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Evan Williams and His First Commonwealth Games

As we continue to profile our players in the leadup to the Gold Coast 2018 and in our #LoveSquash campaign we take a look at Evan Williams and the trials he has faced throughout his career to get him to this stage!

In 1999 Evan would claim his first Junior Age Group title when he took the Under 11 New Zealand Junior Age Group Title. In 2000 he took the Under 11 North Island Junior Age Group title and continued to take titles home from there on. In 2000 it was the Under 13 NZ Junior Age Group title Evan would claim, however his next Junior title wouldn’t come until 2002 when Evan would take the Under 13 North Island Age Groups title. In 2003 Evan claimed the Under 15 NZ Junior Age Group title and in 2004 it was the Under 15 North Island Age Group title Evan would claim victory to. In 2005 Evan took the Under 17 NZ Junior Age Groups and the North Island Junior Age Groups titles. It was 2006 and 2008 that saw Evan claim the Under 19 North Island Age Groups title and his sole Under 19 NZ Junior Age Group title came in 2007. Evan has his name etched in history on the New Zealand Junior Open Title when he claimed this title in 2006. With a number of junior titles to his name Evan will be proud of the junior career he left behind. Evan also has a sole Senior Title to his name when he claimed the 2015 North Island Senior Championships.

It was in 2006 that Evan would first put the Silver Fern on and represent New Zealand as he was selected for a Trans-Tasman test series against Australia and then later that year he would compete in the World Junior Championships in Palmerston North. 2008 saw Evan compete at a Junior Level again for New Zealand as he competed at the World Junior Championships in Zurich, Switzerland. It was in 2011 that Evan would first represent New Zealand at a Senior level as he was selected for the World Senior Men’s Team to compete in Paderborn Germany and then 2 years later Evan would compete in Mullhouse, France. Evan most recently represented New Zealand at the 2017 World Doubles Championships in Manchester, England.

In 2014 Williams experienced an injury to his wrist whilst competing in Australia and on his maiden PSA World Tour Title win in 2015 at the Waikato Open Williams reflected on that moment “This is my first PSA title out of 8 finals and it means a lot to me. I was injured last year and missed out on a lot. I didn't know if I was ever going to play again. So, to come back from injury and be able to win is very pleasing. It's great to play a tournament at home in NZ. Thank you to Squash Waikato and Hamilton Squash Club for giving us this opportunity. They've done a great job.". Williams would go on to claim the South Australian Open later that year and in 2016 he would go back to back in claiming the Devoy Squash and Fitness PSA Open and defend his Waikato Open title. Williams last PSA World Tour Title came in 2016 at the Bendigo Open where this bought his total title haul to 5.

Williams will be proud of what he has achieved and fought back from to get to this stage of his career. With Williams holding a current WR of 90 he will be sure to use this as a springboard for the Gold Coast.

Gold Coast 2018 will be Evan’s first Commonwealth Games where he will compete in the Men’s Singles and Men’s Doubles (with Lance Beddoes). Evan was born in Rotorua and currently splits his year between Wellington and the United Kingdom. Evan is currently coached by Nick Mita, he is 28 yrs old (DOB – 20th September 1989) and is NZ Maori of Ngati Porou descent.

We look forward to following Evan and his achievements at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.


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