18:00 and on Saturday from 10:00 onwards. Entrance is free.
The Malta International open will be held from the 7th May until the 11th May at the Marsa Sports and Country Club.
This year's Malta Squash International Open is sponsored by 6PM Malta Ltd. and The Ministry for Tourism and Culture.
For more info log on www.maltasquash.com
Silver for Colette Sultana in Austrian Junior Open - 10/03/08
Colette Sultana has done it again! Following the Bronze achieved in the Swiss Open last December she has made it one better by winning Silver in the Under 13 Girls category of the Austrian Junior Open in Vienna on 7-9 March.
In the first round, the young Maltese player was grouped with Kristyna Alexova and Karolina Holinkova, both from the Czech Republic, and with local Austrian player Lisa Kaserer.
Sultana, who was seeded 4th for this tournament, started with comfortable wins over Holinkova and Kaserer scoring 9/4 9/2 9/4 and 9/2 9/0 9/0 against them respectively. These two wins guaranteed Sultana a place in the semi-finals even though she then lost her final group match 6/9 9/2 5/9 2/9 against the tournament top seed Alexova.
In the semi-final Sultana had to play at her best to beat Gabriella Csokasi, the Hungarian champion who is ranked 11th in Europe and who had won the other first round group with relative ease. The first set was very close. The Hungarian took an early four point lead but the Maltese player fought back and won it 9/7. Csokasi came back to take the second set 9/4 and equal the score. But the Maltese 12-year old remained composed and played some great shots to take the next two sets 9/5 9/2 and win the match 3-1 for the place in the coveted final of the Austrian Junior Open.
The final was against Kristyna Alexova again. Sultana started well to win the first set 9/7 but the Czech, who is ranked 4th in Europe, came back strongly to win the next three sets 9/4 9/4 9/2.
The Silver medal is an excellent achievement for the Maltese player who continues to advance in the European junior rankings. In fact, with this excellent result Sultana should now make it to a top 12 placing in Europe.
Asked for his comments, coach Paul Lake said that Colette has participated in 4 international tournaments over the past 12 months and she has consistently improved and performed well. Other European Juniors have the advantage of being able to take part in 12 to 20 good tournaments over the same period. He continued by saying that with the limited tournament experience that Colette can get in Malta an increase in overseas participation is essential to her continual development. Training and practice are important but competition in young athletes plays a major role in their development, he concluded.
Next international tournament for Sultana will be the Italian Junior Open in June which will be her final event in the Under 13 category.
Colette Sultana is one of the junior athletes recently hand-picked by the Malta Olympic Committee Centre of Excellence to receive support under the GO Youth Athlete Scheme. Colette is also supported by Amer Sports Germany, and Tennis
Promotions Co. Ltd as local distributors of Wilson products.
Coach Paul Lake with Colette Sultana; "Training and practice are important but competition in young athletes plays a major role in their development."
Launch of Maltese Olympic Committee Centre of Excellence - 28/02/08
The Maltese Olympic Committee Centre of Excellence (MCE) has been established in order to provide outstanding Maltese Athletes with access to a number of services, schemes and programmes brought together under one umbrella with one objective: to help them in achieving their ultimate goals and objectives to represent Malta in the international sphere of competitive sport and obtain good results in the international sphere.
The centre devised by the MOC President, Mr. Justice Lino Farrugia Sacco will allow the MOC to centralise and run the athlete services under the responsibility of a newly appointed commission. This apart from the MOC President will include Mr. Joe Cassar, Secretary General, Ms. Marie Therese Zammit, Director of Athlete Support Programmes and Mr. Envic Galea, Director of Youth. The aim of the MCE commission is to identify the most promising athletes who can represent Malta in the various international sports events and provide them with extra support services in order to help them further upgrade their level. These athletes shall still be entitled to the benefits National Team Athletes are entitled to but shall also benefit from other advantages under the Athlete Programmes.
Bearing in mind the excellent results obtained by Maltese Athletes in the last 12 years, the Centre will continue to ensure that the best coaching, expertise and environment is provided to aid athletes in their preparations. Such investment and programmes by the Maltese Olympic Committee will be contributing to the development of sport, raising the levels and training of athletes for top level competition and Team Malta representation at the various Games under the auspices of the MOC including the Games of the Small States of Europe, Mediterranean Games, Commonwealth Games and the Olympic Games.
Youth Athlete scheme: Mr. Justice Lino Farrugia Sacco making his presentation to Colette Sultana for squash [seen in photo].
Other youths benefiting from the GO Youth Athlete Scheme include J. Pace Cocks, T. Vella (both athletics), J. Saywell (judo), S. Borg, E. Fleri Soler (both sailing), C. Farrugia (shooting), J. Dimech (cycling), K. Cassar (tennis), C. Bergedahl, J.J. Micallef (both golf), A. Buhagiar (wrestling).
Austrian Junior Open Vienna - 7-9/03/08
Colette Sultana will be taking part in her second Austrian Junior Open on the 7-9 March 2008. Currently ranked 21st (under-13s) in Europe, this tournament should see Colette move up to around number 16 in the European rankings (at the moment Colette is only 6 points outside the top 16!)
Colette has been training for this tournament intensively since September and stands an excellent chance of once again reaching the semi-finals. Part of Colette’s systematic training has involved some off-court work with Lara Gerada (athletics sprint coach) to improve her leg reaction speed, and also some work with Gordon Asciak on the tennis court! This was to help with Colette’s short racket movement in taking the ball early.
Thanks go to Lara & Gordon for the help and expertise!
On court, Colette has had help with her training and preparation for the Austrian from some willing helpers Johanna Rizzo, Sue Aquilina, Carl Camilleri and John Cuschieri. All have spent numerous hours (and sprints) helping Colette with her various training plans. A number of players also made themselves available as sparring partners and thanks go to all these for their help. Without the help, assistance and time offered by all of these players Colette definitely would not be as far as she is today, nor would she be competing in March in Austria. Thank you all!
Local Squash Player reaches Competitive Heights - 14/02/08
Marsa squash player Nigel Dunkerley is being sponsored yet again for another year by European Pilot Academy.
The 30-year old, who has recently broke the top 5 in the National League Rankings, will be eligible for a call up by the National Coach's for team training for the European Small Nations Squash Tournament being held later this year.
Dunkerley has only been playing squash at a competitive level for just over three years has made remarkable improvement since and now is expected to take part for the first time this year in the "Open" event for the Malta Open 2008. He is expected to play well and established adversaries local and foreign within the ever growing squash community.
Dunkerley said "I was never expecting to make the higher level of squash so soon, and even though I have the toughest of local squash players ahead this year in the leagues and in the Open, I am completely determined to reach my objectives and make a lasting impression on the competitors taking part. Probably this will be my toughest year physically and mentally. My current training plan set in motion this year has an objective to peak by 2011."
The European Pilot Academy, established in Malta for more than 15 years, is Malta's first recognised flight academy training local and foreign pilots up to commercial level. The company has recently committed itself to support sport and not only sponsors Dunkerley but also a top Futsal Team.
European Pilot Academy managing director Capt. Ray Zarb was glad to be offering this sponsorship to Nigel "this agreement reflects the belief that our company has in sports and education, which are becoming two of European Pilot Academy's fundamental social commitments," he said.
Nigel Dunkerley said it was now possible for him to train more regularly and take part in many more tournaments both locally and especially overseas, thanks to the sponsorship. "Normally, I was only in a position to take part in four local tournaments and maybe one international event per year. This is simply because of the huge expenses involved. Thanks to this sponsorship, I'll now be able to increase my participation.
Paul Lake, personal coach to Dunkerley and head coach at the Malta Squash Academy commented:
"Nigel has all the credentials to become a very good squash player. Honesty, maximum effort and never say die performances are a part of his everyday approach to squash. He understands the values of hard work and is a very astute pupil. To progress even further Nigel now needs to be playing more competitive matches abroad against good standard European opponents and continually testing himself against the best here in Malta."
This year Nigel will be concentrating on two major objectives; first, constant improvement in his all round squash ability, and second, as a result of this, making the grade to be chosen for National Team training.
"It is our hope that Nigel will continue to improve his standard and also his ranking in the near future to be able to secure a regular place in the National Team which is shortly going to be in need of replacing the long established and successful current members. We hope there will be other companies who will follow the footsteps of European Pilot Academy to offer sponsorships for other budding squash players," said National Squash Coaches Ivan Balzan and Steve Rizzo.
International Squash News
British Junior - 01/08
For the fourth time since 2001, Egypt clinched six of the eight titles in the Tecnifibre British Junior Open Squash Championships in a dramatic climax to the world's most prestigious junior squash event in the Yorkshire city of Sheffield.
With a record 11 finalists on the fifth and final day of the event - which attracted more than 450 competitors from all over the world - Egypt were represented in all but one of the finals!
Top-seeded Egyptian Mohamed El Shorbagy won the Boy's U19 title for the Drysdale Cup, beating France's 5/8 seed Gregoire Marche 9-6, 9-7, 9-1 in a 50-minute final. The UK-based 16-year-old from Alexandria ended domestic interest in the event after beating British National junior champion Adrian Waller in the previous round - and has now recorded his third successive British Junior Open triumph.
In the only final without Egyptian interest, French favourite Camille Serme fought back from two games down to overcome Hong Kong's No2 seed Annie Au 7-9, 2-9, 9-3, 9-3, 9-7 in 69 minutes to win the Girl's U19 crown for the first time after finishing as runner-up in 2007.
Karim Abdel Gawad produced one of the three upsets of the day in an all-Egyptian Boy's Under 17 final . The 5/8 seed, in his first appearance in a final, beat top seed Amr Khalid Khalifa - last year's U15 champion - 10-8, 9-7, 9-7 in 54 minutes.
It was 'fifth time lucky' and 'fifth time unlucky' in the climax of the Girl's U17 event. On course for her fifth British Junior Open title in a row, top-seeded Egyptian Heba El Torky crashed out 9-6, 5-9, 9-6, 1-9, 9-5 to India's Dipika Pallikal, a 5/8 seed.
"I've been coming for five years and never got past the quarter-finals, so to win the title is just unbelievable," the 16-year-old from Chennai told reporters.
Pakistan's only finalist Nasir Iqbal went down in the Boy's Under 15 final. The 3/4 seed, winner of the U13 trophy last year, was beaten 9-2, 9-6, 9-1 by Egypt's top seed Karim Ali Fathi, the U13 champion two years ago.
The all-Egyptian Girl's Under 15 climax also produced a win for a former U13 champion when second seed Nour El Tayeb beat 3/4 seed Menat Allah Naser 10-8, 9-0, 9-2.
The Boy's Under 13 final revealed the biggest upset of the day when Osama Khalid Khalifa defeated fellow Egyptian Shehab Essam, the top seed, 9-5, 9-0, 9-7. Khalifa, whose older brother was runner-up in the U17 final, was only seeded to reach the last 16 - but also despatched the event's No2 seed Dylan Murray on his way to the final.
The Girl's Under 13 final saw the swiftest win of the day when Egypt's top seed Nour El Sherbeny despatched compatriot Nouran Ibrahim, a 3/4 seed, 9-4, 9-1, 9-2 in just 20 minutes.
England Beat Australia To Retain World Team Title In India
In a dramatic climax to the ICL World Men's Team Squash Championship - the 21st staging of the biennial event since 1967 - defending champions England fought back from a match down to beat long-time rivals Australia 2/1 in today's final at the ICL Squash Academy in Chennai, India.
The triumph marked the first final between Australia and England since 1991 - and the first ever England win over Australia in a world final! The victory also takes England's title tally to four since 1995, and stopped their rivals from extending their record to nine trophy triumphs.
The opening encounter was a battle between the teams' number ones, with Australia's former world champion David Palmer, ranked four in the world, facing Nick Matthew, the world No5 from Sheffield in Yorkshire. Their previous head-to-head tally showed Palmer 11-5 ahead, and the 31-year-old from New South Wales duly took the opening two games.
But the Englishman struck back to draw level - winning the fourth game for just two points. However, the experienced Aussie rediscovered his form and eventually ran out an 11-9, 11-9, 7-11, 2-11, 11-4 winner in 82 minutes.
Almost exactly five years ago, James Willstrop won the world junior individual championship on the same courts in Chennai. And, in his first time back in the former Madras since that success, the 24-year-old Englishman beat Stewart Boswell to level the tie.
But it was a tense and tight tussle, in which the world No6 from Yorkshire needed 65 minutes to overcome his lower-ranked opponent before prevailing 11-8, 11-7, 11-10 (2-0).
And the decider was no less dramatic - and only marginally shorter. But Englishman Peter Barker, in his maiden appearance in a world team championship, delivered an assured performance as he defeated Cameron Pilley - also a world championship newcomer - 11-6, 11-3, 11-8 in 60 minutes to clinch the title for England.
"We were represented by an exceptional group of players," said England Squash Chief Executive Nick Rider after the team's success. "Winning a world championship is difficult enough - and retaining it so convincingly is testament to the courage and determination of these world-class guys. We are immensely proud of them."
In the play-off for third place, third seeds France beat favourites Egypt 2/0, and Malaysia recorded their best ever finish by beating Canada 2/0 in the fifth place play-off. Hosts India marked their best finish since 1979, despite losing to Netherlands in the seventh place play-off.
Event newcomers Sri Lanka, Venezuela and Chinese Taipei finished in 26th, 27th and 29th places, respectively.