RESULTS: World University Team Championship, Melbourne, Australia
Final:
[1] GREAT BRITAIN bt [2] HONG KONG 2/1
Emma Chorley lost to Annie Au 3-11, 6-11, 7-11
Joel Hinds bt Leo Au 11-7, 10-12, 5-11, 11-5, 11-6
Peter Creed bt Chiu Ho Fai 11-5, 11-1, 11-4
3rd place play-off:
[3] USA bt [4] CANADA 2/1
Kristen Lange bt Laura Gemmell 11-3, 12-10, 6-11, 11-4
Todd Harrity lost to Colin West 11-8, 7-11, 5-11, 3-11
Christopher Hanson bt Fred Reid 11-9, 10-12, 9-11, 11-1, 11-8
5th place play-off:
[5] SOUTH AFRICA bt [6] AUSTRALIA 2/1
Senada Haupt lost to Melody Francis 4-11, 11-9, 5-11, 11-6, 3-11
Richard Colburn bt Sam Brown 11-2, 11-5, 11-9
Christo Potgeiter bt Luke Sims 11-6, 9-11, 13-11, 11-9
7th place play-off:
[7] AUSTRIA bt [8] SINGAPORE 2/1
Birgit Coufal bt Nicole Chua 8-11, 16-14, 9-11, 11-8, 11-4
Marcus Greslehner lost to Marcus Phua 11-6, 8-11, 1-11, 11-8, 6-11
Daniel Haider bt Sean Ang 11-2, 11-5, 11-4
Great Britain reclaimed the team title in the 7th World University Squash Championships in Australia - but the favourites were taken the full distance by final newcomers Hong Kong at Monash University in Melbourne.
The second seeds claimed the early advantage when, in a rematch of the women's individual final, the highly-fancied Annie Au defeated GB's Emma Chorley again in straight games.
Au, a student at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, is ranked 16 in the world and the highest-ranked player in the event. The 21-year-old despatched Chorley, a 22-year-old from Bridgwater College in Somerset ranked almost 150 places lower, 11-3, 11-6, 11-7 to raise Hong Kong's hopes for the title.
It was the men's individual champion Joel Hinds who levelled the tie for Great Britain. The 23-year-old Birmingham University graduate, fought back from 2/1 down to beat Annie Au's younger brother Leo Au 11-7, 10-12, 5-11, 11-5, 11-6.
"It was a spectacular five set match in which Leo Au fended off two match points before Joel coolly claimed victory," explained tournament spokesman Sarah Wordsworth.
In the dramatic decider, Welshman Peter Creed - from the University of Wales in Cardiff - sealed victory for Great Britain after beating Hong Kong's Chiu Ho Fai 11-5, 11-1, 11-4.
The 2/1 win marked Great Britain's third title triumph in the event after beating France in the finals of both the inaugural championship in 1996 and the 2006 championship in Hungary.
But it was a notable performance by Hong Kong in only their third appearance in the championships after their previous best finish of fifth in 2000.
Meanwhile in the playoff for third place, USA defeated old rivals Canada 2/1 in another dramatic encounter in which Dartmouth University student Christopher Hanson battled back from 2/1 down in the decider against Canadian Fred Reid to beat the Toronto Ryerson University student 11-9, 10-12, 9-11, 11-1, 11-8 to secure USA's best ever finish in the championship.