NEW DELHI: Walking about in the Games Village, you could be forgiven for not recognizing James Willstrop. With his straw-coloured hair messily tucked behind his ear and a ready smile and warm handshake for everyone, Willstrop doesn't possess the air of someone who's regarded as one of the best squash players ever to come out of England.
At six feet and 4 inches, he doesn't even fit the bill of a squash player but then the magic of Willstrop is in what he manages to do on the squash court.
For England's best-ever junior player, it didn't take long for Willstrop to graduate. He soon became the second-best player in the world but an ankle injury and subsequent surgery in 2009 meant that the part-time singer and guitarist Willstrop has spent the last 18 months recovering lost ground.
In February earlier this year at the Swedish Open, he became the only player to defeat the current world No. 1 and two former - Ramy Ashour, Karim Darwish and Amr Shabana - in successive rounds at the same tournament.
Along with Nick Matthew, the world No. 2, England, possibly, have the strongest squash team and would be disappointed with anything other than gold at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.
It would've been an easy and understandable decision for Willstrop and Matthew to skip the Commonwealth Games. If the
threat of a terror attack wasn't enough to scare some athletes away, the horror stories about the seemingly deplorable conditions in the Games Village were.
Willstrop finds the idea of skipping an event like Commonwealth Games incredulous.
"Terrorism is not a problem peculiar to India. The threat levels in New Delhi are the same as in London. I was a bit surprised at the kneejerk reaction of some players who chose to stay back," Willstrop told TOI.
Unassuming and every bit as friendly as his teammate, Matthew, who lost the world No. 1 ranking to Ramy Ashour just a few months ago, is gung-ho about Delhi 2010.
"We're used to India. Everything will be fine eventually. We've spent a couple of days here and it's been so far so good. Irrespective of what we had read, we haven't heard one word of negativity within the team since we arrived," he adds.
A mixed doubles silver medalist at Melbourne in 2006, Willstrop admits that though everything is not how it should be, the arrangements are still very good. "Some things aren't as good as the others but the facilities are very good. The Commonwealth Games for us is one of the biggest events. We've spent the past one year preparing for this. A few problems weren't going to keep me away," he says.
The argument that the Commonwealth Games, a legacy of the colonial past, is a concept past its sell-by date and it finds no favour with either Willstrop or Matthew. "These games really matter to us, to me. I list my silver from Melbourne as one of my achievements. I completely loved it in Melbourne," Willstrop remarks.
Matthew is enjoying the best form of his life. A shoulder surgery in 2008 was a period of darkness for the Sheffield-resident but his comeback since saw him take the number one rank. "My shoulder surgery in 2008 made me reassess my life and priorities. It was the hardest time for me but it also gave me a new perspective. CWG for us is still an important event. I came fourth in Melbourne and that hurt. Winning gold is the aim here. This matters, a lot," he asserts.
TOI
At six feet and 4 inches, he doesn't even fit the bill of a squash player but then the magic of Willstrop is in what he manages to do on the squash court.
For England's best-ever junior player, it didn't take long for Willstrop to graduate. He soon became the second-best player in the world but an ankle injury and subsequent surgery in 2009 meant that the part-time singer and guitarist Willstrop has spent the last 18 months recovering lost ground.
In February earlier this year at the Swedish Open, he became the only player to defeat the current world No. 1 and two former - Ramy Ashour, Karim Darwish and Amr Shabana - in successive rounds at the same tournament.
Along with Nick Matthew, the world No. 2, England, possibly, have the strongest squash team and would be disappointed with anything other than gold at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.
It would've been an easy and understandable decision for Willstrop and Matthew to skip the Commonwealth Games. If the
threat of a terror attack wasn't enough to scare some athletes away, the horror stories about the seemingly deplorable conditions in the Games Village were.
Willstrop finds the idea of skipping an event like Commonwealth Games incredulous.
"Terrorism is not a problem peculiar to India. The threat levels in New Delhi are the same as in London. I was a bit surprised at the kneejerk reaction of some players who chose to stay back," Willstrop told TOI.
Unassuming and every bit as friendly as his teammate, Matthew, who lost the world No. 1 ranking to Ramy Ashour just a few months ago, is gung-ho about Delhi 2010.
"We're used to India. Everything will be fine eventually. We've spent a couple of days here and it's been so far so good. Irrespective of what we had read, we haven't heard one word of negativity within the team since we arrived," he adds.
A mixed doubles silver medalist at Melbourne in 2006, Willstrop admits that though everything is not how it should be, the arrangements are still very good. "Some things aren't as good as the others but the facilities are very good. The Commonwealth Games for us is one of the biggest events. We've spent the past one year preparing for this. A few problems weren't going to keep me away," he says.
The argument that the Commonwealth Games, a legacy of the colonial past, is a concept past its sell-by date and it finds no favour with either Willstrop or Matthew. "These games really matter to us, to me. I list my silver from Melbourne as one of my achievements. I completely loved it in Melbourne," Willstrop remarks.
Matthew is enjoying the best form of his life. A shoulder surgery in 2008 was a period of darkness for the Sheffield-resident but his comeback since saw him take the number one rank. "My shoulder surgery in 2008 made me reassess my life and priorities. It was the hardest time for me but it also gave me a new perspective. CWG for us is still an important event. I came fourth in Melbourne and that hurt. Winning gold is the aim here. This matters, a lot," he asserts.
TOI
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