First match first for Joelle in World champs

GEORGE TOWN: World No. 5 Joelle King has never been interested in looking at tournament draws – even for the World Championship.

The New Zealander, who arrived in Penang on Saturday ahead of the 29th Women’s World Squash Championship from March 18-23, was clueless when asked about her draw. The draw had been posted on the Women’s Squash Association (wsaworldtour.com) website a fortnight ago.

King erroneously guessed that she would be probably in the bottom half, when in fact she is in the top half of the draw.

The 25-year-old fifth seed, who will play a qualifier in the first round, is in the same quarter as world No. 4 Alison Waters of England.

“Usually, I do not look too much at a tournament draw because I feel every player, including those who come through the qualifiers, are equally dangerous,” said King on Saturday.

“It is my habit not to look further ahead until I have cleared the immediate hurdle in front of me. It will be the same for the World Championship, where my immediate concern is just to clear the first round.”

Despite rising to No. 5 in the world rankings, King has a rather poor record in the World Championship series, where she has failed to get past the last 16.

“I was very disappointed not to progress beyond the second round in 2012 (World Open). It will be good if I can get at least into the quarter-finals in Penang, but I prefer not to think too much about it yet,” said King.

She is also grateful for the organisers and sponsors for bringing the World Championship to Malaysia. The Penang state government stepped in as hosts after Egypt and Hong Kong turned down offers to host the event in 2013.

“It would have been a shame and an unwanted statistic in women’s squash not to have a World Championship in 2013. All the players were happy when we learnt that the tournament will be held in Penang. For that, I want to thank everyone responsible for reviving this tournament.

“I have played in Kuala Lumpur before but this is my first trip to Penang. I hope that Penang will be a lucky ground for me,” quipped King.

Unlike in other squash tournaments, all the matches in the World Championship main draw will be played in a glass court at the SPICE Arena.

The Star is the official media for the 29th Women’s World Squash Championship.