Squash player article – Simon Redfern

MY GAMES BY LAURA MASSARO

What an amazing two weeks it was in Glasgow! The crowds were fantastic and I really enjoyed the experience.

For squash players, there are three major titles they want – the British Open, the World Open and the Commonwealth Games – and I’m lucky enough to have won two of them and finished runner-up in the third.

I was disappointed with my performance against Nicol [David] in the singles final, as you go into a gold-medal match knowing the worst case is a silver medal but you want to win the gold. However, overall I was really happy with my silver. Ultimately my goal was to get a medal and I didn’t try to put a colour on it. A silver is probably what I deserved, as I’m second in the world and my performance wasn’t good enough to win gold.

I’m also disappointed that Jenny [Duncalf] and I didn’t win the gold in the women’s doubles, but we gave it our all, we had a great week and I’m proud of it. In fact, I’m more proud of my performances in the doubles than the singles really. We don’t play it for four years, so for us to come together as a pair with very little preparation and perform like that is something to be proud of.

All of the England team did great. Squash was received so well by the media and I’m pleased squash managed one of only two gold-silver-bronze on one podium. We also featured on ‘Tonight at the Games’ with Clare Balding and on prime-time TV with Gary Lineker, while I did some 5 Live radio commentary on the men’s doubles final and got to meet Prince Harry! He was a really nice guy and seemed to understand the sport quite well.

There was also a squash player carrying the England flag. Congratulations to Nick [Matthew] on being selected – what a proud moment for him and for all of us in squash. He is a fantastic role model.

So thank you Glasgow and thanks to all the amazing people behind the scenes – and to bodies like Sport England and the National Lottery, who help us do what we do. Thanks also to everyone for their support. It was hugely inspirational. The messages and comments meant a lot. I’m very proud to have been part of it all. Hopefully we did all of you proud too!