LUXEMBOURG HAVE TO SETTLE FOR SECOND PLACE
In the European Small Nations Squash Tournament, held last week in Monaco, Luxembourg had to settle for second place in both the mens’ and womens’ team tournaments, but acquitted themselves admirably in the individual competitions, Sandra Denis winning for the women and Sanjay Raval finishing as runner-up for the men.
The teams, sponsored by CITCO, the fund service administration company, started well enough, with victory for the women 3-0 over Liechtenstein and a crushing 5-0 win for the men over Iceland. The men continued this good form with a fine 4-1 win against Liechtenstein, with only Sanjay Raval losing against the strongest player in the tournament, Marcel Rothmund. The second womens’ match saw them having to yield to a Malta team with strength in depth 1-2, Sandra Denis being the only winner. The last womens’ match saw them win comfortably against Monaco 3-0 to take the silver medal. The men had to concede their last match 4-1 to hosts Monaco who proved too strong for them, with only Daniel Kaiser recording a win, making him the only player on his team to register three wins. The men also therefore had to settle for second place.
The individual tournament which followed confirmed Sandra Denis’ ranking as top woman player as she won the final against Annabelle Diamantino, the no.1 from Malta. In the mens’ individual competition,Sanjay Raval did well to beat Christian Billard of Monaco, who had beaten him in the team event. However, Marcel Rothmund of Liechtenstein proved too strong again in the final, but Sanjay can be proud of his second place. Other good performances in the individuals came from Stephane Ayache, who finished 4th, and from Daniel Kaiser, who finished in 10th place, well above his seeding.
website: http://www.squash.asso.mc/
Leave a Reply