New Zealand Nabs Seventh in Nimes

New Zealand has beaten Hong Kong 2-1 to seal seventh place at the World Championships in France.

Bouncing back after the disappointment of defeats at the hands of Malaysia and Ireland, the Kiwis battled hard to beat fourth seeds Hong Kong and salvage some pride from the event. 

First on court was Jaclyn Hawkes, up against Joey Chan.  The Hong Kong player was in rampant form and got her team off to the best possible start, winning 11-7, 11-9, 11-7.  Joelle King then steadied the ship with a hard-fought victory over long-time rival Annie Au.  After sharing the first two games, Joelle pulled clear to win 13-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7.  This put all the pressure on Amanda Landers-Murphy to bring it home for New Zealand.  It would not be an easy task, with Amanda up against Liu Tsz-Ling, to whom she lost in the Western Australia Open final earlier this year.  Once again the first two games were shared, before the Kiwi was able to pull clear for her team 11-7, 10-12, 11-5, 11-6 to go through the Championships unbeaten.

New Zealand beat Hong Kong 2-1

Jaclyn Hawkes lost to Joey Chan 11-7, 11-9, 11-7
Joelle King beat Annie Au 13-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7
Amanda Landers-Murphy beat Liu Tsz-Ling 11-7, 10-12, 11-5, 11-6

For full results: http://www.sitesquash.com/nimeswwtresultats.htm