ISM June18-web

DAVID PALMER & JOELLE KING SHARE
COMMONWEALTH GAMES DOUBLES GLORY
DAVIDPALMER&JOELLEKINGSHARE
COMMONWEALTHGAMESDOUBLESGLORY
It was fitting that the final match on the final day of 11 days of intense
Commonwealth Games Squash competition produced a second Gold
Medal for hosts Australia - when David Palmer & Zac Alexander held off
English rivals Daryl Selby & Adrian Waller in a thrilling near-hour-long Men’s
Doubles climax which went the full distance.
But it was New Zealander Joelle King
who topped the individual medals table
after striking Gold in the Women’s
Doubles, to add to her Singles Gold and
Mixed Doubles Bronze.
It was almost certainly the farewell
Games performance of veteran
campaigner Palmer, the 41-year-old
former World No.1 from New South
Wales who has featured in the sport’s
six appearances in the Commonwealth
Games since 1998 and has now extended
his record medals haul to nine.
Palmer & Alexander, the fifth seeds,
reached the final of the Men’s Doubles
after seeing off both the second and third
seeds - and took the opening game of the
final against the English No.7 seeds.
But the tables were turned in the
second when Selby and Waller levelled
the match, for the loss of just three
points. The home favourites regrouped,
changing their tactics early in the
decider before delighting the loud and
capacity crowd with their 57-minute 11-9
3-11 11-6 victory.
“I said from day one, a year and a half
ago, when I said I wanted to play, I wasn’t
just here to make the numbers up - I still
felt, deep down, that if things went my
way I had a chance,” said Palmer.
“It’s been great with Zac. We rode under
the radar a little bit as fifth seeds. The
draw went our way. We snuck through
and stepped it up when we needed to - in
the quarter-finals we beat New Zealand,
and it was great as we took care of the
Scottish team in the semi-finals.
I said from day one, a year and a half ago, when I said
I wanted to play, I wasn’t just here to make the numbers
up - I still felt, deep down, that if things went my way I
had a chance
DAVID PALMER
INTERNATIONALSQUASHMAGAZINE June 2018 | 19
www.isportgroup.com/InternationalSquashMagazine