Paul Coll
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Greymouth squash pro Paul Coll has won the title at the Canary Wharf Classic in London defeating Welshman, Joel Makin in four games 7-11, 11-6, 11-4, 11-4 in 82 minutes.
For current world number five Coll the win gives him a push back up the rankings in a hotly contested race for the number one spot.
However Coll didn’t have things his own way. He dropped the opening game and was pushed around the court by Makin in a final which was a repeat of the Commonwealth Games gold medal match last year.
But Coll showed plenty of resolve and appeared to recover well from his marathon five game win over Ali Farag, whereas Makin looked to be hurting a little from his semifinal win against Mostafa Asal.
As the match wore on Coll appeared to get strong and worked out his strategy against the Welshman to claim his third title at the tournament after wins in 2019 and 2021.
“For us to play in front of a packed stadium is awesome. The support was 50/50 almost more for Joel. Courtesy for Joel he’s had a great run of results. Tough stretch for Joel he beat the one and two in the world so credit to him,” said 30-year-old Coll.
“It’s a battle. It’s what we train for. I knew joiel was going to come out and give it everything, this is what we train for.”
The title is a good build up for next month’s British Open in Birmingham where Coll is the two-time defending champion.
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