Rotorua Daily Post sports reporter David Beck takes on Commonwealth Games squash gold medalist Amanda Landers-Murphy. Photo/Ben Fraser
Rotorua Daily Post sports reporter David Beck takes on Commonwealth Games squash gold medalist Amanda Landers-Murphy. Photo/Ben Fraser
This week Rotorua Daily Post sports reporter David Beck played squash with Commonwealth Games Gold medalist Amanda Landers-Murphy. This is how it went.
It was dubbed the squash match-up of the century, the clash of the titans, a highly anticipated clash between two supreme athletes.
Okay, that was all in my head. Amanda is a supreme athlete, I am not. That is why I prefer to write about the success of others.
However, I did make my squash debut on Tuesday and what better way to learn than to jump in the deep end and go up against Rotorua's finest.
Amanda won gold in the women's doubles, with Joelle King, at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in April. She has since competed in the Irish Open and British Open and is now home in Rotorua for a block of off-season training.
She took some time out from that training to show me the ropes, which I imagine was much like teaching a toddler how to walk. I grew up playing cricket, so had to resist the temptation to play a forward defensive when the ball came to me. I did play half a season of tennis in high school, but after breaking a racquet through pure frustration I decided it wasn't for me.
Rotorua Daily Post sports reporter David Beck plays a shot during his squash debut. Photo/Ben Fraser
I think my issue is my competitiveness often outweighs my ability, but Amanda was very patient. She took me through the rules and how to hold the racquet correctly before we warmed up with a few rallies. It was a relief to find I could actually hit the ball where I wanted to some of the time.
Next we played three games - first to 15 points. You will be shocked to find out I was not the winner in any of them and I suspect Amanda was only playing at about 20 per cent of her potential.
We did have some good rallies though and once I had a bit of a technique sorted I really enjoyed the strategic side of the game, thinking about where your next shot should go and attempting to get your opponent moving around the court. Amanda said I showed good anticipation, which I guess comes from watching sport for a living - you'd hope I'd pick up a thing or two!
Speaking of moving around the court, I had heard squash is physically demanding but I still wasn't prepared for the amount of running involved. I'm not the fittest guy in the world and there were points where Amanda had me running around in circles.
Rotorua Daily Post sports reporter David Beck takes on Commonwealth Games gold medalist Amanda Landers-Murphy in Rotorua.
As someone who has signed up for countless gym memberships which end up being nothing more than a weekly donation, I've always thought playing sport is a great way to get exercise because you're so focused on the game you don't realise how much work you're doing. Squash definitely falls into that category.
Overall, I really enjoyed the experience - even if my glutes are still sore - and I can't thank Amanda enough for taking the time out of her busy schedule. I highly recommend giving squash, or any new sport, a go. It's a great way to get active.
The final score was 15-4, 15-7, 15-8 to Amanda. I don't think she'll sign me up as her mixed doubles partner any time soon, but at least I improved.
