England’s Vicky Botwright was a surprise finalist in this weekend’s World Championship final. It was a dream ending for Botwright as it was to be her last tournament before retiring to take up a position as head coach at the national centre.

Botwright, seeded 11th, took the opening game against favourite Nicol David, but failed to prevent the world number one from reclaiming the title she lost last year in Madrid. However reaching the final was a massive achievement for Botwright, who has never been able to reach her potential in her home town of Manchester before.

After dropping her first game of the tournament, David raised her game in the second to draw level after the loss of just a single point. The Malaysian superstar extended her lead by taking the third.  And despite a close last game secured the match in 44 minutes.

“I knew I had to play my best squash of the week – after all she’s world number one, the best player in the world,” said Vicky Botwright. “It’s been a fantastic week – the crowd were fantastic.  When they started shouting as I went onto court, I felt a bit emotional.”

Danielle Sellwood, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine

Read our interview with Squash player Sarah Kippax here. ^[1]