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Women's World Open NEWS |
24-Oct-06:
Perry Poised For Belfast Success In World Open
 Madeline
Perry, the seven-times Irish champion from Banbridge, is
seeded to reach the quarter-finals in next month's Women's World
Open Championship in Belfast.
The world's most prestigious squash event – and the biggest
championship ever to be held in Northern Ireland - will be held
in Belfast from 20-26 November, with action from the last
sixteen onwards staged at the city's world-renowned
Ulster Hall.
Boasting the richest prize fund (£61,000) in the 27-year history
of the championship, the 2006 Women's World Open has attracted a
star-studded field which includes the top 24 players in the
world, according to the entry list and seedings announced today
by WISPA.
 Malaysia's
world No1 Nicol David will defend the title she won for
the first time last year in Hong Kong. The top-seeded
23-year-old from Penang is enjoying a stunning run of form after
winning the
Cathay Pacific Swiss Privilege Hong Kong Open last week –
notching up her fifth successive WISPA title since July and
extending her unbeaten run to 22 matches!
Perry, who put up a brave fight against David in Hong Kong
before bowing out in the quarter-finals, will be hoping to avoid
the Malaysian when the draw is made in Belfast at the end of the
week. Seeded eight, Perry will be expected to reach the
quarter-finals on the state-of-the-art four glass-walled court
which will be erected in the Ulster Hall auditorium.
The Craigavon-born 29-year-old will be hoping to emulate her
south-of-the-border success in April, when she lifted the
Cannon Kirk
Homes Irish Open trophy in Dublin - a triumph which brought
to five the number of international titles Perry has won since
joining the WISPA World Tour in 1998.
Among the top seeds in Belfast will be Dutch star Vanessa
Atkinson, the 2004 World Open champion and a former world
No1; Australia's Rachael Grinham, last year's runner-up
and also a former world No1; and her younger sister Natalie
Grinham, winner of a record three gold medals in March's
Commonwealth Games in
Melbourne.
Manchester's world No5 Vicky Botwright will lead a strong
British field, including Lincolnshire's Tania Bailey, the
British National champion and runner-up in Hong Kong last
week; Yorkshire's Jenny Duncalf; and London's Alison
Waters – all members of the England squad which won the
World Team Championship title in Canada last month.
The 2006 Women's
World Open Squash Championship will be hosted by Irish Squash, in
conjunction with Ulster Squash and its partners the Belfast City
Council, Sports Council for Northern Ireland and Northern Ireland
Events Company – and follows an agreement reached between Irish
Squash and the World Squash Federation (WSF).
The championship will get underway at the Belfast Boat Club on
Monday 20 November before moving to the city's historic Ulster Hall
from the second round onwards, leading to the final on Sunday 26
November. |
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THE SEEDS
1 Nicol David (MAS)
2 Vanessa Atkinson (NED
3 Rachael Grinham (AUS)
4 Natalie Grinham (AUS)
5 Vicky Botwright (ENG)
6 Jenny Duncalf (ENG)
7 Tania Bailey (ENG)
8 Madeline Perry (NIR)
9 Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY)
10 Alison Waters (ENG)
11 Laura Lengthorn (ENG)
12 Engy Kheirallah (EGY)
13 Shelley Kitchen (NZL)
14 Natalie Grainger (USA)
15 Rebecca Chiu (HKG)
16 Annelize Naude (NED) |
Official Tourist Info
Irish Open for Madeline
Madeline & the Mayor
at Ulster Hall launch
TICKETS
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