Thrilling Finish to World Champs Campaign

The New Zealand Junior Boys team has beaten Kuwait to finish ninth in Qatar.

New Zealand has finished 9th after a thrilling showdown with Kuwait on the final day of the Junior Men's World Team Squash Championships in Doha.

The 11th seeded Kiwis have squeaked home 2-1, with Zac Millar winning the deciding match in five.

New Zealand number three Todd Redman gave his side the perfect start, winning the opening match against Athbi Kh. J S Hamad 11-7, 11-5, 12-10.  However, 12th seeded Kuwait drew level after Yousef N A Saleh beat kiwi number one Jonny Barnett 3-0.  That scoreline doesn't reflect how close the match was though, with Saleh just edging all three games in an 11-8, 11-9, 12-10 victory that took 39 minutes.

That left Zac Millar and Yousif N Y Ali to decide the tie and fittingly the two traded blows in a five game thriller.  Millar was twice forced to fight back from a game down before finally clinching the tie for New Zealand with a 9-11, 11-3, 8-11, 11-4, 11-3 victory.

Meanwhile, top seed Egypt has retained the teams title after beating Pakistan 2-0 in the final.  Egypt has now won four of the last 10 team titles and finished runner-up on five occasions.

Result (9th place playoff)
11)New Zealand def 12)Kuwait 2-1

3)Todd Redman def Athbi Kh. J S Hamad 11-7, 11-5, 12-10 (26 mins)
1)Jonny Barnett lost to Yousef N A Saleh 8-11, 9-11, 10-12 (39 mins)
2)Zac Millar def Yousif N Y Ali 9-11, 11-3, 8-11, 11-4, 11-3 (40 minutes)

Tournament side: www.wsfworldjuniors.com.