Squash: Illness forces Kitchen out of Commonwealth Games

Shelley Kitchen. Photo / APN

New Zealand's squash team will be without gifted Shelley Kitchen for October's Commonwealth Games.

Former world No 6 Kitchen, who won bronze in the singles and silver in the women's doubles at the Melbourne Games four years ago, is recovering from pleurisy, which forced her out of an international invitation doubles event in Australia last week and the national championships.

She does not have time to regain full fitness before the Games.

Kitchen had been working hard to be at her peak after having her first child in February.

Her sights will now shift to the world women's team championship in Palmerston North at the end of November.

Kitchen's place will be taken by Waikato's Kylie Lindsay, but the two women's combinations might be reworked.

World No 51 Lindsay finished fourth at the Australian doubles event with world No 16 Jaclyn Hawkes, but it could be that Hawkes finishes up being paired with the next-best ranked player, Joelle King (No 20) in New Delhi, with Lindsay partnering the fourth woman, Tamsin Leevey.