Coll and King win mixed gold

Paul Coll and Joelle King completed some unfinished business when they won the squash mixed doubles gold medal.

The New Zealanders were largely untroubled in going through the mixed doubles draw, not dropping even a game. They won the final 11-3, 11-6 over England’s Adrian Waller and Alison Walters.

The gold helps atone for their effort in the mixed doubles in the 2018 Commonwealth Games when they went desperately close to making the final and then had to be satisfied with the bronze medal.

King said the gold medal felt special.

“After a devastating week for me [when as top seed she missed out on a singles medal] and to come back and have the courage to fight for medals… I’m proud of that. Sometimes it’s hard when you’re down in the dumps to find your feet again.

“People have rallied around to help me. I’ve had some very supportive messages from home, and the team here has been great.

“We lift each other and have great relationships off the court. Paul has been leading by example and has lifted us up. He’s led from the front.”

Coll said the gold medal felt incredibly special. It is his second gold of the week, following the singles he won a few days ago.

“This has been the best two weeks of my life, being in the village with the whole New Zealand team, and our squash team is so much fun.

“It’s been very emotional, and there’s been a lot of pressure,, but there’s such a great culture in the team.”

He said he was stoked to “win the gold with Joey”.

“It’s hard to explain, but everything has worked very well with us. We seem to have an understanding of what we’re doing out there, and it’s been like that all week. It might not happen again. It’s been a magical week.”

King had earlier reached the final of the doubles with Amanda Landers-Murphy when they beat the Malaysian pair of Yiwen Chan and Aimaa Ampandi 11-9, 11-7.

King and Landers-Murphy are the defending Games champions and have been largely untroubled in progressing to the final in Birmingham.

In the final they will play the English pairing of Sarah-Jane Perry and Alison Waters.