Hong Kong Win Maiden World Squash Title
Hong Kong created squash history in Belgium last month after beating favourites and defending champions Egypt in the final of the Women's World Junior Team Championship to claim the country's first ever world title.
Despite finishing in seventh place in 2003, and 13th two years earlier, Hong Kong were named as second seeds for the 2005 event in Herentals after three squad members reached the last sixteen of the earlier World Individual Championship. The decider was a nail-biting affair in which Hong Kong's Ka Kei Chiu saw her opponent Lina El Tannir recover from a game down to forge a 2/1 lead. Chiu, however, stuck to her cause and eventually prevailed 10-8 5-9 6-9 9-4 9-3 to mark a sensational achievement for her country. England also had much to celebrate: After failing to be represented in the last sixteen of the individual championship for the first time in the event's history, were relegated to fifth seeds – their lowest-ever seeding in the world team championship.
Joey Chan, an individual quarter-finalist, gave the underdogs a massive boost by beating semi-finalist Sara Badr 10-9 9-6 9-0 in the opening rubber of the final. Egypt's 16-year-old Raneem El Weleily, the recently-crowned world individual champion, then brought the top seeds back into contention with a 9-3 9-3 9-0 victory over Hong Kong's Annie Au, also 16.
However, the plucky squad fought through to the play-off for third place, where they pipped fourth seeds 2-1. celebrated their best-ever finish in the event after beating 2-1 in the play-off for 9th place. Meanwhile beat 2-0 in the play-off for 15th place to celebrate an impressive debut in the event.