“It was a surprise result, but she fully deserved the result, I’ve never seen her play that well.” “I thought she played incredible today against Joelle. “I’m hoping the crowd will be on my side tomorrow. “The crowd was incredible today and SJ is a Birmingham girl, so the crowd might have been slightly more on her side but at least tomorrow I’m playing a Canadian,” said Kennedy. Kennedy now faces Hollie Naughton in the gold medal match on Wednesday and hopes the support of the home crowd can her through to victory in a match she knows will be hard-fought. “She’s such a fighter, I thought that was an incredible battle, I thought we both played our best squash – which is exactly what you want and why it could have gone either way.” “To beat her on this stage is more than I could ever have asked for. “SJ is such an amazing sportswoman,” said Kennedy. The match was a coming of age for Kennedy, who overcame her “role model” Perry on one of the biggest stages squash has to offer. I’m really relieved it didn’t go to a fifth.”
“Physically I felt fine, but if you hit one wrong shot at the wrong time, the rally is done – she is so good at punishing you. “I did not want it to go to a fifth because I think at that point, her mental strength is her biggest asset, and if it went to a fifth, I really would have struggled,” added Kennedy. Kennedy raced through the third game 11-5 before edging the fourth 14-12 despite wasting five match balls.Īnd the world no.8 admitted she did not think she had the mental strength to deal with a fifth game. Yet Kennedy still had more to give amidst a frenetic atmosphere, as both players frequently challenged the referee, with Perry exerting her ire on the officials – at one point being told to ‘get on with it’ by a heckler in the crowd. The diminutive Kennedy could not have posed more of a contrast to the tall and imposing frame of Perry but packed a punch with her shots to take the first game 11-6.īut Perry is a seasoned campaigner and showed why she earned silver in 2018 to roar back and take the second game 11-8. This summer, Team England, supported by funding raised by National Lottery players, comprises of over 400 athletes, all vying for medal success. “Leading up to this I kept envisaging what it would feel like, and I’ve had to stop myself because it’s just a dream.
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