Squash: Joelle King reaches final eight at World Squash Championships

Joelle King celebrates a point

Two Kiwis have won through to the quarter-finals of the Squash World Championships in Chicago this morning.

Joelle King, ranked No.3 in the world, won her third match defeating 18th seed Joey Chang (Hong Kong) 11-7, 11-9, 15-13 in 31 minutes on the glass court in the Grand Hallway at Union Station in Chicago.

Then Paul Coll, the tournament's seventh seed, played a difficult and often disputed match where he overcame Egyptian 13th seed Fares Dessouky in 71 minutes 11-5, 11-6, 6-11, 11-8, also on the glass court.

The win puts Coll into his first quarter-final at a World Championship and could improve his current ranking from six to five. Coll was happy with the win over an opponent who forced him to play at his best.

"I'm just trying to relax myself on the last few points he was coming back so strong. I'm happy with the stuff I'm working on and I'm growing with confidence with every match.

"I'm very happy with that win, it's just good to get it over the line. To reach the last eight is all sorts of pressure happening," said Coll who is likely to play second seed Ali Farag (Egypt) who has a 5-1 win-loss record over the Kiwi.

That match will be early afternoon New Zealand time on Friday.

King's win means the Waikato player equalled her 2017 performance in making the last eight of the tournament. She will now play fifth seed Camille Serme (France) who she has a 5-3 record over, with King winning the last time they played earlier this year in New York. Their match will be on Friday afternoon.

"It was nice to be on the glass today, nice to feel to the vibe out there. It's cold outside, so it took a little while for the ball to warm. I'm just glad to get one under the belt today really," King said.