Commonwealth Games 2022: Ones to watch - Paul Coll eyes gold after reaching squash's summit

After earning silver four years ago, Paul Coll is hungry for gold. Photo / Photosport

By Kris Shannon in Birmingham

For all his world-beating exploits on the squash court, Paul Coll has for the last four years remained focused on one thing: Commonwealth Games gold.

The Kiwi has been marching through the men's singles in Birmingham as the warm favourite to win that prize, advancing to the final on Thursday morning (NZT) while dropping only one game in four matches.

Having ascended to the top of his sport since claiming silver four years ago, Coll today crushed India's Saurav Ghosal 11-9, 11-4, 11-1, and will now play world No 7 Joel Makin of Wales in the gold-medal match.

Coll earlier this year spent a spell as No 1 in the world, disrupting the Egyptian stranglehold in squash, and last year became the first Kiwi man to win the prestigious British Open title, defending his crown in April.

But all those accolades will assume secondary status if the 30-year-old does as expected and completes another triumph in Birmingham.

"It's the only thing I've thought about for the last four years," Coll told the Herald. "It's something that I want really badly, especially for New Zealand. It's not just for myself - it's to be able to bring a gold back to New Zealand.

"I know they are very proud of a silver and a bronze, but to be able to bring that gold back … I always see other athletes in other sports bring that gold back and I'd love to be able to have that moment.

"To be able to do it for New Zealand and the New Zealand team would be wicked."

Wicked is certainly one way to describe the last 18 months of Coll's career. After being defeated in the 2018 singles final by English veteran James Willstrop, the Kiwi seemed to find a new level on the court.

He took silver at the 2019-20 world championships in Doha and backed it up with bronze in the 2021-22 edition in Chicago, before a British Open breakthrough that saw him best three-time world champion and current No 1 Ali Farag.

Paul Coll in action. Photo / Photosport

Repeating that victory a year later - in straight sets, no less - saw Coll become the first Kiwi man to reach the top of the rankings and confirmed he belonged on that lofty perch.

"I've had a mindset shift in terms of believing in myself a lot, and believing I can beat the top guys and the way I play squash is good enough to win," he said. "Having that mindset shift really helped me, along with all the technical and tactical work I was doing.

"It also helped me enjoy squash a lot more. I wasn't trying to prove myself - I was just playing the way I play and enjoying being on court and competing with the top guys.

"Every athlete believes they can win every tournament they enter, but believing that and being No 1 and being the favourite is a massive difference.

"That was something new that I had to learn and it was a new stage in my career that I had to get used to. The last five months have been great for that - I've had some ups and some downs and just learning how to deal with those different emotions was quite key."

There could be a few more ups and in the coming days, with the men's singles medal round followed by the mixed doubles, where Coll will team with Joelle King in a Kiwi dream team.

And it's the team aspect of the Games that most appeals to Coll, not just on court but among the wider New Zealand group in Birmingham.

"Obviously squash is an individual sport, so just to be part of a team - and such a prestigious team with so many good New Zealand athletes - it's just cool," he said. "It's my favourite tournament ever, in terms of the overall experience, the support we get from the New Zealand team, the whole culture of it. It's just a really special two weeks."